BY PATRICK KARIUKI
The Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) is Italy’s public agency responsible for promoting international development, public aid, and responding to humanitarian emergencies. In Kenya, Luigi Luminari is the official tasked with leading the agricultural team. He spoke to Patrick Kariuki about the SEMAKENYA II project in Makueni.
 What are the focus areas of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) as far as agriculture is concerned in Kenya?
Irrigation is a top priority for us. We have a major investment in the Wei Wei irrigation scheme in West Pokot, which is a flagship project of Vision 2030.
This project has grown in scope and the current phase (phase III) represents an ongoing investment of 9 million Euros or nearly Sh1 billion. We are also very keen on boosting the value chain of crops; this we do by helping farmers access domestic and international markets and therefore boost their income while promoting, at the same time, sustainable agricultural practices.
We aim to achieve synergy with the Kenyan government by working through its development processes.
You are undertaking a programme called SEMAKENYA II. What is it about?
SEMAKENYA is an acronym for “Sharing Experiences with the Ministry of Agriculture of Kenya”. The purpose of these shared experiences is to promote and support inclusive sustainable development.
SEMAKENYA I was focused on West Pokot and Baringo, where we have also promoted value addition through irrigation, and processing of dry tomatoes and sunflower oil for commercial purposes.
SEMAKENYA II realizes that Agriculture in Makueni County faces two fundamental challenges. First, it has been heavily affected by climate change. Unreliable rains lead to increased crop failures. Second, farmers face too many middlemen before they can get their product to market. In order to tackle this, we have partnered with the Ministry of Agriculture and ENI Kenya under SEMAKENYA II to promote Makueni’s agribusiness sector.
What has been achieved so far?
ENI Kenya completed the construction of an oil seed collection and pressing plant in Wote, Makueni and started producing and exporting vegetable oil for bio-refineries in July, 2022.
The plant has an installed capacity of 15,000 tonnes. In its first year, it is expected to produce at least 2,500 tonnes and then scale up rapidly to 20,000 tonnes in 2023. The plant processes castor, croton, and cotton seeds to produce vegetable oil. It will also manufacture livestock feed and fertilizers from the by-products of vegetable oil production, which should help boost agriculture in the county. The plant will also function as a training and technical support hub for farmers.
Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organization. and ENI Kenya have developed various oil seed varieties and the SEMAKENYA II project will support field trials in Makueni in order to identify the most promising varieties, register them with the government as required by regulations, and facilitate their mass production. Oil seeds are resistant to drought and can be grown in marginal areas.
At the end of the production chain, the seeds will be purchased by ENI Kenya and processed into biofuels in the Wote plant for eventual export to Italy, thereby eliminating the middleman problem and thus enhancing farmer incomes.
SEMAKENYA II will also use an ICT platform where farmers are registered to get access to inputs, receive information on good practices, and get access to both investors and markets.
The initiative is worth 2 million Euros and represents the first implementation of the MoU signed by ENI Kenya and the Nairobi office of AICS to identify possible collaboration opportunities in the areas of agriculture and value-chain development.
What role is the Makueni government playing?
It would be impossible to implement SEMAKENYA II without the support and participation of the Makueni county government.
Our immediate implementing partner is the Makueni county government since we are in their county. The Governor of Makueni County, H. E. Mutula Kilonzo, officiated the launch of SEMAKENYA II. The chairlady of Co-operatives in Makueni County, Ms Nduya Brigit Phyllis, has been sponsored by AICS to attend an important Fairtrade event in Italy to created linkages with Italian investors and markets on behalf of Makueni’s farmers.
The county has been instrumental in providing extension officers, some of whom will also proceed to Italy for further training. Makueni county trains the farmers and supports us by helping identify and develop other products that its farmers can export to the European market.
As a result, Makueni county has vibrant agribusiness operations that include a factory to process mangoes and produce puree from its fruits, which is then used to produce juice. There’s also an ice-cream manufacturing project undertaken by an entrepreneur based on mangoes, which utilizes fruits that have not met the required standards for export.
Will the switch to growing commercial oil seeds impact food production in Makueni county?
That’s an important question. The answer is not at all.
The oil seeds will not interfere with food production. First of all, the seeds are resistant to drought and can be grown in marginal areas; not in the agricultural areas. Second, SEMAKENYA II insists and ensures that the oil seed crops are grown through intercropping with food crops, thereby not interfering with food production.
In addition, while the project aims to promote the production of oil seeds, it has a holistic approach where it also promotes sustainable agricultural practices. In order to counter the impact of climate change on local livelihoods, SEMAKENYA II will promote conservation agriculture and climate smart technology, for example through improved water management by digging water pans at the farmer level. We are supporting farmers with integrated pest control which allows reducing the use of chemicals and pesticides.
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What do you hope will be the legacy of your work at the end of your career?
I have been working in the horn of Africa for over 30 years and, in my experience, the most critical element in development cooperation is how to ensure the long-term sustainability of projects. So I hope to leave behind projects that are sustainable and that reap tangible benefits in the lives of farmers and of their families.
