Project Kick-off: SWITCH Africa GOALAN Will Implement SCP to Revitalise Kenya’s Horticulture Sector @WWF_Kenya The horticultural sector contributes to Kenya’s economy by nearly USD 1.03 billion in 2016 from exports of fresh produce. Unfortunately, the sector poses significant environmental impacts due to unsustainable water consumption and pollution from overuse of fertilizers and pesticides. Our project GOALAN will tackle these issues in collaboration with MSMEs, policy makers and financial institutions. The project seeks to promote the adoption of sustainable horticulture practices to smallholder farmers and micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) at the Lake Naivasha Basin. As part of the EU-funded SWITCH Africa Green Programme, the GOALAN project will contribute to Kenya’s transition to an inclusive green economy through sustainable consumption and production (SCP). The project targets three counties of Nakuru, Nyandarua and Narok, and will select and closely engage with at least 140 MSMEs, local governments and financial institutions. The three counties contribute 70% of the country’s floriculture; a sector that overall contributes to almost 1.3% of the country’s GDP and a lifeline to local communities with revenues of nearly USD 1.03 billion in 2016 from exports of fresh produce. However, the sector poses significant environmental impacts due to unsustainable water consumption and pollution from overuse of fertilizers and pesticides. The project promotes the horticulture sector as a driver for the adoption of resource efficient and green practices. These practices will aim to minimise the sector’s impacts on climate, water and land, while ensuring social inclusion through the involvement of youth and women and facilitate new job creation. To achieve this, the CSCP will provide various capacity building programmes to horticultural farmers and MSMEs to adopt SCP practices. A dedicated train the trainer programme for youth will also be developed, encouraging young people to be green entrepreneurs in the horticulture sector. Following the project launch, the CSCP has started to roll out first activities. We are developing the first training modules on sustainable horticulture practices for Kenyan farmers and MSMEs. A first training is foreseen to take place towards the end of 2018. Throughout the project, the consortium will establish strategic partnerships to ensure effective implementation of the GOALAN project and ultimately achieve a healthy environment that supports sustainable growth for the country and its citizens. The CSCP will be involved in assessing and enhancing market linkages for Naivasha’s high value horticultural crops, and in strengthening the value chains. Together with WWF Kenya, the CSCP will engage in policy dialogues with the three county governments on green public procurement through policy recommendations, guidelines and high level events. The project was launched by the European Union Delegation to Kenya in Nairobi on 18 – 19 June . It will be implemented by the CSCP together with WWF Kenya, and will run until 2021. For further questions, please contact Kartika Anggraeni *Photo by Shutterstock / sevenMaps7