PHASE ONE (OCT 2015-SEPT 2018)

Overview
The Feed the Future Kenya Accelerated Value Chain Development program seeks to widely apply technologies and innovations for selected value chains in order to competitively and sustainably increase productivity, contributing to inclusive agricultural growth, nutrition and food security in the country. The program’s main goal is to sustainably reduce poverty and hunger in the Feed the Future zones of influence in Kenya. The Accelerated Value Chains Development program is implemented by ILRI, ICRISAT and CIP as a consortium. ILRI acts as the lead centres while CIP and ICRISAT are co-implementing centres. The program works closely with county governments, NGOs’, CBO, the private sector and other USAID funded projects/programs. The Program is managed by a Program Management Secretariat (PMS) based at ILRI.

Focusing on the livestock, dairy, staple crops root crops and staple drought tolerant crops value chains in 21 counties in Kenya, the program aims to lift 326,000 households out of poverty, making them food secure and enabling their transition from subsistence to market-orientated farming.

 

PHASE TWO (JAN 2019-DEC 2020)

Overview

The AVCD program successfully implemented the first three years’ phase from 1st October 2015 to the 30th September 2018. In phase two, while the goal and objectives of the project are similar, the program was re-designed and re-casted in terms of the focus and counties to be covered. In this phase the program is implemented in all the three Feed the future Zones of Influence (ZOI): High Rainfall (HR1), Semi-Arid (SA2) and Arid Areas (AA3), covering 15 counties as shown.

During this phase program targets to reach a total of 165,054 individuals in agricultural systems to practice and/or apply improved management practices/technologies with USG assistance continuing from the first phase and additional in the extension phase. The project will also generate US dollars 22,400,000 as the value of annual sales of farms and firms receiving USG assistance from the project.  A total of 68,500 hectares will been put under improved management practices/technologies with USG assistance from the project, including area under cultivation of crops, improved fodder and sustainable grazing.

About Feed the Future

Feed the Future was born of the belief that global hunger is solvable.

As the U.S. Government’s global hunger and food security initiative, we’re transforming lives toward a world where people no longer face the agony and injustice of extreme poverty, undernutrition and hunger.

Kenya is one of the 19 strategic country partners under Feed the Future, the United States Presidential global hunger and food security initiative. While the challenges are great, so are the opportunities. With the largest dairy herd in east and southern Africa, Kenya has the potential to meet local demand for dairy and target regional markets. As one of the largest African exporters of fresh produce to Europe, Kenya’s horticulture industry can expand domestic, regional and international markets. Markets, in turn, can significantly grow through reforms that address standards and quality, policy constraints, irrigation, roads, agricultural inputs, extension, and market access promotion.

Feed the Future is helping Kenya capitalize on these opportunities in agriculture to meet the country’s food security and nutrition challenges.

The program is focusing its efforts on improving several key agricultural value chains in Kenya: dairy ; drought-tolerant staple crops (sorghum/millet and root crop systems) and pulses for the semi-arid areas; and livestock and dairy in arid and semi-arid lands of northern Kenya. Feed the Future addresses the whole value chain with a special focus on the weakest “links,” from inputs like fertilizer, seeds, and livestock vaccines to credit, production methods, storage, transport, processing, farmers’ cooperatives, and markets in Kenya, East Africa and overseas.

Kenya | Feed the Future

EXTENSION PHASE (JAN – SEP 2021)

Started in 2015, AVCD is a five-year program that was implemented in two phases of three years and two years. During the first three years the program achieved and in some instances, overachieved targets for planned activities. For instance, 318,362 households benefitted from the program, over and above the target of 256,937 households. These households are now food secure and either out of absolute poverty or on a pathway out of poverty.

The second two-year phase ended in December 2020 with the program achieving targets for some of the topline indicators. However due to the impact of COVID 19 pandemic related restrictions, the program did not achieve some targets.  

During this extension phase, the program targets to complete tasks affected by COVID 19 pandemic,  and also other tasks that were not foreseen in the design but have tremendous impact in the development of the respective value chains, key among them being: Establishment of Bulk Milk Chilling Plants; Development of County and National Legislations; and Building Human Capacity of County Government.

In late 2020, the program started four sub-activities at the request of the National Government, Council of Governors Agriculture Sector Committee and, the USAID/KEA:  Support to review the national legislations in the livestock sector; Support the Development of Kenya Livestock Master Plan; and Support to Council of Governors Agriculture Sector Secretariat; and Assessment of Conservancies in Kenya. These will also be completed during the extension phase.