Figure 4-3 – Map for future organisation of the key players along Bungoma’s supply chains

Figure 4-3 - Map for future organisation of the key players along Bungoma’s supply chains

Source: Atkins, 2022

The most tangible benefits for farmers who are members of cooperatives relate to collective marketing and premium or guaranteed prices for products. There is a need for a set of just a few specialised, strong cooperatives in Bungoma. There are existing groups (farmer groups, self-help groups, cooperatives), however, they are mostly virtual groups of interested parties, and therefore they do not have the capacity to be commercially viable on the ground.

These groups are less active if there is not a source of money to be pursued, and tend to lack direction and focus, supporting a number of different value chains. Farm Africa has produced a guide on what contributes to a strong specialised FBO25. The specialised FBOs should be designed to have good leadership, functional organisational and democratic structures, and a steady source of income. The cooperative should have the following core functions; communication and information management for members, capacity building, developing alliances with other partners and organisations, collective marketing, business development, resource mobilisation, and policy advocacy. The report concludes with many recommendations on achieving healthy specialised FBOs that maximise services to members and contribute to better and more market-oriented farming for smallholders. Some generic recommendations from the Farm Africa document include:

> Increase gender equity in the organisation; > Initial training and mentoring to develop clear missions, objectives and constitutions; efficient leadership; > Increased use of paraprofessionals to deliver services to members; > Creativity in identifying services for members and linking to other networks, including financial services. Exploit available training support and other services from the government to a maximum; > More market focus and investment in market intelligence; > Higher involvement of specialised FBOs in the planning, design, and implementation of government policies; > Support from public institutions and NGOs should not distort the value chain; > Specialised FBOs need to develop internal monitoring and assessment mechanisms; > Care with expanding too rapidly; and > Explore opportunities for the private sector to invest in specialised FBOs and allow them to integrate and use facilities of specialised FBOs.

The guide from Farm Africa recommends that specialised FBOs would usually require five to six years of support from NGOs before they can become financially independent. One way the specialised FBOs could get off the ground would be to cooperate with NGOs and IFIs and take advantage of the funds available, some existing funds available to tap into include:

> National Agricultural and Rural Inclusive

Growth Project (NARIGP) > Agriculture Sector Development Support

Programme Phase Three (ASDSP III) > Kenya Climate Smart Agriculture Project (KCSAP) > Agri-Fi Kenya Challenge Fund - implemented by Self Help Africa (SHA) > Kenya Investment Mechanism (KIM) Program - implemented by Palladium International > GIZ Farmer Equipment (support for formation of Coop Union and Training) > Heifer International Funding through Chicken Basket Ltd > NURU International (USAID Fund) on Upscaling The role of the umbrella organisation would be an overall coordinator of activities in the sector and would manage and facilitate communications with other organisations, such as national government and NGOs. It would also act as a regulator to the private sector to prevent it from exploiting suppliers.

The organisation should support farmers through improved infrastructure, providing financial support, investing in the cooperative’s projects, and supporting specialised FBOs in capacity building and equipment provision. They would also oversee the synchronisation of farmers’ inputs across the county, to reflect the demand. In order to be successful, this body would have to truly add value and not just further costs for the County; it would need to go above and beyond what the specialised FBOs can achieve on their own. It would need to work closely alongside other key groups such as the Chamber of Commerce, and national government programmes, to ensure that politics are not driving decision-making for the umbrella organisation, and to allow the private sector to leverage existing funds through this model.

25 Farm Africa, The Power of Farmers Organisations in Smallholder Agriculture in East Africa

A5 - Training and educating farmers

A lack of effective training for farmers on product-specific methods and managing finances and loans was highlighted by stakeholders as a key barrier for growth in the agriculture and livestock sector for Bungoma. The county is lacking the vehicles to deliver training for farmers, where it doesn’t have a set of functioning cooperatives, nor does it have agricultural training centres. Instead, NGOs and national government-run initiatives are the main source of knowledge for farmers in Bungoma. The Sustainable Agriculture Development Initiative (SADI) Kenya has worked with Bungoma’s primary school and has successfully educated children on efficient, sustainable agricultural methods, which has freed-up time and created a source of income generation for the children and their families26 .

Kenya Markets Trust worked with Bungoma chemists to facilitate an agricultural expo in Bungoma, for an intense day of knowledge-sharing27. They successfully used the radio, a common source of information for farmers, to disseminate information on the event.

There are a number of national and local guides to provide farmers with specific knowledge; NGO Creadis have worked to develop a manual on growing sweet potatoes that has been a helpful tool for farmers with access to the internet, Jua Sustainable Africa Farming Ltd have also created a local guide titled Jua Sweet Potato Production Guide which they disseminate through hard copy handouts28 . The above model for specialised FBOs would be essential to the delivery of training, where they could partner with the existing training institutes in the County including Mabanga ATC, San'galo TTI, and Kabianga University. The current system for extension services in Bungoma is in need of reform, where it focuses primarily on targets for the number of farmers trained. This system is preventing the farmers from receiving training that reflects their activities, instead they often receive more general training from extension officers that are not always trained in the areas that reflect the needs of the farmers. The specialised FBOs detailed above would have greater capacity to be the vehicle to deliver this appropriate training.

The agri-processors involved should be incentivised to utilise and upskill local labour to retain the economic benefits for Bungoma’s residents.

To maximise social benefits for SIGs, however, it would be important to:

> Develop low-cost and accessible training options for out-ofschool youth, women and PWDs with low literacy levels (see C-BED programme below). For example, business and marketing training should be available to support those who already own businesses and those who would like to start one regardless of their education levels. These alternatives will also benefit women and PWDs in Bungoma who often face barriers to accessing these opportunities due to low literacy levels, domestic and community responsibilities, and lack of access to information; > Actively communicate about all business development opportunities in local media, universities and local

TVET centres, and to ensure communication formats and languages are accessible to all; > Young people in Bungoma indicated in focus group discussions that they would be more interested in agriculture, livestock and related activities if they could see them as economically profitable activities. Engage with existing young producers and youth-owned businesses in the region to showcase the benefits of being involved and start agri-businesses and agri-processing; > Consider developing additional outreach training to facilitate access to remote communities and people with restricted mobility due to physical impairments or cultural norms. Always prioritise locations and timings that are compatible with SIGs’ everyday lives and economic activities. Training materials should be accessible to all; > Liaise with, and inform local communities about, existing government opportunities and funds to support local entrepreneurs, start-ups or MSMEs. Aim particularly at targeting SIGs. This will help address the most common challenges faced by SIGs’-owned start-ups in Bungoma (limited access to capital); and > Promote internships and on-the-job training to support skills development of local students. It is recommended to set participation rates for

PWDs, youth, women, and vulnerable groups.

26 Sub-Sahara, 10 schools to benefit from farming training and seed bank (2021). Available at: https://subsaharafarming.com/10-schools-to-benefitfrom-farming-training-and-seed-bank/, (Accessed: 18/02/2022). 27 Kenya Markets Trust, Improving livelihoods through diversified agriculture (2017). Available at: https://www.kenyamarkets.org/improvinglivelihoods-diversified-agriculture/, (Accessed: 18/02/2022). 28 Sweet potato knowledge, Sweet potato seed systems – training manual for farmers (2009). Available at: http://www.sweetpotatoknowledge.org/wp-content/ uploads/2016/02/sweet-potato-seed-systems-draft-manual.pdf, (Accessed: 18/02/2022).

Case Study

Learning entrepreneurship without a trainer: C-BED programme

The Community-Based Entrepreneurship development (C-BED) is an International Labour Office (ILO) initiative that provides training programmes to help entrepreneurs and micro-businesses improve their business. The key aspect of C-BED is that training can be carried out without external trainers or resources and it has been designed to be used by marginalised and vulnerable communities. Only a facilitator is required, and participants work together in small groups to solve problems and share existing knowledge and experiences. The programme is therefore action-based and combines local insights with analysis. All C-BED resources are free to access. A6 - Distribution of equipment, and technology for farmers

There is a need for improved access to technologies and infrastructure that could improve the resilience and productivity of the sector such as:

> Equipment and infrastructure – including cold storage, farming tools, and delivery vehicles. > Resources and services – including the supply of agricultural inputs and delivery services, as well as the sharing of best practices and marketing strategies, such as price determination and branding. Farmers can also benefit from economies of scale, with respect to the transportation of produce to markets and agri-processing facilities. Several emerging digital technology platforms could be utilised to support this process. For instance, the

Hello Tractor platform, which has a growing foothold in

Kenya, connects small-scale farmers to tractor owners to temporarily hire otherwise idle vehicles. The result is convenient and affordable tractor services for farmers and an extra source of income for tractor owners. Other options include the offering of communal machinery, education about and offering of inexpensive handheld equipment, and encouraging joint investment of farmers in machinery.

Often, SIGs do not access information about these opportunities or training on how to use machinery. Use of technology is very gender-based so it is recommended to incorporate a communication strategy in spaces that SIGs use (i.e. markets, digital means) and through outreach training that directly targets SIGs. A7 - A new model for aggregation of agricultural produce

Aggregation can provide a holistic approach to overcoming supply chain challenges and also serve as a key pillar of integrated economic development. It can improve and stabilise farmer incomes and strengthen the resilience of food production and provide farmers with essential access to information and resources, including knowledge tools to build capacity, plus, storage solutions and better market access and prices. Guaranteed markets also serve as an incentive for smallholders to invest in improving their methods of productivity and in meeting the standards and requirements of modern markets, and ultimately enhance their competitiveness.

From a buyer’s perspective, aggregation enables the cost-effective provision of logistical capacity to collate the output of many farmers scattered in remote rural areas and build the capacity of those farmers to meet required volumes and quality.

The aggregation centres for the individual VCs would be best overseen by the specialist FBOs in the sector that have been outlined above. Where guidance and financial support would be provided to the FBOs from the umbrella organisation. There may also be opportunities for cooperation between these different aggregation systems, for example in some cases it may be viable to share aggregation centres and divide the costs.

Case Study

Shiffa Chicks as a model for successful aggregation

Shiffa Chicks has started to plan its own aggregation model for bulking and providing support to farmers. The aim of these distribution points across the region would be to provide feed, vaccinations, chicks, and quality checks. They also help to pay farmers promptly at the point of delivery. Primarily, Shiffa Chicks is looking to invest in farmers who already have experience and the capacity, with the hopes that this will attract new farmers to get into the sector. This model relies on the farmer to cover the transportation to the collection point, then the private sector owner organises the transport from the set of collection points to the processing factory. The private sector company also pays for transport from the factory to buyers. Shiffa Chicks highlighted Mabanga and Matisi as good locations for poultry collection centres. Mabanga is well-prepared as it has water, it is on the main road, there are a number of farmers already there, and there is a training centre. Matisi has always acted as a natural collection point, where most of the farmers from Webuye and surrounding areas bring their produce to Matisi given its location on the A8. With the right financial support Shiffa Chicks plans to provide chicks, feed, training, and other supply chain supporting interventions. This model could be replicated for other supply chains with the right support from the County government. Some form of aggregation already occurs or has been planned in locations across the County. These areas were chosen to service local markets and utilise nearby supply chains, and the spatial design of formal aggregation system would build on this existing network. These areas are as follows and can be seen in Figure 4-4:

> Namwacha in Kanduyi: This was meant for sweet potato processing but it is idle; there is just a shell of the factory, no power or storage facility. > Matisi in Webuye west: A facility was built ten years ago, to store and process fresh produce but it is idle. > Lugulu: This was originally built for fresh produce but has since been converted to an operational potato aggregation/processing centre for JUA AFRICA’s export. > Kimilili: This site was to serve as a tomato processing centre but it is currently just a structure. > Several Smallholder Horticulture Marketing

Programme (SHoMAP)29 project also built facilities located here, that were meant to become feed plants.

None of them are working and they have been converted to residential use. The sites are in Webuye, Chepkube,

Bumula, Kaptama, Kimilili, Lugulu, Matisi and Namwacha.

Where appropriate, an aggregation network in Bungoma could look to co-locate different aggregation centres to reduce costs and travel times for suppliers. The following areas were suggested as ideal locations for Bungoma’s main value chains proposed under SUED, these locations can be used to inform potential future locations for aggregation centres for each of the VCs:

29 IFAD, Smallholder horticulture marketing programme supervision report, (2014). Available at: https://www.ifad.org/documents/38711624/40089498/

Smallholder+Horticulture+Marketing+Programme+Supervision+Report.pdf/5c46ba9e2049-4ab8-b649-ef87fa3c5331?t=1611226437000, (Accessed: 18/02/2022). > Fruits and vegetables: Chwele. There are more farmers in the area, and it has the largest open-air market. The

River Chwele passes through Town as a source of water. > Poultry: Shiffa Chicks has submitted an EOI for land at the Mabanga ATC where it wants to conduct aggregation, among other activities. Alternative sites: Chwele has available land for an aggregation centre and would cluster with existing poultry activity there; Sang’alo will be near the institute with agricultural students. There is also wide land around the centre; or Bumula, where there are more farmers rearing poultry in the area. > Potato: Mabanga – this could be a major collection centre.

At present, there are many potato farmers who send their produce to Mabanga. The Mabanga ATC has also influenced many farmers to become potato farmers. There is also a good road network connecting Mabanga with other major centres. Alternative site: Mwanga – the Town already has one processing plant for potato processing.

The area also has many farmers. The County government also has land that can be converted to potato plantation. > Milk: Kaptama (Mt Elgon) – this area gets about 10,000 kg of milk daily which it currently sells to Brookside

Dairy. Alternative site at Sang’alo: There are many farmers who were trained in Mabanga during the Heifer

International programme. These farmers also have dairy cows; there is also a milk cooler in Sang’alo. > Feed mill: Kaptama – this Town has a feed mill, but the machine is currently not working because of lack of power.

Alternative site: Natiri, which has raw material (maize and sunflower). There is also a maize milling plant nearby. > Interlocking blocks: Ndengelwa – this is a site for the original demo site. Alternative site: Namosi – locals in Namosi have a culture of brick-making.