Laikipia Cooperative takes stock of its activities during AGM

By Moses Ndung’u

The Laikipia Produce and Marketing co-operative society on April 28, 2015 held its third annual general meeting (AGM) at Sipili Catholic Church Hall, Ol-Moran Ward in Laikipia West Sub County. The AGM which was supported by Arid Lands Information Network (ALIN) was also attended by Kilimo Biashara Profilers (KBP), cooperative officer and auditor.

The AGM provided members with an opportunity to discuss issues that included: minutes of previous AGM; cooperative elections; audited financial reports for 2013 and 2014; cooperative progress report.

Mr. Waweru Kanja, Chairman Laikipia Produce and Marketing Cooperative Society noted that as a result of engagement with other partners like ALIN, SNV, Eastern African Grain Council (EAGC), MEA Ltd, Kilimo Biashara Profilers, Kenya Seed Company Ltd and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Livestock the cooperative has been able to reach out to its members with a variety of services and also has increased its membership, sales and community good will.

Some of the cooperative members during the AGM

“We intend to bring services closer to the people of Laikipia West Sub County. We will start by bringing agencies of various financial institutions to the doorstep of the wananchi by offering the services at a reasonable cost. It is time we developed our status, let us join hands and improve the living standards of smallholder farmers,” said Mr. Kanja.

According to the auditor, Mr. Karani, the cooperative has shown an excellent performance over a short time and could operate and expand comfortably within the next twelve months. He also advised on the need to plough back profits into the cooperative for the benefit of the members.

The Laikipia Produce and Marketing cooperative society has shown commendable performance and goal realization. On June 2013 when the cooperative was registered, membership was a bit low but within a period of one year the membership has grown to three hundred and eleven (311).

At the meeting, the realization of several objectives of the cooperative over a short span was outlined. This included a total summarized outcome surplus-profit-of Ksh 128,000 during the last fiscal year.

Mr. Anthony Githuku from the Department of Cooperative in Laikipia County commended the cooperative for ensuring farmers particularly from Sipili are able to access certified seeds and fertilizer at reasonable prices. He urged the cooperative to continue adhering to the cooperative principles in order to succeed.

As for elections, the member re-elected all the nine (9) members of the management committee. A new supervisory committee composed of three members was also set up to act as a watchdog.

The Laikipia Produce and Marketing cooperative society emerged from the work undertaken by ALIN through Ng’arua Maarifa Centre with the support of the Ford Foundation’s Expanding Livelihoods for Poor Households Initiative (ELOPHI). It is a vehicle for bulking, marketing and trading in farm commodities and other products and services.

CBA9 courting the needs of the vulnerable through Climate Change Adaptation

By Milcah Rajula and Bob Aston

The 9th International Conference on Community-Based Adaptation (CBA9): Measuring and enhancing effective adaptation which took place at Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya in April 27th- 30th, 2015 called on world leaders to address the needs of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people in this year’s key environment and development summits.

With the convergence of more than 400 participants drawn from diverse professional sectors globally: governments, civil society, scientific community, international and non- governmental organizations, they came together to discuss and share best practices on how to measure and enhance effective adaptation to climate variability and change for the poorest and most vulnerable communities.

The core participation and hosting of the event was done in collaboration with the Government of Kenya, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS) and African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS).

Photo by Cgiarclimate_EA

The conference included a myriad of activities: high-level speaker panels; twenty four sessions; Participatory analysis of films; fun adaptation finance night; learning through games; interactive workshops. Pre-conference field trips had also been pre-organized to allow delegates to explore at first-hand issues related to CBA.

The CBA9 conference ended with lessons learned and the Nairobi Declaration being presented. The declaration stated the importance of addressing the needs and interests of the poorest and most vulnerable in international agreements on sustainable development, development finance and climate change.

CBA9 noted that it is the responsibility of developed countries to support the adaptation efforts of poor and vulnerable groups. To this end, there is need for governments to promote approaches to climate change adaptation that build the capacity of local actors. The engagement of vulnerable groups should be included in the process of developing goals, strategies for implementation, indicators and evaluative frameworks for adaptation.

CBA9 also reiterated the importance of securing additional, adequate and transparent adaptation financing, especially for community-level adaptation efforts. Global agreements should make an effort in increasing and accelerating finance for adaptation in poor and vulnerable communities and establish transparent mechanisms for monitoring adaptation finance.

Governments should prioritize the needs and interests of the poorest and most vulnerable in their national adaptation planning processes and provide clear, timely and accurate reporting on the extent to which adaptation finance reaches vulnerable groups.

Fatuma Hussein, Board member addressing participants. Photo by Adaptation Fund

World leaders will meet this year to draft agreements on Sustainable Development Goals, Financing for Development and Climate Change under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

CBA9 urged leaders to ensure that these agreements reflect the needs, feasibility and interests of the poorest and most vulnerable. Local, regional and national governments will need to incorporate the principles of inclusiveness, community leadership and environmental sustainability into their entire plans hence effective climate change adaptation vis à vis long term financial commitment and accountability.  

IIED and partners: BCAS, created the CBA conferences to highlight that effective adaptation to climate change starts with the local actors being at the community level. Past CBA conferences have focused on scaling up best practices, ensuring a scientific basis to action, communicating and mainstreaming CBA and ensuring adaptation funding trickles to community level.

After the many days of engrossing deliberations and participatory sessions, the conference ended on a good note with set resolutions being that the national and local actors have to play a major roles in ensuring that the different targets are active participators: private sector to engage in co-investment mechanisms; the youth; poor and vulnerable; and community levels being engaged fully for maximum climate adaptation outcomes.

CBA10 shall be held in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh, next year.

Visit International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)

FARMIS Agricultural Production Report Launched

By Anthony Mugo and Milcah Rajula

The Inaugural Agricultural Production report for five sub-counties in Meru, produced using data from FARMIS was launched on April 14, 2015 at a colourful and promising event at the Meru Slopes Hotel. The launch was officiated by the County Director of Agriculture, Mrs. Dionisia M’Eruaki. Also present was the Land O’ Lakes FARMIS Portfolio Manager, Ms. Pauline Mugendi together with Sokopepe staff, led by Director, James Nguo as well as most production information agents (PIAs).

Mrs. M’Eruaki welcomed the work being undertaken by Sokopepe through the innovation known as Farm Records Management Information System (FARMIS). The initiative is aimed at supporting small scale farmers, who rarely keep records, to develop and nurture a culture of record keeping.

Robert Kintu,Managing Director, FIT Uganda addressing participants

Sokopepe is a social enterprise that has been set up by Arid Lands Information Network (ALIN), an NGO that works with farmers in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

Under the FARMIS initiative, each farmer invests in a Farm Book which captures information about the name of the farmer, the location of the farm (including GPS coordinates and picture), the size and key farming assets and tools owned by the farmer.  This enables the system to createa complete profile of the farmer.

During the growing season, the farmer records all aspects of the crop production cycle namely: land preparation; treatment and weed control; harvesting; post-harvest activities; and marketing. The amount of money spent at each stage is recorded. The same information is captured in digital form through a smart phone or computer and posted to a central secure server maintained by Sokopepe.

So far more than 6,000 farmers’ profiles have been captured. The piloting of the FARMIS innovation is being done in five selected sub-counties in Meru namely: Imenti Central; North Imenti; South Imenti; Buuri and Tigania West.

Following a systematic analysis of the data on farmer profiles, agriculture stakeholders such as the County and central government; agro-input providers; providers of agriculture credit and development partners can get an accurate perspective of the status of agriculture in the sub-counties targeted at any given time.

All smiles after the launch of the FARMIS Agricultural Production Report. They are from left (front row): Robert Kintu, Managing Director, FIT Uganda; Roseline Ngusa, Director Sokopepe; Pauline Mugendi, Agricultural Specialist, Land O’ Lakes/KFIE; Mrs. Dionisia M’Eruaki, Meru County Director of Agriculture; James Nguo, Director, Sokopepe and Anthony Mugo, Deployment Coordinator, Sokopepe. Back row (from left): Martin Murangiri, Training and Recruitment Manager Sokopepe and Susan Gitonga, KFIE Field Officer, Meru. Picture by Dennis Mutwiri.

Funding support for the work has been provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)through Land O’ Lakes/Kenya Feed the Future Innovation Engine.

While talking about her experience in keeping farm records under the FARMIS initiative, Hilda Kinoti, a farmer in Imenti North, said: “Although I have always grown crops and raised livestock on my farm, I have never kept records on maize, potatoes or bananas. With FARMIS, I am now able to tell if growing these crops is profitable because the record enables me to compare the cost of inputsversus the money I get when I sell the harvest.”

With the completion of the pilot period for the Project, Sokopepe desires to expand the service in all sub-counties in Meru, while working closely with the County Government and other stakeholders.

“Having seen the value added by having accurate primary data directly from farmers, we believe such data can inform many aspects of planning that can empower small scale farmers to improve their incomes, livelihoods and food security,” said Anthony Mugo, the Sokopepe Deployment Coordinator.

Laikipia Produce and Marketing cooperative set to hold second AGM

By Bob Aston

The Laikipia Produce and Marketing Co-operative Society is set to hold its second Annual General Meeting (AGM) on April 28, 2015 from 10:00 am at Sipili Catholic Church Hall, Ol-Moran Ward in Laikipia West.

Mr. Kanja Waweru, Chairman, Laikipia Produce and Marketing Co-operative Society has urged members to turn up in large numbers during the AGM so that they can plan for 2015 and part of 2016.

“We expect to present to the members the audited financial reports for 2013 and 2014. We also want the members to appoint 2015 auditors and we also have to plan for the cooperative election,” said Mr. Kanja.

The Laikipia Produce and Marketing cooperative society emerged from the work undertaken by Arid Lands Information Network (ALIN) through Ng’arua Maarifa Centre with the support of the Ford Foundation’s Expanding Livelihoods for Poor Households Initiative (ELOPHI). It is a vehicle for bulking, marketing and trading in farm commodities and other products and services.

The cooperative members during an earlier meeting

It was started in the year 2013 by farmers from Laikipia West Sub County in Laikipia County. The Society is located in Sipili market where it has a rented store for inputs and purchase of maize.

Mr. Kanja noted that although the cooperative is still young they have managed to achieve a lot. He said that the support provided to the cooperative by partners that include; ALIN, SNV- Netherlands Development Organization, Kilimo Biashara Profilers, Eastern Africa Grain Council and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Livestock has enabled the cooperative to undertake a lot of activities on behalf of the members.

“ We intend to become a leading  farmer   based organization,   increasing  the  wealth  ,food and  nutritional  security  of   small holder  farmers  in  Laikipia  County by empowering smallholder farmers with skills to aggregate farm produce and become agribusiness oriented,” said Mr. Kanja.

On behalf of ALIN we would like to welcome all the registered members of Laikipia Produce and Marketing Cooperative Society to the AGM which will be held at Sipili Catholic Church Hall on April 28, 2015 from 10:00 am. The AGM will be graced by among others Laikipia West cooperative officer and ALIN.