Mr. Ngutu has over thirty years’ experience gained in Agricultural Extension, Project Management, Disbursement of Agricultural Credit to Smallholders and Primary Processing and Marketing of Agricultural Commodities in Kenya. He has gained extensive experience in growing and marketing of various agricultural commodities in Kenya particularly coffee.

Mr. Ngutu has been an extension officer with the Ministry of Agriculture in Nyanza and Central Province for a period of 3 years as a District Agricultural Officer, rising to the position of National Coordinator:- Smallholder Coffee Improvement Projects (SCIP I&II) financed by the World Bank and CDC as well as the Kenya Government. As the National Coordinator of these coffee projects, Mr. Ngutu gained considerable experience in the management of Inter-ministerial Projects, involving the Ministries of Agriculture, Cooperative Development, Finance and the institutions of Cooperative Bank of Kenya, the World Bank and the Commonwealth Development Cooperation (CDC).

On leaving the Ministry of Agriculture in November 1985, Mr. Ngutu joined the Coffee Board of Kenya as a Field Services Manager. He was in charge of ensuring proper field management, decease control, credit appraisal, licensing of farmers and growers’ advisory services. He was then promoted to the position of Deputy General Manager in 1990, a position he held until he left the services of the Board in September 1999.

In the course of his working career he also attended various courses and seminars related to the field of coffee and agricultural management both locally and overseas.

Mr. Ngutu also played an instrumental role in the process of liberalization of the coffee industry, since its inception in October 1992, thereby giving him an insight of the direction the Agricultural industry in Kenya was bound to take after its liberalization and privatization.Mr. Ngutu gained valuable experience in Project Management, Administration of Credit to farmers, Marketing of Agricultural Produce, Human Resource Management and a sound knowledge in Institutional Management in general.

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