Drive to prepare growers for climate shocks launched
A culmination of global crises in the last couple of years has sent shock-waves through the most vulnerable communities and created setbacks in many areas where progress had previously been made.
The deadly combination of the Covid-19 pandemic and increasingly frequent climate shocks is predicted to result in the doubling of food insecurity in Africa and an additional 60 million Africans being pushed into poverty with farmers also bearing a huge chunk.
As a result, Send a Cow Kenya Organisation has partnered with Stanbic Bank, Mannion Daniels, Kenya’s Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government and the United Nations Environment Programme to discuss the role organisations can play in supporting smallholder farmers to build resilience.
Send a Cow Kenya has been working alongside smallholder farming communities in western Kenya for the last 25 years to accelerate lasting change in all these areas. Achievements from the last four years are documented in their recently published Kenya Impact Report.
Debate at the event held at a Nairobi hotel celebrating the Kenya Impact Report, focused on building resilient for smallholder farmers in all aspects; social, economic and environmental. Smallholder farming families, who make up approximately 70 per cent of Kenya’s population, are no strangers to unexpected shocks and stresses.
Covid-19 has also shone a spotlight on the need to support vulnerable communities to build the capacity to withstand unexpected shocks and stresses. The discussion also focussed on how to safeguard the progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Kenya. The panelists discussed why there is no place for ‘business as usual’ and why partnerships between the public, private and civil sectors are an effective way to build resilience.
“This is a task that requires collaboration from all fronts. Coming together and leveraging on our strengths will certainly contribute to us realising this and also achieving SGDs. This will also have a significant impact on a number of levels, further contributing to the growth of our economy,” said Stanbic Bank Kenya Chief Executive, Charles Mudiwa.
