UTaNRMP Mid-Term Review Mission Courtesy Call To The Regional Commissioner (Eastern Region) on 19th June 2017
The Upper Tana Natural Resources Management project (UTaNRMP) is in its 4th year of implementation and consequently at mid-term. The IFAD/GoK Mid Term Review (MTR) Mission for UTaNRMP was held between 19th June 2017 to upto 28th June 2017. The aim of the mission was to:
- Review implementation progress 2016/2017 and cumulatively since the project started
- Discuss issues for consideration at mid-term for review in the project design report (PDR)
The IFAD team was led by the Head of IFAD’s Regional Office in Nairobi and country Director Mr. Hani Elsadani and comprised of the IFAD county Officer Mr Joseph Ng'ang'a and specialists in areas of Climate change and Natural Resource Management; Gender and targeting; Value chains and Rural Livelihoods; Economic and Financial Analysis; Sustainable water management, monitoring and evaluation and Knowledge management. The Government of Kenya was represented in the mission by the Project Steering Committee (PSC) and implementers drawn from various ministries, departments and agencies notably the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, The National Treasury, Ministry of Devolution and planning, Kenya Forest Service (KFS), Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), State departments of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Livestock; Water Sector Trust Fund (WSTF), Water Resources Authority (WRA), Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Authority (KARLO), project coordination team (PCT) and the County Project Coordinators (CPC). The mission started with a courtesy call at the Regional commissioner’s office in Embu town.
The regional commissioner-Easter Region Mr. Wycliff Ogallo (OGW) appreciated the financial support given by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to the government of Kenya through the Upper Tana Natural Resources Management project (UTaNRMP). He noted that as at June 2017, IFAD had pumped KShs.2.2 billion through UTaNRMP towards poverty reduction, ensuring food security and sustainable management of natural resources within upper tana catchment region which comprised of Embu, Tharaka Nithi, Meru, Kirinyaga, Nyeri and Murang’a counties. The Regional Commissioner noted that among the project’s achievements was construction of a 60 KMs solar-electricity human-wildlife control fence along section of Mt Kenya forest, Construction of water Laboratories in Embu and Murang’a counties to support water quality management in upper Tana catchment, 186Kms of riverine conservation using giant bamboo, putting 776 hectares of land under irrigation, rehabilitation of boreholes, springs and earth dams, construction of a seed store fitted with a cold-room at the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) Embu, production of 331.3 Tons of certified seed which includes legumes (beans, cowpeas and green grams) and root crops including cassava, sweet potatoes and Irish potatoes for distribution to farmers and supporting 1,363 community groups with grants to implement income generating activities.
On his part, the Head of IFAD’s Regional Office in Nairobi and country Director Mr. Hani Elsadani reported that the GoK/IFAD mid-term review mission for the Upper Tana NRM project would carry out a critical assessment of UTaNRMP to establish whether the project was on its way to achieving its goal. He appreciated the support that IFAD was getting from both the national and county governments in project implementation. in particularr, the role played by the national government through the regional commissioner’s office for mobilizing communities to ensure that key messages on sustainable natural resources management are passed.
The IFAD team noted that a lot of water leaves the upper tana catchment as run-off and ends up in the ocean. A lot of lives would be positively transformed if this water was harnessed and channelled into activities that would uplift the livelihoods of the communities in the upper tana catchment.
