General Information
Crop: Multiple (staple and high-value crops)
Geographic scope: Africa
Active Countries: Kenya (Siaya).
Initiated in 2006
The BAACH, which is a locally-led and multi-sector National Council, explores the approach to build on the capacity and dynamics of business, to create sustainable development and alleviate hunger and poverty. The platform is based in a pilot district, Siaya, which is considered the poorest district in Kenya.
Members: Private sector (including multi-nationals i.e. Unilever, Tetra Pak, Mace Foods, MAE Limited etc), Government members (The Ministry of Kenya, and the national Oil Corporation which is mostly owned by the government), International and regional agencies (e.g. Care International, CNFA-Agmark and Technoserve), and Expert members (including the SDG Center and Tegemeo Institute).
Challenge
Chronic hunger.
The platform, which was formed by global CEOs and then the UN Secretary-General (Kofi Annan), adds value to tackle chronic hunger by business-led solutions, giving opportunity to those at the bottom of the pyramid. Moreover, the platform intends to engage with those in the public and private sector to gain access to finance on a commercial model, technical support and capacity building and to markets.
Intentions and aspiration
To increase food production, nutrition and income via strategies developed by private sector expertise.
The platform intends to improve value chains from production processing and packaging to retailing and marketing in order to ultimately reduce hunger and poverty. The platform’s vision is to share best practices from the Siaya district pilot project and be able to replicate it across Africa. It aims to do so by multi-stakeholder partnerships, which focus on business expertise and market power to strengthen food value chains, as well as creating a more sustainable and equitable market system.
Arrangements and capacitities
The platform (in Kenya) is led by 20 members of the National Council consisting of local members of the Global Steering Board, government of Kenta and other local companies and stakeholders, and is run by the programme manager.
Activities and outputs
The platform offers a pilot voucher program for agricultural inputs such as maize and seed fertilizers to 10,000 farmers. Through this, smallholders can redeem discounted seeds and fertilizers at their local input dealers.
Monitoring and evaluation
n/a