Forty-five farmer groups have been selected to participate in the first phase of the TUNZA Project in Vihiga County.
The move comes following a sensitization and application process that attracted at least 375 groups of farmers during a vetting conducted by the Department of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries with representatives from all six sub-counties overseeing the exercise.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has carried out a verification and needs-gap assessment on the selected groups to support effective project implementation. The exercise, led by FAO Regional Coordinator for the Nandi Region, Michael Bett, is expected to guide the development of interventions tailored to the needs of each group and their respective value chains.
TUNZA is funded by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and is being implemented in partnership with FAO and the National Government of Kenya. The project targets smallholder farmers in the coffee, tea, fruit tree and poultry value chains.
In addition, the project will work with the county land management team to identify degraded sites for restoration and strengthen cooperative development to enable farmers to transition into cooperatives and access larger markets as the project progresses.
By Rose Wasike
