Nourishing the Future: Transformative Power of Agri-Nutrition

Nuru International Kenya received a USAID Fixed Amount Award for the Sustainable Local Leadership Project (SLL), Local Works Project on 16th December 2021. The project implementation commenced in January 2022 in Homa Bay and Migori Counties. These counties have had a history of high levels of poverty above the national average, chronic food insecurity and inadequate access to quality health care. The project addresses two broad objectives: Expansion of successful rural poverty reduction and a resilience-building model; and Providing critical support through private sector investment, business enterprise offerings, and technical capacity building. The project activities focused on engaging the farmers and stakeholders through; extension education, stakeholder engagement, enterprise development and value addition and cooperative management capacity building.

The SLL team observed a knowledge gap in agri-nutrition among farmers, affecting their food security and access to nutritious food. Addressing the issue was crucial for enhancing the well-being and nutrition of cooperative farmers and their families. The limited participation of youth members in the project highlighted potential challenges in inclusivity and empowerment that are essential for promoting gender equality, expanding livelihood opportunities and fostering long-term development collaboration and continuity of the target farmer cooperatives.

The integration of agri-nutrition best practices engaged internal and external stakeholders, including cooperative leaders, county health representatives and agricultural experts. Training sessions fostered a culture of learning and knowledge sharing among farmers. The CLA approach greatly enhanced the project's development outcomes, benefiting over 500 farmers who gained a deeper understanding of agri-nutrition practices and embraced good nutrition.