The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will empower small scale farmers in Nakuru County to venture into traditional vegetables and other indigenous food crops in order to boost nutrition and food security among marginalized people in the county. The agency in partnership with Feed the Future, another US international food development programme will offer grants and logistics to small scale farmers and youth groups who want to venture into traditional food production starting from March this year. A field manager Lukas Mwanzilo told this writer during a meeting with farmers in Lanet today that USAID was currently engaged into an awareness exercise ahead of the launch of the programme early next month by USA mission Tom Kenya officials. He said that small scale farmers would be assessed before being registered as beneficiaries of the programme while youth and women groups will be required to submit proposals. “What we are doing now is a pilot survey to determine the potential of the programme. We will soon launch the programme where small scale farmers will be assessed while groups will submit proposals to benefit from the programme,’’ said Mwanzilo. He added that the programme targets small scale farmers who have ventured in traditional foods production before and community based groups with interests in agribusiness. “The objectives of this project are to promote community based indigenous food crops production to stir up traditional diets and economic empowerment to small scale farmers. You realize that traditional vegetables do not need huge inputs in terms of land and other agricultural costs while they add value to local peoples’ nutrition and commercial undertakings,” he added.

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