Voice for Change Partnership (V4CP) program running from 2016-2020, led by the Netherlands Development organization (SNV) is a multi-country and multi-sector project (funded by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The Netherlands) focusing on evidence-based advocacy to provide an enabling environment for business and improved service delivery to communities. The program covers four themes: Food Nutrition and Security (Dairy and horticulture), Renewable Energy (RE), WASH and Resilience. V4CP works by empowering locally-based civil society organizations (CSOs) around the world to bridge the gap between the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their implementation within society, especially amongst low-income and marginalized communities. It does so by strengthening the capacity of CSOs to influence stakeholders and decision-makers with solid and contextualized evidence in order to get the interests of communities embedded into government and business policies and practices.
In Kenya, within the FNS thematic area, focus is geared towards addressing Food Safety issues in Horticulture and Post-Harvest Losses (PHL) in the Potato Value chain in 4 counties: Nakuru, Nyandarua, Murang’a and Laikipia. V4CP works with the Sustainable Agriculture Community Development Program (SACDEP), a local CSO in Kenya, to address PHL along the Potato value chain by engaging with county and national government to provide enabling environment for private sector to invest in opportunities touching on transport, storage and implement polices favoring the streamlining of the sector. SACDEP has worked in the Agricultural industry for 25 years and has focused on capacity building communities on sustainable agriculture.
Through partnership with NPCK and Agricultural Council of Kenya (AgCK), V4CP aims to create an enabling environment for farmers to obtain maximum profit and private sector to invest in the value chain through structured government institutions and regulations. In Nakuru, V4CP working with and NPCK, spearheaded sensitization workshops on the newly released Crops (Irish Potato) Regulations 2019 to create awareness of the importance of the regulations in streamlining marketing of potatoes. To further enhance awareness of the regulations in addressing PHL in potatoes, V4CP, NPCK and with guidance from AFA will be working to develop simplified booklets to better educate value chain actors on the key highlights of the regulations. The V4CP in partnership with NPCK and other key stakeholders have also worked closely to support the development of Nakuru County Potato Strategy which aims to guide the development of the potato value chain at the county.
In the year 2020, V4CP will focus on strengthening of farmers’ cooperatives to enhance their access to markets, good quality seed and inputs as well and providing access to PHL technologies that would address issues that are encountered along the value chain. Together with partners, V4CP will continue its policy advocacy work to ensure Nyandarua and Nakuru counties and National government implement strategies that are inclusive and targeted at transforming the potato industry.
