TV-Campaign "Cultivating Sustainable Futures in Kenya"

The two GIZ Projects commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), "Youth Employment in the Agri-Food Sector in Western Kenya (YEA)" and "Soil Protection and Rehabilitation of degraded soils in Western Kenya (ProSoil)", are implemented together in Western Kenya. Both projects implement activities in the counties of Bunomga, Kakamega, and Siaya. The Youth Employment Project additionally implements activities in Kisumu and Vihiga Counties. The lead political partner for both Projects is the Kenyan National Ministry for Agriculture and Livestock Development (MoALD). While YEA focuses on strengthening sustainable income and employment opportunities for young people, especially women, in the agricultural and food sector in Western Kenya, ProSoil focuses on promoting agroecological approaches for sustainable, climate-smart soil protection and rehabilitation at scale. ProSoil mainly targets smallholder farmers through training on sustainable soil management and agroecological practices. YEA targets young farmers (18 to 35-year-olds) and Agri-based micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) owners and employees. The agribased MSMEs include both company founders and established micro and small businesses in the agri-food sector. Both projects acknowledge women as a special target group, supporting them in ensuring their rights, resources, and representation. Both projects collaborate on promoting agri-food MSMEs and start-ups driving the transformation of the Kenyan agricultural and food sector. Examples include companies contributing to import substitution of agricultural inputs (e.g., organic fertiliser production), supporting climate resilience (e.g., commercial production of climate-adapted planting materials, conservation agriculture tools), or promoting organic farming (e.g., soil-conserving mechanisation services). The structure of the projects by outputs is as follows: ProSoil YEA Output 1: Support the broad implementation of agroecological measures for sustainable and climate-smart soil protection and rehabilitation (agricultural extension services, soil conservation and improvement measures, awareness raising). Output 1: Strengthen the institutional and personnel capacities of governmental and non-governmental actors to manage and implement the County Youth Agribusiness Strategies with focus on public-private exchange formats for developing solutions to increase youth employment in the agri-food sector. Output 2: Improve the political, institutional and social anchoring of soil protection and soil rehabilitation on county and national level. This includes support to an inter-ministerial working group chaired by MoALD and supporting the agricultural authorities in the three counties in the development of district-specific policy documents on the management of agricultural soils. Output 2: Improve young farmers' access to sustainable agricultural production resources, including knowledge, inputs, services, networks, and access to land. The project also supports climate adaptation and inclusive contract farming approaches, increasing young people's access to land and utilizing digital solutions and gender-sensitive advisory formats. Output 3: Promote learning experiences and innovations in soil protection and soil rehabilitation within the country and beyond. Output 3: Strengthen the entrepreneurial skills of young entrepreneurs and start-ups in the agricultural and food sector, focusing on MSMEs and start-ups with high market potential. Output 4: Promote the attractiveness of the agricultural and food sector as an inclusive, modern, and lucrative source of income and employment for young people. The project supports implementing media, digital, and physical learning formats, highlighting successful young role models and addressing climate-resilient transformation and gender norms.