The AMS continues to evolve. It is already more than a year into restrategizing to help food industries bounce back to their full fighting weight after the pandemic. As part of the preparation, AMS brought in Bakalian, a fourth-generation flour miller from Lebanon, fluent in Arabic, English, French, and German. Under her guidance, AMS is expanding its training portfolio, with the aim of supporting a larger part of the food industry in Africa, Middle East, and India – its core markets.
“The school has, since its foundation, mainly focused on wheat and maize milling. Going forward, we are broadening the scope to include millet, sorghum, pulses, nuts, coffee, and baking and consumer foods, as well as feeds, because we know the market is changing. It is important to consider locally available crops to ensure food security and invest in value-added products to serve market opportunities and increase profitability,” explains Bakalian.
The state-of-the-art facility, located 25 minutes from Nairobi airport, includes classrooms, a laboratory, and a fully equipped school mill. AMS is transforming step by step from a milling school into a grain processing knowledge and training center. As of 2023, it also includes training courses on coffee handling and roasting.