At least Sh30 billion worth of agriculture funding has been halted in Kenya following the United State’s 90-day suspension of all foreign aid.
The US government through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) currently has eight umbrella agriculture projects running in Kenya that directly benefit up to five million farmers, pastoralists, and mainly rural households and up to seven million people indirectly. This year alone, USAID had set aside five billion shillings ($39 million) for agriculture in Kenya.
The funds are targeted at creating new market opportunities for Kenyan agribusinesses and farmers, improving access to agriculture finance, creating jobs for youth and women, reducing poverty, hunger, and malnutrition as well as increasing women’s economic inclusion.
On January 27th President Donald Trump halted all US-funded activities for three months, until they were evaluated “to ensure they are efficient and consistent with US foreign policy under the America First agenda,” read a USAID statement.
The USAID’s website has been offline since Saturday without explanation and according to senior US senator Chuck Schumer there are rumours of the president dissolving the independent agency which has been in existence since 1961 or merging it with the State Department.
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Arid and semi-arid counties, mostly in Northern Kenya will be the hardest hit by the funding pause or any cut in funding because most of this money goes into helping communities in these arid regions recover from drought shocks and decrease their dependence on humanitarian assistance.
Examples of such US-funded agriculture projects currently running in Kenya include the five-year (2023-2028) Sh3.2 billion USAID STAWI programme. It is meant to increase water access to livestock keepers in nine arid and semi-arid counties.
Another project targeted at ASAL counties is the Sh3.87 billion Feed the Future Kenya Livestock Market Systems running between 2021 and 2026 that enhances pastoralist access to vaccination campaigns, markets, and fodder production techniques for drought preparedness.
The Resilience Learning Activity is also another project that is targeted at arid counties. The two billion shilling project that runs from 2023 to 2028 promotes drought-resistant crops such as sorghum, and millet in Kenya’s arid areas as well as strengthening early-warning systems for climate shocks.
Other majour projects funded by the US government in Kenya include:
Feed the Future Kenya Crops and Dairy Market Systems, a Sh6.4 billion project that is linking smallholder maize, legumes, and dairy farmers to private-sector buyers and financial services.
The Sh5.8 Kenya Agricultural Value Chains Enterprises targets boosting dairy, maize, and horticulture farmers’ production by training farmers on modern farming techniques and reducing post-harvest losses.
Kenya Investment Mechanism which aims to facilitate partnerships between Kenyan agri-SMEs and U.S. investors. The Sh2.58 is also improving access to credit for farmers.
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The Sh3.2 million Nutrition and Hygiene Project is supporting women-led farming cooperatives to improve nutrition through nutrition education, setting up home gardens, and planting vitamin-rich crops.
Running between 2023 and 2028, the three million shilling Horticulture Systems and Nutrition Activity project is increasing the farming of high-value horticulture exports like avocados and French beans and helping farmers navigate how to get certification through meeting export standards and also how to reduce their post-harvest losses.
Photo Courtesy: Government of Makueni County