Historical Background Perspective
Horticultural research in Kenya dates back to 1947, when research on temperate fruits (pears, plums, peaches and grapes) was established at the National Pyrethrum and Horticultural Research Centre, Molo.  This was followed by the establishment of the National Horticultural Research Station (NHRS) Thika, in 1957, under the Ministry of Agriculture. In 1989 the centre was renamed the National Horticultural Research Centre under the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI). In 2000, the centre was again renamed KARI-Thika. The centre addresses strategic and applied research issues affecting the horticultural industry covering a wide range of issues on fruits, vegetables, flowers, macadamia nuts and dry beans. KARI-Thika is pro-active in addressing ermerging issues and consequently has forged strong linkages with other institutions/organizations to undertake priority research. The centre has re-organized its research and administrative sectors (see chart) including cross-cutting programmes such as the KARI Seed Unit (KSU), the Agricultural Technology and Information Response Initiatives (ATIRI) and the Agricultural Research Investment Services (ARIS) herein referred under the Business development section (BDS).

Centre mandate
The centre is mandated to undertake research in production, crop management, pre-and-postharvest and value addition of horticultural crops.  The outputs from research activities implemented are to support the national horticultural industry. The centre mandate includes the development and dissemination of appropriate technologies for fruits, vegetables, flowers and macadamia nuts.  Activities undertaken in the last five years include:

• Development of superior varieties with emphasis on introduction and evaluation
• Development of crop production technologies with emphasis on plant population and plant soil nutrition
• Development of pest control methods with emphasis on integrated crop, pest and disease management (ICPDM)
• Pre-and-postharvest handling and value addition
• Validation and transfer of superior technologies in collaboration with Regional Research Centres and stakeholders