The World Food Programme (WFP) will empower small scale farmers in Garissa County to ensure they are able to sustain themselves through recurrent drought and flooding cycles which have plagued the county in recent times.
WFP Head of Livelihoods and Resilience in Kenya Claudia Ah Poe has announced that the initiative is a joint programme by WFP and other development partners.
Speaking during a courtesy call to Garissa County Secretary Abdi Sheikh, Poe said that the move is aimed at building the capacity of residents develop resilience during calamities brought about by weather conditions.
The WFP official held discussions with Sheikh on key strategic achievements and challenges encountered in their development partnerships noting that they will continue to work together to address emerging issues.
“We have had a great partnership in the last five years. I am pleased that we have been able to collaborate in areas of water, health, climate change, agriculture, livestock, ECDE education and market systems,” Poe said.
Sheikh on his part said that the collaboration had seen improved technical capacity for agriculture and livestock extension officers, and empowerment of local farmers including the rolling out of an off-take program in the coming weeks.
He said that there has been logistical support from different partners to deliver government relief food to villages cut off by floods and constant supply of nutrition commodities to health facilities.
“As a county government, we have a responsibility to engage youth in economic empowerment activities, address food markets and food supply chain inefficiencies to be able to scale up nutrition interventions,” Sheikh said.
The meeting was attended by the Director for Donor Coordination Mohamed Sahal, Director of Special Programs Abdinoor Ole Hussein and Director for ECDE Ahmed Bashir.
By Beatrice Mwangi
