Netherlands Director Sub-Sahara Africa visits Kenya
On 28th of October 2021 Director Sub-Sahara Africa from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, Mr. Alle Dorhout, visited Kenya. Alle Dorhout, who lived and worked in Kenya years ago, was happy to see the many developments Kenya has gone through. Outside of Nairobi he had time to visit one other county, namely Kajiado. Mr. Dorhout, with a team from the Embassy, visited three Netherlands funded projects. The team had a meeting on a fodder development program implemented by SNV and KALRO, met with TVET institutions supported by Netherlands funded Nuffic program and saw the work of Koppert on biological solutions to pests and diseases at Latia in Kajiado.
The team started the trip with a visit to the EU-NL joined financed project Integrated & Climate Smart Innovations for Agro-Pastoralist Economies and Landscapes in Kenya’s ASAL. The project focusses on increasing resilience of agro-pastoralists and private sector actors against climate shocks by upscaling appropriate grazing and feeding innovations. The projects aims to build capacity in three counties, namely Taita Taveta, Kajiado and Narok. Alle Dorhout pointed at the importance of scaling up solutions to ensure making a lasting impact.
“The implementation of climate resilient strategies into landscape management helps agro pastoralist communities to be better equipped to respond to drought,” said Pim van der Male, First Secretary Food Security.
Kenya is facing a drought at the moment. So the project is implemented as some parts of these counties are heavily affected by the lack of rainfall and lack of pasture. This makes is extra relevant to see how the implementation of climate resilient strategies into landscape management helps agro pastoralist communities to be better equipped to respond to drought. It is important that these strategies are adapted to the local context and add to the national policies in place.
The second visit involved Latia Training center, a Technical Vocational Education Training (TVET) institution, that was supported through the Netherlands funded Nuffic-Niche program. LATIA is a certified TVET institution in Kajiado working on sustainable and green farming. Students come from all over Kenya to attend trainings. A consortium of 12 leading Dutch horticultural technology providers joined in a project called Green Farming. The project installed three different types of greenhouses (manually operated, half-automated and a fully computer controlled greenhouse) on the premises of and with LATIA. Here local growers are trained in modern crop growing techniques and appropriate application of Dutch technology. With this approach LATIA ensures achieving the highest productivity with minimum use of water and fertilizers. With Koppert being hosted in the LATIA training center the students also learn on biological pest control.
Sustainable Pesticide Management
From 2016 until 2020 the Pesticide Management Initiative East African Region (PEAR) project, an initiative between Kenya and the Netherlands, took place. The project worked on sustainable pesticide management (Integrated Pest Management - IPM), food safety and reduction of pesticide use risks. PEAR aimed at availing alternative low risk chemical products and biological control products in a timely manner to the producers. The project achieved this through improving the structure and registration procedures for pesticides, including bio pesticides. In doing so, the project set to regulate excessive pesticide use by farmers by stimulating adoption of IPM.
Against this backdrop, the last meeting of the day was with Koppert Biological Systems, who produce sustainable cultivation solutions for food crops and ornamental plants. They use natural enemies to combat pest infestations, bumblebees for natural pollination and bio stimulants that support and strengthen the crops both above and underground. The aim is to restore and protect vital ecosystems in a natural way for healthy crops and a balanced environment. The use of these biological products in agriculture reduces the need for chemical pesticides and inorganic fertilizer, thus protecting the environment, producers and consumers. During the meeting the team discussed the need for affordable and easy to use biological products. Some products do not even require a cool chain, making transport and storage a lot easier.
Mr. Alle Dorhout not only went home with new experiences and knowledge, but also with some healthy, safe vegetables!
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