Handing over ceremony of seven landrovers to KARI
Agriculture / Livestock Research Support Programme Phase
II
European Commission support to Kenya Agricultural Research
Institute (KARI) Speech of Mr. Hans Buse, Charge d'Affaires
Delegation of the European Commission in Kenya
Handing over ceremony of seven landrovers to KARI on 27
June 2003
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am pleased to be here with you to hand over seven landrovers
to the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute for distribution
to the KARI centres at Marsabit, Kiboko, Katumani and Kabete
and one to be used for coordination of the research activities.
The European Commission has a long history of supporting
research in Kenya. Agricultural research in KARI, the Fisheries
Research Institute and the Coffee Research Foundation has
been supported since the 1980s. Additionally, animal health
research has been financed under various EDF provisions
within AU-IBAR and under ASARECA under regional programmes.
Grants were also given to international research centres
for agricultural research in Kenya and in the wider region.
The Commission also supports research efforts on natural
resource management and conservation at the National Museums
of Kenya and at the Kenya Wildlife Service.
KARI has been supported since 1987 under the Agriculture
/ Livestock Research Support Programme (ARSP). Realising
the essential role of agricultural research to development
of particularly the rural and pastoral areas, first investments
of about 16 million EURO were targeted to increase the research
capacity of KARI. Contributing to the larger, 15 to 20 year
multi-donor supported National Agricultural Research Project
(NARP), the EC support concentrated on improving the infrastructure
at strategic research centres dealing with arid and semi-arid
lands research.
The second phase of ARSP (ARSP II) started end of 1998
and is being supported with EURO 8.3 million for research
and another about 8 million EURO for increasing institutional
efficiency and effectiveness through staff rationalisation.
This phase has concentrated on community based research
on improved natural research management and enhanced livestock
production as well as value adding in ASAL. Numerous research
activities were launched over an extensive area requiring
a high mobility of KARI staff in remote areas. The EC acknowledged
this and provided eleven new cars to ARSP II in early 2001
and another seven landrovers were purchased with EC assistance
end of last year, which have just arrived.
ARSP II is geared towards enhancing the economic integration
of ASAL communities with the rest of Kenya's economy, while
the main objective or purpose of the programme is to increase
the utilisation of appropriate crop and livestock production
as well as natural resource management technologies by ASAL
communities.
EC support to KARI covers a wide area, ranging from organisational
development, mainstreaming gender to natural resources and
livestock improvement in the arid and the semi-arid parts
of Kenya. Exciting research areas include the recently completed
characterisation of indigenous Zebu cattle and camels assisting
farmers and pastoralists to make better breeding choices
and the development of rural processing technologies of
cattle, goat and camel products. Attractive innovations,
particularly for rural women, have also emerged from the
research on improved management of young stock, soil and
water management technologies and tools as well as pasture
improvement.
Community based participatory learning and action research
is applied in collaboration with a number of Non governmental
as well as community based organisations, particularly in
remote pastoral areas in northern and north-eastern Kenya.
Gender sensitive approaches and impact monitoring tools
have been among the subjects, in which researchers and their
collaborators from extension as well as farmers and pastoralists
have been trained over the past years. Pastoralists and
small-scale farmers have been encouraged by KARI's new approach
to the development of agricultural technology and the feedback
and demand for collaboration is sometimes more than KARI
can cope with.
The provision of extension services in Kenya has seriously
declined over the past seven / eight years so that efforts
have increased to enhance the chances of technology transfer
together with communities and community based organisations.
Therefore, initiatives that have a clear chance to lead
to improved livelihoods and sustainable sources of income
have been supported under the programme. Examples are efforts
of communities to propagate and process seeds for improved
pastures and reseeding approaches and small-scale dairy
technology for milk processing and sale, meat preservation
technologies for food security and simple drip irrigation
for horticultural crops and fruit trees with minimum water
requirement. The newest achievements include the development
of small-scale dairies to supply clean milk and sour milk
(mala) as well as other dairy products to Marsabit and Moyale
town. This has been so successful that three further dairies
in Marsabit district are being built with funds from FARM
Africa and interest in the simple processing technology
from other stakeholders and other parts of arid Kenya is
increasing.
Organisational development at KARI has been essential to
improved service delivery. The European Commission supports
this effort with assistance to establish sustainable financing
mechanisms and organisational development initiatives towards
improved efficiency and effectiveness.
Therefore, support to continue these efforts is planned
to be included under the 9th EDF and a prefeasibility study
on specific areas was carried out at the end of 2002. The
external review team stated "that EU's support to KARI's
work in ASAL on the whole is very successful, particularly
given the agro-ecological and socio-economic constraints
in much of these environments. It has contributed significantly
both to rural livelihoods in ASALs, particularly in the
semi-arid areas, as well as to the development and strengthening
of KARI as an institution". The team "therefore
strongly recommend EU and KARI to continue this fruitful
collaboration into a phase three, and to retain the focus
on ASALs".
The Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper of 2002 and the recently
published Economic Recovery Programme of the Government
of Kenya emphasise the need to develop Kenya's marginal
areas. Living standards and incomes of people in arid and
semi-arid areas are among the lowest in Kenya.
The European Commission is willing to consider favourably
a request from the Government of Kenya to continue to work
with the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute and with
the communities in the Kenyan arid and semi-arid areas.
But research alone will not bring development to the people.
Concerted efforts are necessary to ensure that superior
technologies are put into practical use to improve the livelihoods
of Kenyans.
The European Commission is happy to note that the Kenyan
Government has shown its commitment for underprivileged
arid and semi-arid areas by putting the emphasis of the
newly created Ministry of Livestock Development on ASAL.
The European Commission will provide full support to intensify
development in those areas.
< P ictures from the handing over ceremony
Mr. Hans Buse, Charge d'Affaires Delegation of the EC in
Kenya during the handing over ceremony
Dr. Kiome, Director KARI gives an acceptance speech
|