KENYA – The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has unveiled a US$49 million initiative aimed at increasing incomes and improving nutrition for Kenyans over the next five years.
The Feed the Future Kenya Local Food Systems Activity (FtF) was officially launched to enhance food production, distribution, and access in Kenya’s most food-insecure regions.
The initiative launched in collaboration with international nonprofit TechnoServe, is designed to support 200,000 Kenyans in increasing their incomes by 50 percent and aims to improve nutrition for 37,000 women and 21,000 children during the five-year period.
Additionally, the program will help food processors produce 192,000 metric tons of nutritious food annually for low-income households, significantly impacting food security and overall well-being in the targeted regions.
Kenya’s food systems are a crucial part of the country’s economic landscape, accounting for over half of the national gross domestic product and employing more than 70 percent of the rural population.
However, TechnoServe highlights that these systems are plagued by fragmented and inefficient value chains, low productivity, and other challenges that hinder sustainable livelihoods, particularly for women and youth.
The FtF initiative aims to transform local food systems by making them more prosperous, inclusive, nutritious, resilient, and regenerative. It will engage various sectors to drive lasting changes in service provision, enterprise development, feed markets, and food processing.
According to Kris Ansin, TechnoServe’s Kenya Country Director, the initiative will leverage the organization’s extensive experience in regenerative agriculture, inclusive food processing, and distribution within Kenya’s base-of-the-pyramid communities.
“This initiative brings together our expertise and that of our partners in one concerted effort to transform Kenya’s food systems,” said Ansin during the launch.
The program will catalyze new investments while working alongside existing public, private, and community investments.
It will particularly focus on boosting livelihoods for women and strengthening the capacity of communities and markets to anticipate and adapt to climate shocks. Improved production and consumption of healthy foods will also be a key focus, with the aim of enhancing overall nutrition.
“Empowering households and local communities is our guiding principle,” said Elizabeth Eckert, Chief of Party for the program.
“We will collaborate with more than 1,000 local actors to identify needs, create solutions, and share learnings across Kenya.”
In addition to the Kenya-focused initiative, USAID has announced an additional US$40 million investment to address ongoing food insecurity and build food system resilience across several African countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zambia.
These efforts will support smallholder farmers in increasing yields, mitigating extreme weather impacts with improved crop varieties, and improving water use efficiency, thereby reducing risks to future harvests in vulnerable regions such as the Zambezi River Basin.
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