Growing Futures helps young people in western Kenya set up profitable farming enterprises growing and selling vegetables that are in high demand, such as French beans, mangetouts, kale, tomatoes and cabbages.
We are supporting 800 young farmers in Trans-Nzoia County and 1,700 young farmers in Elgeyo Marakwet County to grow export-quality crops, set up sustainable relationships with buyers and boost their resilience to climate change and seasonal variability.
The project has also created a sustainable business model in which enterprising young farmers are recruited as village-based advisors (VBAs). The VBAs earn an income by providing agricultural extension services to farmers, facilitating farmer linkages to buyers and service providers as well as keeping records and collecting produce from their farmer groups on behalf of the buyers.
Farm Africa has worked with young smallholder farmers in the region since 2016, supporting them to increase their yields and the quality of their vegetables through tools such as solar irrigation pumps and climate-smart agriculture technologies as well as building their links to markets.
ADVANCING AGRICULTURE
The project provides training and technical assistance in horticulture and agronomy, helping young farmers produce the quantity and quality of produce demanded by high-value buyers and certification schemes. The project is also boosting farmers’ resilience to the effects of climate change in a bid to boost yields and food security. We are doing this by:
BUILDING BUSINESSES
Growing Futures is developing young farmers’ business skills and widening their access to finance by:
BOOSTING TRADE
Growing Futures is strengthening farmers’ links with buyers in domestic and international markets by:
This project is funded by Medicor Foundation, with funding from W&R Barnett and HM Clause.
In 2016, Aldi UK started funding the Growing Futures project, donating over £260,000 over three years to support 500 young farmers in Trans-Nzoia County in Western Kenya. In 2020, Aldi extended their support to these and other farmers for another two years.
Additional funding from Medicor and UK Aid from the UK government in 2017-18 enabled Growing Futures to expand into two further regions of Kenya, reaching another 4,000 young farmers.
The Growing Futures project builds upon the success of Farm Africa’s Youth Empowerment in Sustainable Agriculture (YESA) project, which ran from 2011 to 2015, supporting 2,300 young people in western Kenya to set up and run their own farms.