Nairobi, Feb 18 (IANS) The United Nations (UN)-backed Green Climate Fund (GCF) has approved 50 million US dollars for key projects to bolster climate resilience and promote sustainable development in Kenya.
The initiative, led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), represents a significant investment to help vulnerable communities adapt to climate change, improve livelihoods, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the FAO said in a statement Tuesday.
The project will transform agricultural value chains in the Lake Region Economic Bloc, an economic cooperation organisation in western Kenya, benefiting 2.7 million people, half of whom are women, the FAO said.
This densely populated region is highly dependent on agriculture, but the climate change impacts such as increasing temperatures, unpredictable rainfall, and frequent floods threaten its food security and livelihoods, it said.
John Mbadi, cabinet secretary for Kenya’s National Treasury and Economic Planning, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to addressing climate change impacts, implementing ambitious policies and measures to achieve its Nationally Determined Contribution goals as outlined in the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda.
“The government greatly appreciates FAO Kenya’s crucial support in building climate resilience within the agricultural sector through this GCF program and pledges its full support and commitment in its implementation,” Mbadi said, Xinhua news agency reported.
The initiative will promote climate-resilient and low-carbon practices across six key value chains: dairy, poultry, coffee, tea, fruit trees, and African leafy vegetables. According to the FAO, more than 143,000 farmers will receive training and support to adopt climate-smart technologies, enhancing their resilience to climate change and boosting household incomes.
Kaveh Zahedi, Director of the FAO Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity, and Environment, said the funding underscores FAO’s strong partnership with GCF and its role in expanding access to climate finance.
“Together we can continue scaling up solutions to simultaneously transform agri-food systems and achieve global climate mitigation and adaptation goals,” Zahedi added.
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