African Development Bank Addresses Food Security with 40 Billion Shillings

The African Development Bank today signed a 40 billion loan for Kenya’s Small Scale Irrigation and Value Addition Project (SIVAP), a food security initiative that will be executed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries.

SIVAP aims at improving access to food through improved production of high value crops. The project is meant to focus on eleven counties within arid as well mostly semi-arid lands namely Kitui, Makueni, Machakos, Tana River, Bomet, Meru, Tharaka Nithi, Nyandarua, Murang’a, Kajiado and Nyeri Counties.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, African Development Bank Regional Director for the East Africa Resource Center Mr. Gabriel Negatu said that the six-year project is a partnership between African Development Bank, the Government of Kenya as well as a Global Agriculture and Food Security Programme grant contribution of USD 24.00 million. In addition to the African Development Bank, the Government of Kenya has also contributed USD 7.14 million to the project.

“We are delighted to participate in the implementation of SIVAP as it is a transformative project. Its major focus is to improve access to markets, drive productivity as well as storage and post-harvest handling technologies.”

He added that the project does not only contribute to the economic growth but also to Kenya’s future food supply, thus contributing significantly to the feeding of Africa objective of eradicating hunger as well as malnutrition.

“Through this project, about 30,000 households, including 90,000 children will benefit from improved nutrition. Further, average rural households incomes are envisaged to rise significantly, thus contributing to eradication of poverty,” Mr. Negatu said.

SIVAP marks African Development Bank’s third funded project in Kenya supporting irrigation after similar projects such as the completed Small Scale Horticulture Development Project which rehabilitated irrigation infrastructure in a number of Arid as well Semi-Arid Lands in counties and fully provided support to farmers in scheme management and post-harvest handling of produce.

The second project is the Drought Resilience and Sustainable Livelihood Program, which focuses on the provision of water resources for both irrigation as well as livestock in six ASAL counties in Kenya.

The SIVAP is aligned with the first Pillar of the Medium Term Plan for Kenya’s Vision 2030. In particular, it supports the development of agriculture as well livestock sub sectors of the economic pillar, which seeks to enhance food, industrial crop as well as livestock production in the arid and semi-arid areas in Kenya.

Article by Juma Fred.