USAID Assessment of Food Security

UNCLAS NAIROBI 001773

SIPDIS

AIDAC AFDROUGHT

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EPRATT
USAID/W FOR AA/DCHA, WGARVELINK, LROGERS
DCHA/OFDA FOR GGOTTLIEB, PMORRIS, CGOTTSCHALK,
KCHANNELL
DCHA/FFP FOR JDWORKEN
AFR/EA FOR JBORNS
USUN FOR EMALY
BRUSSELS FOR PLERNER
ROME FOR FODAG
GENEVA FOR NKYLOH
NSC FOR JMELINE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID KE
SUBJECT: USAID Assessment of Food Security
Activities in Kenya's Kitui District


Summary


1. Agricultural inputs provided by USAID/OFDA
partner Catholic Relief Services (CRS) improved
crop production and diversification among
vulnerable farmers in Kenya's Kitui District
despite a poor short rains in 2005. Farmers
saved seeds from the last harvest and are
preparing to plant this season. Recommended
activities to further boost food security in the
district include livelihood fairs, as well as
outreach and education on optimal farming
methods. End Summary.


2. On April 13, a USAID assessment team traveled
to Kitui District in Kenya?s Eastern Province to
assess the effects of drought on the agricultural
communities and view the impact of USAID/OFDA-
funded seed fair programs. The team included
USAID/OFDA Regional Advisor for East and Central
Africa, USAID/OFDA Agriculture and Food Security
Advisor, and USAID/FFP Kenya Backstop.

USAID/OFDA Seed Fair Program in Kitui District


3. In Ikanga town, the assessment team visited a
group of women beneficiaries of a USAID/OFDA-
funded seed fair program implemented by CRS.
Successive failed rainy seasons and poor crop
production in 2005 left agricultural communities
with scarce inputs for the 2005/2006 season. In
December 2005, CRS conducted a series of seed
fairs in Kitui District, targeting 4,000
vulnerable households.


4. The CRS Seed Fair intervention is designed to
strengthen marginal farmers and the local
agricultural supply infrastructure by providing
farmer choice and support to local seed systems.
Through the exchange of vouchers, local farmers
are linked to local seed producers and input
vendors to prepare for the agriculture season.
Farmers also benefit from extension services and
demonstration plots that introduce drought
tolerant crop varieties. Benefits of the program
include keeping money for agricultural inputs in
the local community and at times increasing the
use of improved local seed varieties among
farmers.


5. The program provided beneficiaries access to
more than 77,000 kilos of pigeonpea, green gram,
cowpea, millet, and sorghum seed. Noticeably
absent from the seed fairs was maize. As maize
is poorly adapted for the dry climactic
conditions in the region, farmers who plant it
get minimal results, resulting in ill-used land,
labor, and seeds. CRS offered a variety of seed
to encourage farmer adoption of better
climactically suited choices and to increase food
security through greater production.


6. In addition to seed, CRS provided small
packets of fertilizer at the seed fairs on an
experimental basis. CRS provided beneficiaries
with training for correct application. Some
beneficiaries did not apply the fertilizer due to
inadequate climactic conditions?the women were
told to use the fertilizer once the plants are
six inches high and when the ground is moist.
When asked if they would have chosen more seeds



or fertilizer if they had to use their vouchers,
answers varied based on an assessment of their
land's fertility. In the future, if fertilizer
is part of a seed fair, farmers should purchase
the packets with their vouchers based on their
decision and estimation of need. As it is an
expensive input, beneficiaries should "pay" even
with vouchers so that the decision is made with
real cost in mind.


7. In Kitui, 70 percent of the year's crops are
harvested during the November-January season
while the other 30 percent is produced between
April and June. CRS reports that farmers
throughout Kitui District harvested only 10
percent of the November-January crops due to
erratic and poorly distributed rains. According
to CRS, millet performed best, with sorghum and
cow peas following.


8. In Ikanga town, where the short rains were
relatively steady, beneficiaries managed to
harvest a surprising amount?some reporting yields
of up to 200 kilos?and most managed to save some
seed for the current planting season. One woman
planted two kilos of green grams on her two-acre
farm and reaped two 90-kilo bags of grain. She
saved one-half of a bag for family and sold the
other one and a half bags. With this money she
paid school fees for her children and helped less
fortunate households in the community. With the
recent arrival of the long rains, the women are
enthusiastic about the next season and are
preparing to plant.


9. Nearly all beneficiaries had sourced maize
seed on their own and had harvested some. While
the beneficiaries all agreed that millet and
sorghum outperformed the maize in the last
season, increased outreach and education is
required in order to increase the use of more
well-adapted crops. In regards to why the women
continued to plant maize, they said they were not
accustomed to using sorghum in recipes and that
their children preferred the taste of maize. In
addition, the women had trouble keeping birds out
of the millet.

Observations


10. Despite saving seeds from last season?s
harvest, beneficiaries asked when the seed would
be coming this year. Although this is a common
response, it highlights the importance of
discussion exit strategies early and often with
beneficiaries. CRS should respond to these
enquiries with a discussion of exit strategy.
Ideally, implementing partners should discuss end
limits of programs with beneficiaries from the
very beginning. The objective of the program is
to strengthen local seed systems and enable
farmer choice.


11. The women explained that they were not
asking for seeds for themselves, rather because
those who saved seeds would be expected to share
with farmers who had none. The request could
signal either an increased need in the district
this season or a miscalculation in targeting,
meaning that the most vulnerable may have been
missed. CRS will work with community groups to

identify and target the most vulnerable members
for upcoming seed fairs in July.


12. Despite CRS's efforts to disseminate
information on improved agricultural methods,
farmers were planting seeds every time it rained
and spacing was haphazard at the farms visited.
Enhanced agriculture extension activities should
complement future seed distribution programs.
Discussions on optimal planting methods should
accompany seed fairs to further enhance
productive capacity. Since the last harvest, CRS
and Kenyan Ministry of Agriculture staff have
capitalized on monthly food distribution forums
to educate communities on dryland crop production
and soil fertility in an effort to enhance
agricultural capability prior to the current
planting season.


12. Based on the success of the program and the
need to further support livelihoods in the area
through diversification of income generation, a
potential future intervention could be a
livelihoods fair in which beneficiaries are
entitled to choose among seeds, small livestock
(for example, goats or rabbits),and tools.

BELLAMY