Kenya is set to receive a major investment boost of US$250 million for a flagship climate-smart agriculture and food security program in the Lake Victoria region.
The investment project will provide agri-fin-tech services for rural communities, high productivity climate-smart farming, and state-of-the-art agro-industrial facilities over the next five years.
The UK-based investment group, United Green Group (UG) will partner with the Kenyan government in the venture through a local joint venture Kenyan company, ‘Victoria Green Invest’.
The project will reduce Kenya’s dependence on importing food commodities by approximately US$200 million annually, thus reducing Kenya’s trade deficit.
Additionally, Kenya will benefit from the integration of at least 100,000 hectares of surrounding farming communities through a unique smallholder farmer scheme.
The scheme will increase their productivity and provide them with support on sustainable farming methods. The project’s primary objective is to deliver a highly attractive economic return, positive environmental and social outcomes within rural communities, and maintain a constant supply of high-quality agricultural commodity and consumer branded products for Kenyan consumers.
The program will create at least 5,000+ indirect jobs and target 20,000 rural households.
