Upscalling & Implemetation Details:

SIRDI received KES 6,813,000 from AgriFI CS APP in March 2020 to implement a project titled; “The Improved Bean Technologies for Food and Nutrition Security in Kisumu and Siaya Counties - (IBT)”. The project is a 2-year transformative investment promoting smallholder adoption of improved KALRO bean varieties and integration into higher-margin value chains. The IBT project is implemented in Kisumu and Siaya Counties.  

The project is disseminating improved bean technologies through 54 organized farmer groups to reach, sensitize the farmer and transfer knowledge. Over 4,000 farmers have been directly reached by the project through 54 champion farmers adopting mother-baby farmer training approaches across Kisumu and Siaya Counties. Farmers have received over 4,000 kilos of starter bean seeds for multiplication through demonstration plots and individual farmer plots. The demo plots are managed by champion farmers and serve as training points on good agricultural practices and agribusiness training. The project established three bulking sites for the Nyota and Angaza bean varieties. More than 10,000 farmers have received training through interactive radio programs using vernacular FM radio stations. The farmers have been linked to agro-dealers to promote the collective purchase of inputs and contractual seed multiplication for better returns.