Food Security Program Gives Hope to the Local Turkana / USADF Strengthens Food Security and Local Economy in Drought Prone Northern Kenya
WASHINGTON, July 25, 2011/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The United States African Development Foundation (USADF) signed two grants (No. 2435 and No. 2440) today to increase food security and improve incomes for small scale farmers in Turkana, Kenya. The Capacity Building Grants are a part of USADF’s five year, $10 million Turkana Food Security Program. These two grants will direct funds to the Lokwaliwa Youth Group and the Morulem Water Users’ Association (MWUA) to improve water access and generate stable incomes for the local population. USADF is a committed partner in alleviating extreme poverty in Kenya’s arid Turkana Region, where 75% of the population is dependent on food aid for survival.
“The Turkana lauded USADF efforts in their homeland,” said Matthew Logurale, a Turkana native and USADF Country Program Support Specialist, who participated in the grant signings. “These communities are saying that USADF’s program is a way out of poverty and perpetual reliance on humanitarian food aid which has relegated the Turkana to poverty and dependency.”
MWUA is a cooperative committed to reducing poverty and promoting dependable incomes for pastoralist communities who have turned to farming for income due to drought, cattle rustling and animal diseases. USADF funding will rehabilitate an irrigation system destroyed by flooding in 2010, as well as strengthen the association’s marketing and financial management. Over 3,000 small scale farmers are expected to benefit from better access to food and income levels.
Lokwaliwa Youth Group teaches improved farming methods to more than 500 unemployed youth in Lodwar, Kenya. The grant provides funding for an improved irrigation system and trainings in management and business skills. Most group members are local pastoralists who have been severely affected by a defunct irrigation system.
“Turkana is a region known for hunger, instability and poverty,” said USADF Vice Chairman Dr. John Agwunobi. “USADF believes that technical and financial training to improve local agriculture practices and businesses enables communities to grow local economies and regain dignity in their lives.”
The 1.2 million people living in the Lake Turkana Region of Kenya face poor infrastructure and limited food availability and economic opportunity. The Kenya Government rates Turkana as the poorest and most marginalized region in the country. USADF has targeted the irrigation, livestock, and fisheries sectors to support the local need for food while providing goods that can be sold at local and other markets for income.
USADF programs work with marginalized people, like the Turkana, across sub-Saharan Africa. Watch USADF Turkana Food Security video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1F1eq9wtxiY&feature=player_embedded.
The United States African Development Foundation (USADF) is an independent United States Government agency dedicated to ensuring economic opportunities for marginalized populations in 21 sub-Saharan African countries. Over the past 30 years, USADF has funded more than $200 million in African designed and led development projects. For more information on USADF and its programs, visit www.usadf.gov or follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/USADF.
SOURCE
United States African Development Foundation (USADF)
