Implementing Agency:
Department For International Development (PAND)

Managing Institute:
SOS Sahel International

Contractor:
SOS Sahel International (UK)

Project Code: 031-680-092	Start Date: 01/04/1997	End Date: 31/03//2002
Commitment: £173,386	Status: Current	Type of Funding: Bilateral - JFS

Project Background:
Kenya still relies heavily on the agricultural sector for income generation, employment and foreign exchange. The sector accounts for 30% of GDP and 75% of employment: 79% of the population (and 90% of the poor) live in rural areas. It is sometimes argued that further intensification of agricultural production to support the expanding population can only take place in high potential areas and that there is little scope for increased production from marginal zones. There is more potential in some selected "marginal" areas than is generally recognised, but in fact careful - and sustainable - agricultural intensification is essential in both high potential and marginal areas.

Land in Kenya can be privately owned, bought and inherited, and ownership of a plots, however small, is regarded by most Kenyan families as vital to their security. Land ownership is far from equitable and much land is in the hands of a small elite. With the traditional sub-division of family land among the sons many farms in the Highlands are now uneconomically small. Rising population in the high potential areas results in widespread poverty, pressure on forest reserves, and migration to the cities and to the surrounding arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs).

Poverty is usually correlated with lack of good quality land. Indicators of poverty include reliance on labouring for others; neglect of the home farm; inability to pay school fees; malnutrition in children; poor clothes and housing. Wealth is correlated with large farms, good soils or irrigation. At the same time there is a belief that even a person with poor land can succeed through hard work and cleverness, while others squander their good resources. The majority of families must be classified as "poor" and a worrying indicatior is that few families succeed in sending their children to secondary school.

Project Objectives:
To help settlers in the semi-arid zone adopt appropriate farming methods and improve their livelihoods without damaging the natural resource base.

To reduce the vulnerability of poor people and to increase their productive capacity by:

* helping farmers define their research and extension needs.

* putting farmers in touch with resource institutions.

* offering a wide range of options to farmers.

* developing local extension systems.

Intended Outputs:
Options in crop and livestock production, agroforestry and SWC identified, tested and evaluated by at least 200 farmers, and the best current practices selected by the year 2000.

Systems established to ensure that crop materials, livestock breeds, tree species, etc. needed for the selected options will be availble for uptake by all resident farmers of the area who need them.

Skills needed to manage the new systems in the hands of at least 100 farmers by the year 2000; and systems established to spread these skills and knowledge through training of at least 100 local resource people.

Organisational skills of at least 10 local groups/institutions strengthened so as to be able to manage activities in, eg, marketing, input purchase or animal health.

At least 20 Community Animal Health Workers chosen by groups, trained and operating, with effective drug supply systems.