Pre-study to suggest prioritized value chains and the process and sequence of activities for up scaling and development by the Agricultural Sector development Support Programme (ASDSP)

The Agricultural Sector Development Support Programme (ASDSP) is a Sida supported programme for the implementation of the Kenyan Agricultural Sector Development Strategy (ASDS) and linked to the Medium Term Investment Plan (MTIP). It will be implemented in all the 47 counties and at National Level. The emphasis is on increased and equitable commercialisation of the agricultural sector, including the small and medium scale, through support to profitable and sustainable value chains and with the private sector as the driver. Further, it aims to bring development partners together for complementariness and more efficient and fair use of resources.

The thrust of the ASDSP is on agribusiness and market development. This is based on the assumption that deepened and equitable commercialisation of Kenya’s agricultural sector, including at the smallholder level will help to improve the availability and access to food both in rural and urban areas, and in so doing will reduce the need for food imports and food aid. It is expected that the commercialization will enable stakeholders to increase their incomes and lead to economic growth. It is recognised that special measures need to be instituted to ensure that food security and nutrition objectives are realized during commercialization.

With regard to the varied nature of the target groups, including benefits for women, youth and other vulnerable groups, the ASDSP will create tailored and differentiated interventions within the value chains in order to promote the integration into commercialised farming practices, while ensuring that their food security and nutrition needs are met. Concurrently social and gender based constraints at institutional and household levels will be addressed to improve equity.

The ASDSP has three components

1. Sector wide facilitation and coordination, creating an enabling institutional environment aiming at facilitating sector wide co-operation among all development partners in the agricultural sector.
2. Natural Resources Management Component, designed to provide an enabling environment for the value chain component while building wider ecosystems resilience
3. Value chain development supporting the identification, development and management of value chains at local, county and national level.

During the Programme’s inception period, value chains have been prioritized in each of the 47 counties. ORGUT provided support in developing criteria for the selection of value chains including identification of gender sensitive value chains; selected and prioritized value chains offering the most promising prospects for economic growth and poverty reduction in an equitable way; mapped indicative value chains; defined potential areas of intervention by ASDSP; and proposed the process and sequence of activities for developing the ASDSP support to prioritized value chains.