Kenya: Central Kenya dry area smallholder and community services development project

Achievements

At end-2007, about 30,441 beneficiaries (97 per cent of the appraisal target) had benefited from agricultural extension services provided by the project. These included supporting commercial honey production; introducing stronger breeds of dairy goats, sheep, and poultry to diversify household livelihoods and incomes; and promoting soil conservation and environmental protection initiatives. Food security initiatives at the household level are also being promoted through the introduction of drought-resistant varieties of crops and post-harvest handling facilities. In addition, three irrigation micro-schemes have been developed.

To enhance the long-term sustainability of the activities, the project established several types of common interest groups such as water users’ groups, agriculture development groups, savings and credit groups, and groups of community health workers. All groups have received training in group leadership, constitution formulation, record-keeping and entrepreneurship.

Access to clean drinking water has been made possible through the construction of piped water schemes and rain-harvesting facilities; development of shallow wells and protection of springs; and capacity-building support for beneficiaries and implementers in order to improve the efficiency of water resource management. However, the full impact of these investments has yet to be fully ascertained since only 33 per cent of the targeted population has been reached after five years of implementation.

During the year, satisfactory progress was made in developing health care infrastructure, and about 200,000 beneficiaries were reached. To date, five dispensaries, four maternity theatres, five staff houses, and three maternity blocs have been constructed and a diagnostic laboratory equipped. The completed buildings have brought facility-based health services considerably closer to the target group. Further, the project has supported community training in basic hygiene, sanitation and nutrition. Based on an impact assessment in December 2007, the adoption rate of sanitation and hygiene practices has risen significantly across the project’s intervention area. The stigma of HIV/AIDS has been reduced as has the occurrence of preventable diseases, such as malaria.

Project objectives

• Provide primary health care
• Provide the most disadvantaged communities with a domestic water supply
• Improve household food security by supplying agricultural infrastructure such as micro-irrigation and services adapted to the requirements of subsistence farm households
• Promote and support small-scale activities for the rural poor in income and employment generation