OSIEPE Practical Action ® CBO has been identified as a partner to collaborate with the New Kenya value chains program. The program which aims to improve household livelihoods through accelerated value chain development is led by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) with its world headquarters in Nairobi. The program, christened Accelerated Value Chain Development (AVCD) was launched in October 2015 and works with the national government, county governments, NGOs, CBOs, research institutions and universities, private sector and other development partners. It is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as part of the global hunger and food security initiative in Kenya, the Feed the Future Kenya. AVCD program seeks to apply technologies and innovations in four value chains: livestock, dairy, staple crops root crops and staple drought-tolerant crops. OSIEPE has been approached and the partnership modalities are been worked out for participating under the dairy value chain to cover the wider Muhoroni sub-County with its two wards (Muhoroni and Chemelil).
The first planning meeting took place between representatives of ILRI, led by Dr James Rao and OSIEPE executive committee on 8th August 2016. The initial focus of the partnership includes:
- Mobilization of communities, households and other CBOs and NGOs to be aware and take up the opportunities that the program presents
- OSIEPE providing link between the AVCD program with communities and other local groups
- OSIEPE teaming up with the other partners in capacity building training that will promote innovation in dairy value chain development
- OSIEPE leading the process of sensitisation, citing, ownership and safe-guarding of the construction and promotion of use of the dairy development infrastructure (including crushes to constructed in strategic locations around the county) for use in the program
- Initial focus is on dairy breed improvement using cutting edge technologies combining advances in application of hormones and cost-effective AI services. This go hand in hand with capacity building and improved access to services such as veterinary drugs, extension services, feeds and other productivity improvement inputs as well milk and milk product markets).
OSIEPE is already doing the groundwork to ensure full ownership of the process, creating awareness and preparing its already strong members to access the services and disseminate any relevant information, knowledge and technologies to other households and groups. The program is in line with OSIEPE's new 2016-2020 strategic objective on developing its “Agriculture and Food Security Pillar” through market driven investments.
OSIEPE feels privileged and honoured with this gesture and promises to use it to entrench poverty reduction strategies in sustainable ways, continue modelling and sharing the learning prospects and support the program to deliver impactful services to the over 20,000 households in the sub-County. We take this opportunity to extend a our humble invitation to other partners to come join OSIEPE Practical Action ® CBO in this and other initiatives that serve the purpose of ensuring food, nutrition and income security for poverty eradication among our people.
OSIEPE brings to this unique space of actors concrete homegrown model and good practices in developing and entrenching value chain development and inclusive participation in not only dairy but also in other commodities and aspects of sustainable livelihoods promotion among households.
More information to follow soon ….