Turkana: The Turkana Project Steering Committee, under the Department of Agriculture, Livestock Development, and Fisheries, has held a consultative meeting to outline priority areas for the Food Systems Resilience Project (FSRP) for the Financial Year 2025/2026. The priority areas included planning to carry out Participatory Integrated Community Development in five wards, capacity building of community institutions, establishing a County Irrigation Development Unit, conducting a capacity needs assessment for savings and credit cooperatives and farmer producer organisations and finally developing value chain strategies.
According to Kenya News Agency, the move followed a meeting where the committee reviewed and approved the budget to ensure efficient utilisation of the resources allocated. The meeting served as a platform to discuss the closeout report of the Emergency Locust Response Project (ELRP), the current status of the FSRP, and its annual work plans and budget.
The FSRP has secured a funding commitment of Sh70 million from the World Bank, with an additional Sh10 million grant from the County Government of Turkana. The County Chief Officer for Agriculture and Land Reclamation, David Maraka, praised the FSRP technical team for their dedication to improving food security for Turkana residents. 'This project reflects the county's commitment to addressing food security through the Department of Agriculture in the region,' Maraka stated.
The County Project Coordinator for FSRP, Victor Lochee, highlighted the successful implementation of the previous ELR Project, which was recognised nationally by the World Bank. 'The Turkana County Government was awarded third best nationally for the effective implementation of the 2020-2025 Emergency Locust Response Project,' Lochee noted. He emphasised that the ongoing 2024-2029 FSRP aims to build on the foundation laid by the ELRP, enhancing preparedness against food insecurity and strengthening food system resilience in targeted areas across Kenya.
Turkana Central Deputy County Commissioner Thomas Siele; the County Chief Officer (CCO) for Fisheries and Aquaculture, Evans Lomodei; his Gender and Youth Affairs counterpart, Joseph Epuu; and Directors Dr Benson Long'or (Veterinary Services), Aaron Nanok (Agriculture), Richard Lokoyan (Irrigation and Land Reclamation), Bobby Ekadon (Livestock Production), Edward Wawire (NEMA) and KNCCI representative Edward Okumu were also present.