- Government signs Ksh270 million grant to help farmers use climate information.
- Project will support decisions on planting, irrigation and drought preparedness.
- Agribusinesses will also benefit from improved weather data for planning and reducing losses.
Kenyan farmers are set to get practical help in turning weather forecasts into decisions on what to plant, when to plant and how to irrigate, under a $2.08 million (Ksh270 million) grant the government signed on Thursday.
Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi put his signature to the Climate Smart Agribusiness Partnerships for Resilience (CSAPR) agreement during a meeting with Matteo Marchisio, the Country Director of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is providing the money through IFAD.
The project will weave Climate Information Systems into agricultural value chains. Its aim is to close the gap between forecasts that already exist and the farmers and agricultural firms who need to act on them. With dependable information, a farmer can pick suitable crops, time planting, schedule irrigation and prepare for droughts or floods before they strike.
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Agribusinesses stand to gain too. Companies that buy, store, process and move farm produce can use the same information to plan their operations, cut losses and keep supply chains steady.
The grant will run alongside the Integrated Natural Resources Management Programme (INReMP), which supports sustainable management of natural resources and better rural livelihoods. Linking the two is meant to tie climate data to decisions made at each stage of production and marketing.
The need is clear in a sector that remains exposed to climate change. Shifting rainfall and long dry spells have hit crop output, livestock and rural incomes, and weather patterns are becoming harder to predict.
Mbadi said the agreement shows the government’s resolve to work with development partners to build resilience and raise productivity in agriculture. He also pledged closer cooperation with IFAD in transforming the sector. Marchisio, for his part, committed the fund to deepening its long partnership with Kenya and to supporting efforts that improve the welfare of rural communities.
By Benedict Aoya
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