Aaron Nanok - Sustainable agriculture

About Aaron Nanok

Aaron Nanok is a distinguished Sustainability & Environment leader based in Lodwar , Kenya. Aaron Nanok is a Kenyan agronomist, climate adaptation expert and public servant who leads sustainable agriculture and food-security programs in Turkana County. He has served as Director of Agriculture (previously Senior Agri-Nutrition Officer and head of the Agri-Nutrition Unit) for Turkana County, implementing climate-smart agriculture, irrigation demo farms and community seed-bank initiatives. Nanok co-developed climate-smart training materials with development partners (e.g., World Vision), led World Bank-funded agripreneur trainings and established a county seed bank to conserve drought-tolerant varieties. His field work including an irrigated demonstration farm and farmer trainings helped transition 200+ vulnerable households toward improved food and nutrition security in arid Turkana. He holds a BSc in Natural Resource Management (Egerton University), an MSc in Food Security & Community Nutrition (Gulu University) and additional training including a diploma in Integrated Water & Resource Management.

Sustainability & Environment Expert in Lodwar

As a leading Sustainability & Environment professional in Lodwar , Kenya, Aaron Nanok has made significant contributions to the field.

Achievements and Awards

• Director of Agriculture Turkana County - 2022–Present: Leads county agriculture policy, programs and climate-smart initiatives across Turkana’s arid landscape.
• UN Person of the Year (Kenya) - 2022: Recognized by the UN/WFP for outstanding contributions to ending hunger and promoting climate-smart agriculture in Turkana County.
• Headed Agri-Nutrition Unit & Irrigated Demo Farm - 2019–2022: Established and maintained an irrigated demonstration farm and trained farmers on drought-tolerant crops and nutrition-sensitive agriculture.
• Food System Resilience Project Agripreneur Training - 2021: Under the World Bank-supported project, coordinated training of 200+ agripreneurs to deliver modern farming services locally.
• Climate-Smart Agriculture Manual (co-developed) - 2020: Co-authored county training materials and manuals in partnership with World Vision to scale climate-smart practices.

Professional Experience

• Director of Agriculture at Turkana County Government Department of Agriculture (2022–Present): Oversees county agriculture strategy, climate adaptation programs, nutrition initiatives and extension services.
• Former Head / Senior Agri-Nutrition Officer at Agri-Nutrition Unit (Turkana County) (2016–2022): Led nutrition-sensitive agricultural programming and community demo farm initiatives.
• Project Lead / Technical Advisor at Climate-Smart Pilot Projects (various partners) (2018–Present): Implemented seed-bank, irrigation and capacity-building pilots with development partners.

Publications and Research

• Climate-Smart Agriculture Training Manual (county edition) - Turkana County & World Vision (co-authored), 2020

Media Appearances

• UN Person of the Year Local Impact Story - United Nations / WFP coverage (Kenya), 2022
• Profile: Aaron Nanok and climate-smart farming in Turkana - Business Daily Africa, 2022
• Local county report on irrigated demo farms and impact - Turkana County / Kenya News Agency, 2021

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