Africa !00 Appeal bringing food security benefits in Western Kenya

Food security in Western Kenya has been given a massive boost after fundraising from the NFU and the rest of the agriculture industry.

The £200,000 raised from the Africa 100 Appeal, which was launched in July 2008 by the NFU as part of its centenary celebrations and was aimed at supporting charity FARM-Africa’s work, is now helping fund a new project that is benefitting over 12,000 people.

The cash is helping farmers to grow stronger, disease-free crops of cassava, the staple food crop that is consumed daily in 64 per cent of households across the region.

The Cassava Project, which has been designed to be sustainable, was started by FARM-Africa because the crop was hit badly by a new form of mosaic virus that left many people dependent on food aid. The project has now established 107 farmer-marketing groups, which promote the planting of higher yielding, mosaic virus-resistant varieties of cassava to improve farmers’ agronomy of the vegetable.

NFU head of communications Sarah Whitelock, who led the Africa 100 Appeal for the NFU, said: “We were really pleased with the amount of money we were able to raise and this latest update from FARM-Africa just goes to show the hard work is now really paying off.

“Cassava has a short shelf life so the project will also fund two new factories to turn the vegetable into dried chips and flour. This will increase the flexibility of the crop giving it a new market in local food industries and potential as an animal feed.

“Having witnessed the tremendous way FARM-Africa supports farmers and transforms their lives I am convinced that supporting the Cassava Project has been a thoroughly worthwhile cause. It will make a significant difference to the lives of thousands of farmers and their families. Hearing about this project’s success is a fitting tribute to the generosity of all the donors who have supported Africa 100.”