CETRAD is a Bilateral Institution between the Government of Kenya (through the Ministry of Water and Irrigation) and the Government of Swiss Confederation, through the Centre for Development and Environment of the University of Berne. CETRAD was established in July 2002 as a follow up of the then Laikipia Research Programme (1976 - 1997), and therefore builds on the long term preinvestment research facility.
CETRAD is based in Nanyuki, Laikipia District, Kenya. It is concerned with research and training to design strategies for sustainable development, promote land use planning for sustained livelihood and optimal resource use, foster sustainable resource use and management for improved productivity and promote non-farm, non-pastoral enterprises, infrastructure and related services.
Since the establishment of the Laikipia Research Programme (LRP), and its subsequent transformation to CETRAD, various research outputs in the form of reports and GIS thematic layers have been produced covering both socio-economic and biophysical aspects. Most recently, many of these outputs have covered issues on water use conflicts, Water Users Associations, development needs, food security, drought management, human elephant conflict management, conservation of protected areas and horticulture, among others.
CETRAD research activities are conducted within the frame of the four major thrusts:
CETRAD offers short-term training courses and provides a platform for academic training programmes from collaborating local and foreign universities and other related research institutions. The short-term courses are designed to impact technical skills and provided field based and practical exposure to the target trainees, normally drawn from government and NGO institutions from the respective training fields. The academic training programmes are offered at Masters, PhD and Post Doc levels.
