Volume 3, Issue 1 January, February, & March 2019. Readers Note ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….2 Coconut Hybrid launch …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..4 DANKenya Alumni …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..5 6th Devoluon Conference ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………......6 Pictorials ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…....7 Nakuru Dairy farmers ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..8 Inside this issue: Founders visit: The Royal Danish Embassy led by the Ambassador H.E Mee Knudsen and Naonal Treasurys’ Mr. Jackson Kinyanjui with the Acng CEO Mr. Charles Nyawade at MESPT plaza.
Transcript
Volume 3, Issue 1 January, February, & March 2019.
Founders visit: The Royal Danish Embassy led by the Ambassador H.E Mette Knudsen and National Treasurys’ Mr.
Jackson Kinyanjui with the Acting CEO Mr. Charles Nyawade at MESPT plaza.
Dear Reader, The new year is here!! Welcome to the first edition of “The Partner” 2019. Let me start by thanking our partners for their relent-less support over the past years and affirmation of their continued support. We are honored to have you as our partner. The first quarter of the year has witnessed very suc-cessful and resourceful engagements with our stake-holders on capacity building across all regions. As an organization we are committed to empowering peo-ple and local institutions through sustainable partner-ships as we strive to grow enterprises throughout the year. The AgriFI programme is gearing up to strengthen the weak links along the food supply value chains so as to stimulate consumer conversation around food safety awareness. We have seen tremendous support on the (hashtag) #foodsafety in all our social media platforms and we seek to drum up support through-
out the year. This engagement firmed up our dedica-tion to deliver results in all awareness campaigns. Another resounding success for MESPT within the quarter was the launch of the imported Hybrid coco-nut seedlings that were successfully transplanted from the nursery to the demonstration farm; marking the beginning of a fruitful coconut journey. This has been in tandem with our strong resilience in provid-ing lasting solutions that enable our beneficiaries in-crease agricultural productivity and access markets. Our development work continues to register impact in the lives of our beneficiaries and customers alike. We look forward to the new year with hope that we will achieve much more together. As always, continue engaging us , we value your feedback!
Best Regards,
Margaret Munyao
Readers Note
Chief Editor: Charles Nyawade—Acting Chief Executive Officer
Editor: Margaret Munyao –Corporate Communications Officer
Content Contributors in this Issue: Margaret Munyao, Reuben Gachau & Felix Akatch
Design & Layout: Corporate Communications Unit
Distribution: CEO’s office
Useful Link To access previous E-Newsletters & other publications:
Welcome on board; AgriFI Programmes’ Team The AgriFI (Agricultural Finance Initiative) programme dubbed “Strengthening Food Safety Systems for Value Chain Competitive-ness’ was funded by the European Union (EU) and is being implemented by MESPT through a delegated cooperation agreement with DANIDA. The 5 year projects key focus will be on plant , animal and food safety .
AgriFIs’ purpose is to strengthen the capacity of relevant value chain actors at community and county levels and aims to achieve productive and market integrated small holder agriculture with overall sector competitiveness.
To enhance this, 5 energetic experienced and innovative team has been recruited to spearhead the programme. The programme will be implemented in 13 counties with the intervention of 2 National Government Ministries and 8 Central Competent Authori-ties. The programme is expected to initiate an increase in agricultural yields, open sustainable supply chains for farmers, and improve food security in line with Kenya’s Big Four Agenda.
With the collaboration of partners and MESPT stakeholders the team covered regions in; Loitokitok, Taita Taveta, Kwale, Kilifi, Mombasa and Mariakani in their first phase and later covered Nyandarua, Nakuru, Kirinyaga, Embu, Makueni and Machakos. The main value chain of focus will be on: Dairy, Aquaculture and Horticulture (beans, mango and avocado), the team was also ex-posed to the key components of the tripartite model which includes; The SME’s, The Financial Institutions and the Farmers.
The team at Kwale Coconut Limited that produces coconut oil for both export
and local markets Courtesy call by the AGRFI team to County Executive Committee (CEC) agriculture
Nakuru county's office
Inspecting some of the rejected French beans by FOKI farmers Co-operative society .
AgriFI progrmmes Team during a consultative meeting at the CEC Agriculture
Machakos county office.
3.The Partner Newsletter
Happy
Easter
MESPT celebrated the launch of the 1st hybrid coconut seedlings in the country. The 6000 seeds were commissioned in Kenya from India in November 2017 and have been under closed quarantine at the Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Re-search Organization (KALRO) nursery in Matuga Kwale. The launch that was graced by Mrs. Jane Otadoh, Assistant Director State Department for Agriculture Research marked the realization of a dream conceived 7 years ago by MESPT with support from DANIDA and in partnership with oth-er key stakeholders The culmination of the event saw 1200 hybrid coconut seed-lings transplanted (after successful propagation of the seed nuts) to the KALRO 20acre demonstration farm. The pilot pro-ject under open quarantine will be done by 21 carefully select-ed farmers from Taita Taveta, Kilifi, Kwale and Lamu counties. Farmers were encouraged to embrace the new hybrid seed-lings and to expect high yields. They were also urged to report any strange diseases to Kenya Plant Health Inspection Services (KEPHIS) for prompt action. With the breath of new life to the sector classifying the coco-nut tree as a “special crop” just like coffee and tea, many farm-ers are now participating in planting and tending to their coco-nut orchards unlike before where many did not know of its potential. The coconut sector is perceived as the ‘sleeping giant” with government's estimate indicating that if awakened it could inject over 25 billion into the economy annually. This is in line
with MESPTs’ mandate of supporting the growth and develop-ment of micro, small and medium enterprises for business competitiveness and poverty reduction. The event was deemed a success with the partnership of KEPHIS, KALRO, Nuts and Oil Crops Directorate (NOCD), The County Government of Kwale, Kilifi, Lamu and TaitaTaveta,
Pwani University and other Private Sector players (processors, exporters and farmers) who are part of the hybrid coconuts consortium. The ultimate goal is to devolve the crop to other regions outside the coastal belt if the three year pilot phase is successful.
LAUNCH OF THE 1st HYBRID COCONUT SEEDLINGS
4. The Partner Newsletter
Happy
Easter
IMPORTED HYBRID COCONUT INDIGENIOUS EAST AFRICAN TALL
1 Maturity Period is Between 2-3 years Maturity Period is Between 5-7 years
2 Produces 250-300 coconuts per tree
per year
Produces 50-80 coconuts per tree per year
3 Annual production of 15,000-18,000
coconuts per acre per year
Annual production of 3,000-4000 coconuts per acre per
year
4 Copra weight of 200-250 grams per
nut
Copra weight of 100-150 grams per nut
5 High water content of 500-700ml per
nut
Low water content of 150-200ml per nut
6 More oil content Low oil content 7 Require high level of management Doesn’t require high level of management
8 Generally, grows short with ease dur-
ing harvesting
Grows very tall with high risk during harvesting
9 Life span ranges between 30-50 years Life span ranges between 80-120 years
10 Product specific Non-product specific
Comprehensive comparison between hybrid coconuts and the indigenous East African tall coconuts include;
5. The Partner Newsletter
MESPT Head of Credit and Business Development Mr. Raphel Kuria
planting the Hybrid coconut seedling. Looking on is MESPT Pro-
gramme Manager Mr. Peter Ngeli.
Jane Otado Assistant Director State Department for Agriculture
Research, commended MESPT and all stakeholders on the
successful initiation and launch of the Hybrid coconuts seedlings.
Happy
Easter
MESPT Head of Programmes Mr. Ebenezer Thumi and other
delegates at the launch
The KALRO demonstration farm in Matuga where 1200 seed-
lings were transplanted .
DANKenya Alumni Open Day
Danida alumni through the Danida Fellowship Centre (DFC) funding organized an open day to sensitize the local community
in the lower eastern region on; climate smart agricultural & forestry technologies, sustainable use of forestry resources, inte-
gration of commercial model in community development and efficient drinking and irrigation water usage.
The one-day event was aimed at bringing together subject matter experts
within the Danida alumni, county government officials, model farmers,
and the local community to address the food insecurity problem.
The open day comprised of two parallel and interconnected activities : the
DANKenya alumni workshop and the Climate Smart Technology and Dry-
land Forestry products exhibition which was open to the members of the
public.
The success of the open day was achieved in partnership with Kenya
Forestry Research Institute – Dryland Eco-Region Research Programme
(KEFRI-DERP) Kitui, Kenya
MESPT participation at the Annual Devolution Conference 2019
MESPTs’ representatives and partners at the 6th Devolution
conference in Kirinyaga. L-R: Constance Amina - MESPT, Pe-
rez Odhiambo -Malindi Natural Juice processors, Felix
Akatch -MESPT, Dennis Kinyua - Podago Dairy co-operative ,
John Maina- Aberdare Fresh produce co-operative and An-
drew Wamasebu- Afri Fresh Horticulture
Exporter Jonathan Bamber-Barton & Bamber limited
with the team at the Makueni exhibition booth learning
about the mango value chain in the county.
MESPT is committed to the success of Kenyas’ Big Four agenda, especially Food and Nutritional Security. This spurred the need to send a team to the 6th Annual Devolution Conference in Kirinyaga whose theme was: “Deliver. Transform. Measure: Remaining Accountable”. The high-level conference that was officially opened by His Excellency Uhuru Kenyattta, discussed the suc-cesses, challenges, solutions and technical recommendations to the implementation of the devolved struc-ture in the country regarding Kenya’s Big Four Agenda. The 5 days exhibition and conference showcased Dairy, Horticulture and Aquaculture, selected subsectors in the AgriFI programme. At the Vihiga county booth, the team learnt how to operate an integrated recir-culating system where water from a fish pond is used to grow vegetables. The technology that's meant for the urban and peri-urban farming systems that ensures efficient production of safe food was an eye-opener in the AgriFI aquaculture subsector. During the “Farm to Plate” breakaway session on agricultural transformation, experts called for the greater collaboration between the National Government and County Government on implementation of the Big Four agenda. The youth and women were encouraged to take up farming as alternative employment . The conference was a major platform to all delegates and especially the AgriIFI programme team to net-work with value chain players and identify possible Private Sector Lead Firms (PSLF). The Annual Devolu-tion Conference is an annual event organized by the Council of Governors in collaboration with other stakeholders’ including National Government Ministries, Agencies and Departments, Development Part-ners, Non-Governmental organizations and the Private Sector.
Happy
Easter
6. The Partner Newsletter
Quota Pictorials
MESPT Staff with the Royal Danish Embassy delegation and
National Treasurys’ Mr. Jackson Kinyajui at MESPT Plaza. Lessons learnt; Mr. Henning Høy Nygaard of the Danish Embassy during
a consultative meeting at MESPT plaza on the Strategic Sector Coopera-
tion's Food project of the Danish Embassy.
7. The Partner Newsletter
Happy
Easter
MESPT Credit Officer Eliud Wachira at a successful stakeholders
meeting in Hola, Tana River. Learning and exploring possible partnerships during the DANKenya
Alumni Network in Kitui
Representatives from MESPT, AFA (Agriculture and Food Authority )
NOCD (Nuts and Oil Crops Directorate ) and KALRO, during a visit to the
Hybrid coconut nursery at Matuga Kwale.
County Government officials from the coastal region during
presentation of the ‘Support to Resilience for Sustainable
livelihoods’ proposal in Tana River.
8. The Partner Newsletter
Dairy farmers in Nakuru county unanimously resolved
to establish a Nakuru County Dairy Union to champion
their interests in dairy production. The conclusion was
reached during a Nakuru County Government and
MESPT stakeholders forum that was held at ATC
(Agriculture Training Centre) Nakuru.
Farmers were concerned by the falling milk prices with
the first quarter of the year being the lowest; almost at
equilibrium with the production cost in the county.
Over the last 5 years, MESPT has conducted capacity
building of farmers across the region where noticeable
strides regarding increased sales turnover have been
recorded.
MESPT together with likeminded partners agreed to sup-
port the initiative towards improved competitiveness of
dairy farming in the county and neighbouring regions.
Dairy production in Nakuru County is largely dominated by
smallholder farmers who either sell their produce to the
formal market and/or the informal channels.
The union will play a key role in providing assured and
remunerative market for all the milk produced by the
farmer members.
Happy
Easter Reprieve at last!! For Nakuru farmers
Its important to gain the most from your days’ work. Here are several ways in which to improve your day-to-day productivity: 1.Plan your Day Have a schedule for the day ahead. This can be hourly increments, or just general task to achieve. You need something to keep you on track and moving towards your ultimate goals. 2. Establish a routine Having a routine is vital for anyone wanting to get the most from their day. It will truly help you to control your day and how you spend it. 3. Prioritize Knowing which tasks require completing first helps to get your day off to a good start. Strive to take the hardest, biggest, most difficult task and do it first. Once this task is out of the way, all
the others will feel like a breeze. 4. Take breaks Taking breaks when required will boost your productivity. We’ve all been there, staring at the screen trying to think. Find 5 minutes away from the computer it will help to gain clarity and focus better. 5.Healthy Mind and Body It’s absolutely vital to ensure that you keep a healthy mind and body. This is obtained by eating a balanced diet, exercising 3 times a week for at least 30 minutes each time, and staying hy-drated throughout the day. Keeping fit and healthy will help you to remain focused and energized throughout your entire day.
