ROLE OF KALRO
The National Agricultural Value Chain Development Project (NAVCDP) is Kenya Climate-Smart Agriculture Project supported the Government of Kenya/World Bank. The project is domiciled under the State Department for Crops Development in the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development. The project seeks to consolidate NARIGP/KCSAP productivity / productivity enhancement efforts and the foundation laid to enable farmers gain market access and add value to their produce for profitability. Additionally, it focuses on smallholder farmers either“ in transition” or have “transitioned” from subsistence to market/commercial farming with an overall goal of increasing their market participation and enhanced value addition.
The National Agricultural Value Chain Development project is set for implementation through four components namely:
Component 1: Building Producer capacity for climate resilient stronger value chains
Component 2: Climate Smart Value Chain Ecosystem Investments
Component 3: Piloting Safer Urban Food Systems
Component 4: Project Coordination and Management
Component 5: Contingency Emergency Response
The project’s development objective is: to increase market participation and value addition for targeted farmers in select value chains in project areas.
The National Agricultural Value Chain Development project has prioritized the following VCs for support to be selected by the counties. These are: Dairy (cattle, goat and camel), Coffee, Chicken, Fruits (Avocado, Banana and Mango), field crops (Irish potatoes and Tomato), Apiculture, Pyrethrum, Rice, Cashew nut and Cotton. The targeted 28 counties where the project is taking place are clustered in five regions comprising Coast (Kwale, Kilifi, Tana River and Taita Taveta), Eastern (Makueni, Kitui, Machakos, Embu, Meru and Tharak-Nithi), Central (Kirinyaga, Murang’a, Kiambu, Nyeri, and Nyandarua), Rift valley (Narok, Kajiado, Nakuru, Nandi, Trans-Nzoia, Uasin-Gishu, Bomet and Kericho) Western (Bungoma, Vihiga, Kakamega, Busia) and Nyanza (Kisii, Nyamira, Migori, Homabay, Kisumu and Siaya).
Project Funding
National Agricultural Value Chain Development project is funded by World Bank to the tune of US$ 275 Million inclusive of US$ 25 Million from Government of Kenya as Country counterpart funding.
As pointed out in the project development objective, NAVCDP aims to increase market participation and value addition for target farmers in select value chains in project areas. This will be achieved by ensuring:
- Delivery of agricultural assets or services to farmers of which at least 50 percent are female.
- Enhancing the percentage increase in farmers selling more than 50 percent of their produce in the market.
- Increasing the percentage of farmers selling produce in value added form (both on farm and off farm).
The Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization has planned to achieve the main project thrusts through the following sub components:
Sub-component 1.1: Farmer Capacity Building and e-E-Voucher support. The project will partner with KALRO to further strengthen and expand the existing inventory of TIMPs while emphasising on climate resilience, nutrition, and safer food production practices.
Sub-component 2.3: Data and digital investments. Under this sub-component, the project will support the strengthening of the existing Big Data platform at KALRO as the foundational database. The Big Data platform supports wider farmer outreach by supporting digitization of more farmers, deepening data around savings, credit, cash flows and access to market at the farmer level and mapping of other key stakeholders to enable access to financial services and market linkages for farmers under the project.
Sub-component 2.4: Research linkages, technical assistance, and institutional
capacity. This sub-component aims at providing continued support to KALRO towards further strengthening of climate smart TIMPs. The sub component will support sustained partnership with KALRO and fund the development of TIMPS for the two new value chains-rice and pyrethrum and update inventories of TIMPs for all other value chains developed during the implementation of KSCAP/NARIGP with a focus in further strengthening climate resilience and enhancing value addition.
Other KALRO activities include:
- Being the lead organization in the administration and management of the adaptive and collaborative research funds on behalf of other NARS, Consultative Group on International Research (CGIARs) and all other collaborating members.
- Enter sub-contract agreements with all other NARS, CGIARs and other members who will participate in the collaborative research activities. These sub-contracts will be made with respect to the specific activities that will be undertaken by each institution and fund allocated to individual institutions through KALRO.
- Jointly with other NARS, CGIARs and all other collaborators, develop and disseminate CSA TIMPs through demand-driven and collaborative research.
Project Management
The Project has a National Project Coordinating Unit (NPCU) established under the State Department of Crop Development from which the NPCU is constituted. It is this NPCU led by a National Project Coordinator and supported by a compliment of qualified experts in the fields of project interventions that runs the project at the national level.
The Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization under the leadership of the Director General through the KALRO -NAVCDP Coordination office that runs the day today activities of project within the organization.
KALRO- NAVCDP Project Coordination
The organization has set up the KALRO-NAVCDP coordinating office that directs project activities within the organization through a Project Coordinator. The coordinator is deputized by a Deputy project coordinator. Together the two, lead a steam of Value Chain leaders and Master trainers who supervise the development of and updating of TIMPs and ToT Manuals among other duties.