Kenya to get $250M to fund climate-smart agriculture

By Magdalene Mukami

NAIROBI, Kenya

The World Bank Monday approved $250 million for a “climate-smart agriculture” project to boost agricultural productivity and build resilience to climate change in poor farming and pastoral communities in Kenya.

In a statement, the World Bank said the money can also be used in the event of an eligible crisis or emergency, to provide an immediate and effective response.

“Despite an apparent decline in poverty overall (in Kenya), reducing poverty and increasing shared prosperity remain formidable challenges, particularly for rural people,” said the bank.

“Western and coastal areas benefit from better natural resource endowments, but the poor remain prone to insect- and water-borne disease, and agricultural potential in some areas is limited by flood-induced land degradation,” the statement added.

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization defines climate smart agriculture “as an approach that helps to guide actions needed to transform and reorient agricultural systems to effectively support development and ensure food security in a changing climate."

The World Bank says that climate-smart agriculture is important in Kenya, especially since only 17 percent of the land, home to 80 percent of the population, has medium to high rainfall which is suitable for crop production.

The project will be implemented over five years, with an estimated cost of $279.7 million, of which the International Development Association (IDA) will finance $250 million, Kenya $15.9 million, and county governments $8.3 million.