BRIEF ON KCEP-CRAL PROGRAMME

OVERVIEW

The Kenya Cereals Enhancement Programme (KCEP)–Climate Resilient Agricultural Livelihoods (CRAL) Window (KCEP-CRAL) is a Strategic Government of Kenya (GoK) partnership with European Union (EU) and three Rome-based agencies- International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Food Agricultural Organization (FAO), and World Food Programme (WFP). The Programme is a Private-Public-Partnership (PPP) financed by EU, GoK, Equity and Cooperative Banks, Private Sector, IFAD and beneficiaries/farmers. It focuses on the three leading rain-fed cereals (maize, sorghum and millet) and pulses (beans, cowpeas, green grams and pigeon peas) that account for 95% of the land under food crop production and 70% the value of food crops produced annually. Taken together, these are the crops that determine not only the food security of the nation but also the earnings in the agricultural sector on which three quarters of the country’s population is dependent on for their livelihood.

GOAL AND PURPOSE

The overall objective of KCEP-CRAL is to contribute to the reduction of rural poverty and food insecurity of smallholder farmers in the ASALs by:

(1). Developing the economic potential of target groups; 

(2). Improving natural resources management capacity 

(3). Building resilience to climate change in an increasingly fragile ecosystem. The Rome-based agencies leverage their comparative advantages to support GoK in graduating farmers from subsistence to commercial agriculture in line with Vision 2030- “….ahighly productive, commercially oriented and competitive agriculture …” at all levels and the current Big Four Agenda (food security; manufacturing, universal healthcare, and affordable housing).