Kenya launches 10-year Climate Smart Agriculture Implementation Framework
31 October 2018, Nairobi – The Government of Kenya in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have launched the Kenya Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) Implementation Framework.
The framework was launched through the joint FAO-UNDP Integrating Agriculture in National Adaptation Plans Programme (NAP-Ag). The programme is funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUB), through its International Climate Initiative (IKI).
This standard-setting document developed with financial support from the NAP-Ag Kenya project will guide implementation of CSA approaches, strategies, practices and technologies in Kenya as envisioned in the national CSA Strategy 2017-2026.
Speaking at the launch event in Nairobi, Dr. Gabriel Rugalema, the FAO Representative in Kenya said that climate change had increased the cost of doing business in agriculture and that the CSA Implementation Framework would help achieve the much-needed transformation within the sector.
“A plan is nothing if not implemented; it is only an intention for action. We need to put in time, effort and other resources to implement the document. I therefore urge development partners, private sector, other UN Agencies, civil society and other value chain actors to support the Ministry of Agriculture in implementing the framework,” said Rugalema. “The FAO will continue to work with the Government of Kenya at all levels to ensure that the CSA Implementation Framework is successfully rolled out and implemented.”
Speaking on behalf of the Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture, the Chief Administrative Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Andrew Tuimur, appreciated the lead role of the FAO in preparing the document adding that the overwhelming support demonstrated by development and research partners such as UNDP, IKI and CGIAR was a clear sign of its importance.
“I sincerely thank the FAO Kenya office for mobilizing US$3 million from the Green Climate Fund’s Readiness programme to support implementation of the government’s CSA agenda,” Tuimur said.
Dr. Tuimur added that Kenya had already transitioned from making the case for and building awareness on climate change adaptation to the development of strategies, policies and action plans which now urgently required transformative and innovative measures to ensure their implementation.
The CSA Implementation Framework is well aligned with Kenya’s National Adaptation Plan (NAP) and the National Climate Change Action Plan 2018-2022, and will support the implementation of the adaptation and mitigation components of the country’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC).
The high-level launch event attracted over three hundred stakeholders from the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Devolution and Planning, National Drought Management Authority, the Kenya Meteorological Department, Ministry of Water, Kenya Forest Service, the National Climate Change Directorate and the CGIAR centres.
The UNDP Kenya office was represented by Dr. Zeinabu Khalif, Officer in Charge-Energy, Environment and Climate Change Unit.
“The UNDP-FAO partnership under the NAP-Ag project has been a great success in Kenya. We look forward to deepening our collaboration beyond the project and in working closely with the FAO Kenya office in implementing the NAP Readiness project,” Khalif said.
The Kenya CSA Implementation Framework is a result of collaborative efforts between the Ministry of Agriculture, FAO and UNDP through the IKI-supported NAP-Ag global programme, NEPAD, COMESA and the CGIAR’s Research Programme on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS).
Kenya Climate Smart Agriculture Implementation Framework 2018-2027