July 22, 2021 (MANDERA, Kenya): July 22, 2021 (MANDERA, Kenya): The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) through its Nairobi-based Centre for Pastoral Areas and Livestock Development (ICPALD) today held a ceremony to mark the handing over of 2 tractors to communities in Mandera on March 27.
IGAD Executive Secretary, Dr Workenh Gebeyehu, presided the ceremony along with the Governor of Mandera County, H.E Capt Ali Roba and in the presence of the Chief Administrative Secretary of the Ministry of Health of Kenya, and Kenya Country Representative of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations among other officials and digintaries.
The tractors have been bought through the Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC) funded IGAD-FAO Partnership Programme, which is a programme that seeks to enhance the resilience of communities in selected cross border areas coupled with the strengthening of IGAD’s capacity to effectively lead and facilitate interaction among its member states on policy and investments; thereby fostering the delivery of cross border resilience.
The tractors will be run through a select committee, from for the communities in BP 1 and Khalalio, that will ensure their maintenance and good and fair usage and by all members of these communities. Similar investments have been made on the Ethiopian side of the border. It is in this respect that two other tractors were handed over to the communities of Dollo Ado on the Ethiopian side of the border in April 2021.
In his opening remarks, the Executive Secretary said that the “two tractors and accompanying farm implements for the communities of Border Point 1 (BP1) and Khalalio are essential to containing food insecurity and safeguarding livelihoods by facilitating the timely preparation of land in anticipation of planting seasons now and in the future’. “This equipment will complement existing livelihoods-support efforts across the 3 IGAD Member States of Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia for our people living in Mandera, Dolo Ado, Dolo Bey, Belet Hawa and Dollow”, he added.
Today’s event is part of outcome of the IGAD-FAO Partnership Programme where selected communities were taken through a process of identifying their resources and needs and charting a way forward on how to meet these needs.
Community Facilitators were selected and trained on Community Managed Disaster Risk Reduction (CMDRR) and development of community action plans and proposals for investment. These tractors and implements (Disc plough and disc harrow) are part of the investments for the communities in BP 1 and Khalalio that will help the communities attain timely land preparations at a cost effective rate.
The programme is designed to bring communities at the centre of cross border policy and investment discourse and actions; not only as beneficiaries but as key stakeholders defining the agenda of their future.
As part of institutional capacity building, 22 master trainers have been trained by the project of which 3 were from Mandera County. These are expected to facilitate Agro-Pastoral Field Schools (APFS) within the county. The APFS are innovative way for communities learning from each other and testing technologies that would suit their environments. So far in Mandera, 10 APFS have been set up and have demonstrated huge successes.
IGAD thanks the county Government of Mandera by providing ground support through the ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Irrigation of Kenya.
