Feed the Future Kenya Livestock Market Systems Activity

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FEED THE FUTURE KENYA LIVESTOCK

MARKET SYSTEMS ACTIVITY

Y1Q3 PROGRESS REPORT: APRIL JUNE 2018

FEED THE FUTURE KENYA LIVESTOCK MARKET SYSTEMS ACTIVITY

Y1 Q3 PROGRESS REPORT LEADER AWARD

PERIOD OF ACTIVITY: OCTOBER 1, 2017–SEPTEMBER 30, 2022

AGREEMENT NUMBER: AID-615-L-17-00001

AOR USAID:

CHIEF OF PARTY:

FEED THE FUTURE LIVESTOCK MARKET SYSTEMS: Expanding and Diversifying Viable Economic Opportunities in Kenya Award

PERIOD OF ACTIVITY: OCTOBER 1, 2017–SEPTEMBER 30, 2022

AGREEMENT NUMBER: AID-615-LA-17-00001

AOR USAID:

CHIEF OF PARTY:

FEED THE FUTURE LIVESTOCK MARKET SYSTEMS: Strengthening the Community Capacities for Resilience and Growth Award

PERIOD OF ACTIVITY: OCTOBER 1, 2017–SEPTEMBER 30, 2022

AGREEMENT NUMBER: AID-615-LA-17-00002

AOR USAID:

CHIEF OF PARTY:

DISCLAIMER

This report is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of ACDI/VOCA and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.

Cover photo: Community sensitization for small grants at Raya in Garissa county.

CONTENTS CONTENTS I ACRONYM LIST V EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 LEADER AWARD ACTIVITIES 2 Objective 1 - Effective Management and Quality Assurance 2 Objective 2: Grants Facilities Management 3 Objective 3: PREG Coordination and Backbone Support for Collective Impact and Learning 4 Collaborating, Learning, Adapting (CLA) 4 Objective 4: Central Operational Support Services 4 Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) 4 Human Resources | Finance | Procurement | Operations 5 Communications 5 Planned Activities for the Next Quarter 6 EXPANDING & DIVERSIFYING VIABLE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES IN KENYA (AA1) 8 Objective 1: Expanded and Diversified Viable Economic Opportunities 8 Facilitate more competitive, resilient and inclusive livestock and related market systems to leverage end-market opportunities while insuring inclusion and poverty reduction. 8 Strengthen and diversify productive livelihood opportunities for men, women, and youth 9 Increase secure access to a range of financial products and services to support livelihood diversification, livestock sector development, and individual and household finance needs 16 Improved employability and work readiness skills for young men and women 17 Objective 2: Strengthened Institutions, Systems, and Governance 18 Strengthened policy environment for the development of livestock and other market systems -Pastoralism and Policy 18 County Integrated Development Plans (CIDPs) 19 Strengthening Local Governance (Ward Development Approach) 19 Disaster Risk Management (DRM) Policy 19 Objective 3: Collaborative Action and Learning for Market Systems Change 20 Strengthened USAID and implementing partners' systems for sequencing, layering, and integration. 20 Shared indicators and learning to support expanded economic opportunities 21 Cross-Cutting Objectives 21 Gender Equity and Female Empowerment 21 Youth 22 Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture 22 WASH 22 Start up, Administration, Planning, and Reporting Deliverables 22 Grants 23 Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning 23 Communications 24 Planned Activities for the Next Quarter 24 Grants management 24 objective 1 24 objective 2 24 M&E, PREG, and CLA 25 3

STRENGTHENING THE COMMUNITY CAPACITIES FOR RESILIENCE AND GROWTH (AA2) 26 Objective 1: Strengthened Institutions, Systems, and Governance 26 Progress of the Ward Development Planning Process by county 29 Strengthened and Sustained Rangeland and Water Management 33 Strengthened Drought Risk Management 34 Strengthened Conflict Management 34 Objective 2: Improved Human Capital 35 Improved and Sustained Health, Nutrition, and Hygiene Practices 35 Improved Literacy, Numeracy, and Life Skills 35 Support county initiatives for improved education 37 Objective 3: Collaborative Action & Learning for Community Empowerment 40 Strengthened USAID and implementing partners systems for Sequencing, Layering, and Integration 40 Shared indicators and learning to support expanded economic opportunities 41 Cross-Cutting Objectives 41 Gender Equity and Female Empowerment 41 Youth 41 Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture 42 Start Up, Administration, Planning, and Reporting Deliverables Start Up, Administration, Planning, and Reporting Deliverables 42 Rapid Start Up and Administration 42 Planning and Reporting Deliverables 43 Grants Management 43 Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning 44 Communications 45 Planned Activities for the Next Quarter 45 Grants management 45 ANNEXES 1 Annex 1: Charts Illustrating the Results of the Targeting for Selected Wards in Isiolo County Under Rural Entrepreneur Access Project (REAP). 1 ANNEX 2: Summary Report of Marsabit County Based Business Types, Locations, Performance Indicator and Participants Income Under Rural Entrepreneur Access Project (REAP). 2 ANNEX 3: BOMA Project’s Staff Induction Process Provided Under Rural Entrepreneur Access Project (REAP). 6 ANNEX 4: Turkana County Held Training by Smart Regional Consultants 1 Annex 5. Ward Development Planning Process 3 Annex 6. Data Flow Chart for Aa2 4 Annex 7. GIS Data Collection for Feed the Future Kenya Livestock Market Systems 6 Annex 8. Map - Feed the Future Kenya Livestock Market Systems 7

ACRONYM LIST AA1 Feed the Future Expanding and Diversifying Viable Economic Opportunities in Kenya (Associate Award 1)

AA2 Feed the Future Strengthening the Community Capacities for Resilience and Growth (Associate Award 2)

AFCWAAW Agriculture Finance Corporation Women Affirmative Access Window

AHADI Agile Harmonized Assistance for Devolved Institutions

AMEL Activity’s Monitoring, Evaluation, And Learning (AMEL)

AMEP Activity Monitoring and Evaluation Plan

AOR Agreement Officer Representative

APS Annual Program Statement

AVCD Accelerated Value Chain Development Activity

BMC Business Model Canvas

BRACED Building Resilience and Adaptation to Climate Extremes and Disasters

CEC Chief Executive Committee

CIDPS County Integrated Development Plans

CLA Collaborating, Learning, Adapting

DFID Department for International Development

D-NA Digital-Nation Africa

DRM Disaster Risk Management

DRR Disaster Risk Reduction

EATH East Africa Trade Hub

EIA Environment Impact Assessment

EWER Early Warning Early Response

GFSS Global Food Security Strategy

GIRL Girls Improving Resilience with Livestock

GIS Geographic Information System

GPS Geographic Positioning System

GVB Gender-Based Violence

K-RAPID Kenya Resilient Arid Lands Partnership for Integrated Development

KSh Kenyan Shilling

KYES Kenya Youth Employment and Skills Activity

LEAP Learning, Evaluating, Adapting Platform

LMA Livestock Marketing Association

M&E Monitoring and Evaluation

MEL Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning

MID-P by Merti integrated Development Project

MIS Management Information System

NDMA National Drought Management Authority

NGO Non-Governmental Organization

NHPplus Nutrition and Health Program Plus

NRM Natural Resources Management

ODK Open Source Data Kit

OPI Organization Performance Index

PPA Participatory Policy Analysis

PRA Participatory Rural Appraisals

PREG Partnership for Resilience and Economic Growth

PTT Participant Targeting Tool

REAP Rural Entrepreneur Access Activity Project

REGAL-AG Resilience and Economic Growth in the Arid Lands – Accelerated Growth

RFA Request for Application

SLI Sequencing, Layering, and Integration

SOLI Standard of Living Index

SRC Smart Regional Consultants

The Activity Feed the Future Kenya Livestock Market System Activity

TOR Terms of Reference

USAID United States Agency for International Development

WAPC Ward Adaptation and Planning Committee

WASDA Wajir South Development Agency

WASH Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene

WDP Ward Development Plan

WDPC Ward Development Plan Committee

WFP World Food Programme

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Work implementation gained momentum during this quarter as last quarter much of the focus was on staff onboarding and setting up field offices. The leader award and the two associate awards (together known as the Activity) made significant progress on activities, especially Rural Entrepreneur Access Activity Project (REAP) and Girls Improving Resilience with Livestock (GIRL) activities under Expanding and Diversifying Viable Economic Opportunities (AA1) and Strengthening Community Capacities for Resilience and Growth (AA2).

Activity Progress During this quarter, ACDI/VOCA requested and received USAID approval for Beauchesne to serve as the chief of party (COP) for AA1. Under his leadership, AA1 continued to identify potential leverage points in county specific market systems for interventions against overall LMS goals and objectives, support end market and market actor data collection exercises and map value chain and market system constraints, conduct financial landscape analyses and explore linkages with potential partners to expand their services in LMS counties, understand existing and potential networks, as well as enablers and blockers, and create awareness of grant opportunities by actively engaging with county government officials in Garissa, Isiolo, Marsabit, Turkana, and Wajir counties. The AA1 team also met with several businesses, individuals and groups representing key roles and functions in the livestock market system, exploring business models, innovations and opportunities for growth. Collectively, these were part of the Activity’s efforts to jumpstart growth and address bottlenecks/inefficiencies, was critical in laying the foundation for effecting systemic changes against impact targets for Year 1. The team also met with community members during different forums organized by the local administration, area chiefs, and their assistants. By doing this, the Activity was able to increase understanding of its planned and ongoing activities with various stakeholders, while building a culture of market systems approaches, thereby also promoting community engagement in project activities.

With regards to policy and governance work, the Activity engaged with county government officials in the five counties where it operates to provide input towards the development of county integrated development plans (CIDPs). The Activity is looking for areas in the CIDPs where it can align its gender and youth inclusions, policy, institutions strenghtening and governance work to support counties to create an enabling environment within the market system. CIDP is an official document that outlines programs and projects that the county government is committed to implement within a five-year period.

AA2 activities made considerable progress during the quarter. Through implementing the Activity’s new approach to devolve development at the ward level in the counties through the ward development planning committee (WDPC), AA2 gained support from county governments. Isiolo, Turkana and Marsabit requested WDPCs to be established in all the wards. So far, two WDPCs have been formed in Isiolo and Garissa counties, while in Marsabit county, the WDPC process is near completion. The project also provided technical advice to county governments to review various policies related to natural resource and disaster management.

Under the GIRL component of AA2, the Activity established a target to form 150 girl groups with 3,750 members. During the quarter, 83 groups with 2,075 members were formed. The project trained members on safe spaces, life skills, and basic numeracy and literacy. In addition, the curriculum to integrate waters, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and nutrition into AA2’s activities was reviewed by the team.

Administrative Activities Mr. Jean-Frederic Beauchesne was approved by USAID as COP. During the quarter, the project filled positions of the program county manager for Wajir county, project officer for Garissa county, and office assistant for Garissa county. Interviews to hire a collaborating, learning, adapting (CLA) manager commenced during the quarter and are ongoing.

Link with other USAID Activities The Activity participated in Partnership for Resilience and Economic Growth (PREG) learning events and meetings held during the quarter, where partners shared ideas for developing strategies to strengthen PREG partners’ collaboration and partnership in Kenya’s arid lands. During these events, partners gained knowledge and shared information on lessons learned and best practices. Additionally, the Activity attended the launch of Resilience and Economic Growth in the Arid Lands - Accelerated Growth’s (REGAL-AG) 36 business grants events in Isiolo and Marsabit counties, where the project team networked with various stakeholders to introduce work activities across the zone of influence in northern Kenya.

Link with Government of Kenya The Feed the Future Kenya Livestock Market Systems Activity continues to engage and collaborate with state and county governments as this leads to a good partnership and increases the effectiveness and impact of its work in all five counties. During the quarter, the Activity met with officials from the State Department for Livestock in the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries at a meeting held at ACDI/VOCA’s Nairobi office and gave a presentation of its ongoing work activities in the five counties. The Activity also held several meetings with county-level government officials to create awareness and understanding of its work objectives aimed at benefiting communities in northern Kenya, and to understand how LMS can align its programming to support national government priorities under the Government of Kenya’s Big Four Agenda, economic corridor development in and across the ASALs.

LEADER AWARD ACTIVITIES The leader award (Leader) is the management platform of the Activity responsible for providing cost-effective and centralized support to AA1 and AA2. This support includes centralized finance, procurement, operations, human resources, communications, monitoring and evaluation (M&E), and geographic information systems (GIS). The Leader also manages the awarding of grants, oversees quality assurance of activities, and provides support for collective impact and learning for AA1 and AA2.

OBJECTIVE 1 - EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT AND QUALITY ASSURANCE This section provides an update of Leader activities conducted to support implementation of AA1 and AA2 towards meeting the overall objective of Feed the Future Kenya Livestock Market Systems Activity of facilitating increased economic growth, diversified livelihood, and resilience. The Leader implemented the following activities during the quarter.

● To keep management and staff members informed on ongoing activities, biweekly reports were compiled and disseminated to staff. The reports also serve as source of information on lessons learned.

● Monthly technical updates on activity progress were disseminated to USAID.

● Biweekly meetings between USAID and the Activity were held to discuss progress of activities.

● Field monitoring exercises to inform the management on the implementation of field activities were conducted. At these meetings, the project held discussions with field staff, PREG partners, county-level government officials, and development partners. The objective of the exercises was to engage with various stakeholders, obtain their opinion and feedback, and to assess the progress towards objectives for the Activity’s field work. A breakdown of field monitoring exercises held during the quarter follows:

o Turkana county. Separate meetings were held with staff, PREG partners, county-level government officials, Livestock Marketing Association (LMA) members of Lodwar livestock market, and GIRL and REAP.

o Marsabit county. The project conducted site visits at three REAP business groups and one savings group to monitor work progress.

● During the quarter, the Activity staff networked at one workshop and two conferences held by other organizations, where they were able to meet with actors operating in various sectors to learn and share views and experiences. The events also provided a good avenue for the Activity to introduce itself to these sectors and the public. The events included: o Market Systems Symposium held in Cape Town, South Africa, attended by the Leader chief of party and the AA1 deputy chief of party. The objective of the event was to explore pathways that could be utilized by the agricultural market system to make it more inclusive. The symposium explored the patterns of behaviors that drive the market system and the forces that support the change process. 5th Devolution Conference. Feed the Future Kenya Livestock Market Systems Activity’s o Accelerated Value Chain Development (AVCD) national closeout Technical Coordinator Director, with conference held in Nairobi, which brought together various Governor of Marsabit County signing the visitors book. stakeholders from county-level government officials, implementing partners, development partners, national government officials, and USAID. During the event, participants shared lessons learned and implementation experiences. Further discussions were held on how to develop sustainable exit strategies that will reinforce PREG partnership once AVCD closes its operations in September 2018.

o 5th Devolution Conference held in Kakamega brought together various stakeholders, including state government, diplomatic missions, and the private sector, etc., from Kenya’s 47 counties. The stakeholders assessed the economic, social, and political achievements of the counties. During the event, the Activity shared an exhibition stand with PREG partners and presented on the progress of ongoing activities. The Activity also met with various stakeholders to explore partnership opportunities.

● The activity held meetings with various stakeholders to inform and educate stakeholders about the Feed the Future Kenya Livestock Market Systems Activity. The meetings provided the Activity with a good opportunity to educate stakeholders about its overall objective and ongoing activities and to initiate discussions of forming partnerships. The following meetings were conducted: o The project met and briefed staff from the State Department for Livestock in the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries officials on the work being implemented by the Activity in northern Kenya.

o The project met with SolarGen Technologies Limited, a leading distributor of renewable energy equipment distributor, to discuss available off-grid solar solutions ideal for businesses and investments in arid and semi-arid lands.

o The project attended USAID’s Kenya Environment Partners’ Meeting, which focused on rangeland management issues related to climate change and environment conservation. o The project met with Soko Usoni, a start-up digital marketing company that uses mobile devices, to learn more about their services and how they might be integrated into the Activity’s work. 3

● Other engagements and technical support provided by the project during the quarter, included AA1 grant feasibility assessment exercises, participation in PREG monitoring visit in Isiolo county, and participation in the launch of REGAL-AG’s 36 supported businesses.

OBJECTIVE 2: GRANTS FACILITIES MANAGEMENT This section provides an update on the Leader’s involvement in overseeing the implementation of grant-related activities as follows:

● During the quarter, the Leader supported and provided guidance to AA1 and AA2 in the implementation of grants by sharing processes and procedures to use based on ACDI/VOCA’s sub-award management system. This involved providing guidelines and support on compliance and technical review of grants, conducting business feasibility assessments, grant negotiations, and cost share requirements for grantees. Further support was provided in the identification and planning of small grants under AA1 and AA2. Pause and reflection sessions were also held after each major grant process aimed at streamlining and making improvements based on lessons learned.

● The Leader began developing a risk management framework for grants. This framework will aid in identifying and assessing potential risks that are likely to affect the implementation of the grants facility. It will include stringent internal controls and mitigation measures to reduce risk and will outline a process for monitoring, managing, and reporting on any risks—as and when they occur. Objective 3: PREG Coordination and Backbone Support for Collective Impact and Learning

COLLABORATING, LEARNING, ADAPTING (CLA) The Activity joined other PREG partners in participating in monthly meetings held throughout the quarter, where the primary focus was on how to sequence, layer, and integrate (SLI) efforts of all partners during the implementation of work activities. In Turkana, the team participated in one of the monthly meetings, where similar sentiments of merging SLI efforts were shared. Discussions are ongoing on how SLI can be implemented across the counties.

The Activity’s program county managers of AA1, and county program coordinators of AA2 from Marsabit, Turkana, and Wajir counties participated in a three-day PREG annual planning meeting. During the meeting, they engaged with other PREG partners to inform and educate them about the project’s ongoing work activities and to contribute towards the development of an annual plan.

Additionally, in support of collaboration and partnership efforts with other PREG partners during USAID’s organized quarterly PREG meeting for the livestock technical working group, the Activity contributed towards the enhancement of activity efforts in arid and semi-arid lands.

The Activity also participated in a coordination meeting organized by USAID in conjunction with East Africa Trade Hub (EATH) and AVCD, where discussions were held on piloting structured livestock trade in northern Kenya by organizing business-to-business events. During the meeting, EATH and AVCD agreed to involve other PREG partners in the project as a way of increasing impact.

OBJECTIVE 4: CENTRAL OPERATIONAL SUPPORT SERVICES This section provides an update on support that was provided by the Leader in M&E, finance, procurement, operations, human resources, and communications.

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) The following is an update of activities conducted by the monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL)team during the quarter:

● ACDI/VOCA’s regional systems and technical staff provided capacity building on administration of the Learning Evaluation & Analysis Platform (LEAP), support and training for level 1 users (project technical staff), and data analysis and visualization was provided to the Activity’s monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) team. LEAP is ACDI/VOCA’s standardized management information system (MIS) approach used for raw M&E data management and automated reporting. The platform exhibits the Activity’s performance data set. After the training, a LEAP system was set up, and the process of uploading sub-awardees’ data on to the system was initiated. ● The MEL team held meetings with ONA Kenya to discuss on adoption of Canopy Insights, an M&E platform that AA2 will use for data analysis, visualization, and pushing relevant data into the LEAP database. The system will be rolled out next quarter with a series of trainings provided to the technical staff on application and protocol usage. ● The MEL team finished the Activity’s baseline evaluation report and submitted it to the donor. ● The MEL team received comments from USAID on the Activity’s monitoring, evaluation, and learning (AMEL) plan that was submitted to USAID in March 2018. Most of the comments concerned measuring systems change and learning questions on market systems. Several indicators were removed from the Feed the Future M&E handbook that USAID shared with the team in March 2018. The MEL team is updated the AMEL plan to reflect these changes and will share the revised AMEL next quarter.

Human Resources | Finance | Procurement | Operations During the quarter, staff employed last quarter completed their probationary period and were confirmed. In addition, the position of AA1 program county manager for Wajir was filled, and interviews were conducted to fill the position of finance director, who will start next quarter. At the end of the quarter, interviews were held for the positions of CLA manager, program officer for Wajir, and business development specialist for Marsabit.

During this quarter, the project completed the procurement of motorbikes for REAP field activities. The process for procuring eight vehicles was initiated and is almost complete.

The upgrading and setting up of the Nairobi and field offices was successfully completed. The project upgraded the infrastructure in the Nairobi meeting rooms to facilitate use of technology during meetings. In addition, resource centers were opened in Isiolo and Marsabit offices, complete with computers, desks, chairs, and a large TV screen. The Activity set aside office space in the remaining field offices to facilitate coaching and training on business-related services to grantees, as a way of helping them manage their businesses sustainably.

Communications During this quarter, the communications unit educated target audiences on the Feed the Future Kenya Livestock Market Systems Activity. In April 2018, the Activity participated in the 5th Devolution Conference from April 23 to 27, 2018, in Kakamega. The purpose of the conference was to assess the economic, social and political achievements made by each county. During the event, the Activity joined other PREG partners to set up an exhibition stand, where it introduced its activities to external target audiences through presentations, handouts, and rollup banners. A total of 6,000 people participated including stakeholders from Kenya’s 47 counties, including Garissa, Isiolo, Marsabit, Turkana, and Wajir, state government, diplomatic missions, and the private sector, among others. 5

To strengthen internal communication efforts, the communications unit produced monthly e-newsletters for staff and partners providing updates on project activities in Garissa, Isiolo, Marsabit, Turkana, and Wajir counties. The communications unit also produced roll-up banners with the overall goal of the Feed the Future Livestock Market Systems Activity. The banners were distributed in Nairobi and to all field offices.

Lastly, the communications unit led the process of developing a five-year communication strategy for the Feed the Future Livestock Market Systems Activity. The purpose of the communication strategy is to increase the visibility, credibility, and understanding of activities and to ensure that activities are communicated effectively to audiences by producing and disseminating targeted communication products and messages in a cost-effective and timely manner. The Activity’s three communication objectives are 1) to educate target audiences on the Feed the Future Livestock Market Systems Activity and it’s projects, 2) to increase visibility of the Activity’s work to encourage support of implementation activities, and 3) to support the Activity’s objectives in CLA and sequencing, layering, and integration efforts with other USAID implementing partners. Feed the Future Kenya Livestock Market Systems Activity’s communication strategy is aligned to the Global Food Security Strategy approach of strengthening the capacity of all participants throughout the food and agriculture system, paying special attention to women, the extreme poor, small-scale producers, youth, marginalized communities, and small and medium enterprises.

Planned Activities for the Next Quarter ● Finalize Year 2 work plan ● Recruit PREG coordinator and CLA manager ● Coordinate and finalize grant package for large grants for submission to USAID for approval ● Support associate awards to review and make selection of small grants and round two applications for large grants ● Review round two of grant applications under large grants that are due by the August 31, 2018 ● Coordinate and provide support to grant activities ● Finalize risk management framework for grants ● Support capability building of grants associate teams on monitoring and learning (during implementation phase for grants) ● Conduct field monitoring visits ● Enhance collaborations support to associate awards ● Meet with county governments to discuss upcoming small grant opportunities, issue of request for applications (RFAs) and dissemination of the call to the targeted communities ● Review and select applicants to be supported under small grants ● Provide post-award training for Womankind, Sapcone, and Wajir South Development Agency (WASDA) ● Conduct quarterly financial monitoring visits for Womankind and Sapcone ● Release RFAs for small grants targeting safe space GIRL groups in Turkana and Wajir counties ● Conduct quality assurance across the Activity’s work implementation ● Facilitate PREG coordination onboarding from Africa Lead ● Conduct MEL induction and LEAP training for level 1 users (project technical staff) ● Finalize the design of LEAP tables as per the data collection tools ● Conduct routine data quality assessments for associate awards ● Conduct gender analysis ● Conduct staff training on positive youth development ● Develop market study tools in preparation of the livestock market study

EXPANDING & DIVERSIFYING VIABLE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES IN KENYA (AA1) Activities under AA1 will provide a market-based pull by facilitating a more competitive, commercialized livestock value chain for pastoralists that are moving into the livestock market system. AA1 accomplishes this by creating viable diversified livelihood opportunities for those that are moving into or out of the livestock sector. Activities are layered with those of AA2.

OBJECTIVE 1: EXPANDED AND DIVERSIFIED VIABLE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES This section provides an update on AA1 activities from the last quarter aimed at increasing economic opportunities and creating viable diversified livelihood opportunities.

FACILITATE MORE COMPETITIVE, RESILIENT AND INCLUSIVE LIVESTOCK AND RELATED MARKET SYSTEMS TO LEVERAGE END-MARKET OPPORTUNITIES WHILE INSURING INCLUSION AND POVERTY REDUCTION. During the last fiscal quarter, AA1 undertook multiple consultative and research activities to understand and map out the market systems in which it operates. At the time of Q3 drafting, LMS was synthesizing the results and trends from an end market survey in commercial hubs (involving a sample of over 200 market actors, buyer-sellers, livestock product commercial consumers, Government representatives and other entities) to assist LMS in mapping out networks and connections, transactions and the spectrum of weaknesses and opportunities along specific value chains, and within market systems generally). This data, combined with findings anticipated from BOMA’s own market study targeting REAP communities, results from Mercy Corps’ Ward Development Planning process (which will identify market system constraints and dynamics at the Ward level), information gathered from anticipated rapid assessments on specific commodities/markets (Q4) and key informant interviews with Nairobi-based buyers (Q4), will provide a solid platform for identifying niche areas of interventions, target innovations to address market system constraints, and shape LMS activities/sub-activities under Objective 1. In Q3, County Teams were tasked to design, via participatory processes, several key activities to forge linkages between REGAL-AG built businesses and potential suppliers/buyers, identify innovative and inclusive business solutions to enhancing efficiencies within livestock market value chains and strengthen the functioning of Livestock Market Associations. These activities will be rolled out in Q4, with attendance and participation to be extended to PREG members and other potential partners. Following the initial screening and technical review of grant applications received following the release of LMS’s APS, the Activity has benefitted from important market perceptions and market actor information. This information, combined with secondary and primary data collected or analyzed by LMS staff, has been useful in understanding market dynamics, challenges, capacity needs, opportunity nodes and low-hanging fruits for the Activity to address/tackle in Q4 and beyond. As a result, LMS is using an evidence-based learning approach to strategically target and tailor future Large and Small Grant RFAs/APS’ to effect most desired/needed systemic changes and achieve lasting impacts. For example, and as captured under Objective 2, the Activity developed a Small Grant call (subsequently released in Q4) aimed at stimulating market participation by Mercy Corps, BOMA and PREG partner beneficiaries (e.g. those of the World Food Programme Asset Creation Program), with a view to layer, sequence and integrate women and youth interventions and business solutions under Objective 1. Areas targeted include leverage points related to food safety, hygiene, post-production, processing and value addition, handling, etc., with the view to address the health and efficiency of livestock and other commercial value chains.

The following is an update of activities conducted by the AA1 team during the quarter:

● AA1 used the co-creation approach with 22 potential grantees via the business model canvas (BMC), a process that enables grantees to align their business concepts to the realities of the business environment while meeting the objectives of the Activity. Once the BMC process and the verification of the businesses is completed, successful applications will be submitted to USAID for approval. Refer to the section Grants section on page 21 for additional information on BMC.

● AA1 worked closely with the county governments in Marsabit, Turkana, Wajir, Garissa, and Isiolo to sensitize the public on grant opportunities. Sensitization utilized the annual program statement (APS), grant concept notes forms, flyers, and other materials to create awareness in the community on grant requirements.

● In May 2018, resource centers were set up in the Activity’s The Activity’s Marsabit County (extreme right) during offices across the five counties. The resource centers were the training for proprietor of Moyale animal feeds and his two sons—a potential supplied with furniture, IT, and audio-visual equipment. grantee. The resource centers will be used by staff and partners when conducting grantee mentoring sessions, business coaching, BMC support, beneficiary trainings, workshops, skills-building courses, etc. By the end of the quarter, the resource centers in Isiolo and Marsabit counties were open. Resource centers in the remaining counties will be opened during the next quarter.

● AA1 met with different institutions to explore ways to collaborate for the benefit of communities and business enterprises in northern Kenya. At the meeting with Strathmore University, AA1 explored ways of getting students to benefit from internship programs with the Activity’s grantees businesses. At a meeting held with Power Africa, a USAID funded program, the organization expressed its commitment to provide grid power solutions to the Activity’s beneficiaries. Power Africa was given a list of businesses that required solar power connection for their assessment and consideration. The list contained REGAL-AG’s supported businesses and potential grantees of the Activity. The Activity met with USAID, EATH, and AVCD programs to discuss the piloting of structured livestock trade for northern Kenya through business-to-business events. The Activity also met with Soko Usoni, a start-up social enterprise, that is proposing to address future market challenges by developing revolutionary solutions that solve market inhibitions through innovation and technology.

● Following the completion of the SIDAI Africa model viability study during this quarter, AA1 began negotiations with them to implement six-months bridge funding—a direct recommendation from the study. The goal of the Activity and SIDAI partnership is to support pastoralists so they have access to quality livestock inputs and services. The contract has been drafted and will be signed by both parties early next quarter.

● Smart Regional Consultants (SRC) provided training to AA1 technical staff on BMC to increase their understanding on how the model can be used to help the Activity’s grant beneficiaries gain a better understanding of their businesses. For more information on BMC, refer to grants section on page 21.

● SRC’s program manager and communications officer attended the East Africa Digital Farmers Conference and Exhibition 2018 held in Nairobi. The event focused on harnessing technological benefits and new and existing information and communication technology innovations in agribusiness to empower smallholder farmers and their value chains. SRC can adapt this information as part of its activities. 8

● AA1 and SolarGen Technologies Limited met to discuss linking the company with pastoralist communities in northern Kenya to access solar energy. SolarGen Technologies Limited is a leading distributor of renewable energy equipment and provides solar solutions ideal for businesses and investments in arid and semi-arid lands. In addition to providing off-grid power, the company also supplies customized, solar-powered cold storage freezers that can be used for milk cooling and meat preservation. Discussions will continue next quarter.

● AA1 met with the Kenya Climate Innovation Centre to discuss areas of partnership related to solar solutions. Discussions are ongoing.

STRENGTHEN AND DIVERSIFY PRODUCTIVE LIVELIHOOD OPPORTUNITIES FOR MEN, WOMEN, AND YOUTH

The following is an update of activities conducted by AA1 during the quarter.

• The Activity developed a concept to guide the implementation of small grants. Small grants are designed to provide economic opportunities to households in northern Kenya that are struggling with pastoralism to diversify their livelihood and economic bases by engaging in income generating activities within and outside of livestock businesses. The small grants target poor and vulnerable households to enable them to take advantage of expanded market opportunities created by businesses supported by the large grants (pull effect). • To support small grants, the Activity held consultative meetings with PREG partners and county government officials to develop and submit concept notes on potential areas funding opportunities for small grants. The exercise considered consideration SLI within the PREG partnership. Some of the businesses identified through this process will be linked to REGAL-AG’s supported businesses. Among those identified were beneficiary communities of World Food Programme’s (WFP's) Food Assistance for Assets initiative. • The concept notes for small grants will guide the grants team in designing RFAs to be issued in the next quarter. • The small grants will also benefit members of REAP and GIRL groups, and those who have graduated from the programs. REAP and GIRL programs promote human capital development through literacy, numeracy and life skill training, and increasing beneficiary access to productive assets. • The first-round RFA for small grants will be a pilot phase that focuses on addressing inefficiencies within the livestock market system value chains, including but not limited to cattle (e.g., milk, fattening, and meat production), camels (milk, fattening, and meat production, e.g., Nyiri-nyiri), feed and fodder production, honey production, and fish and poultry production. Applicants will be required to have prior experience in one of the mentioned value chains, as well as to demonstrate effective financial management and record keeping skills. The RFA circulated during the close of this quarter targets the following areas: a) Marsabit county: Moyale subcounty and Karare ward; b) Garissa county: Kamuthe and Raya wards; c) Wajir county: Tarbaj and Wajir North sub counties; d) Turkana county: Loima, Turkwel, Lobei/Kotaruk, and Lorengepi wards all in Loima subcounty; and c) Isiolo county: Burat and Oldonyiro wards. • AA1’s REAP activity in Isiolo and Marsabit counties are led by partner, the BOMA Project, and targets 2,220 women organized in 740 business groups. Mercy Corps implements the REAP project in in Turkana, Garissa, and Wajir counties with technical support from the BOMA Project. In these three counties there are 3,240 participants

organized into 1,080 business groups. The technical support provided by the BOMA Project runs for a period of two years. Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) and • AA1 hosted a delegation from USAID and ACDI/VOCA’s Participant Targeting Tool under Rural Chief Operating Officer Sylvia Megret to visit the Activity’s Entrepreneur Access Project (REAP) REAP business groups in Marsabit county. During the half day Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) is a participatory event, the delegation met with three business groups, Daima, process facilitated by the program livelihoods officer, Hossana, and Mulika, and one savings group in Loglogo. The supported by the Village REAP, and community business groups started in April and May 2018, and trade in volunteers. It involves all community members butchery, grocery, and small retail shops or duka. The (women, men, youth, people with disability and their delegation utilized this opportunity to understand the leaders). businesses and learn about the progress made by the During PRA, the participants delineate the community’s participants. physical features boundaries, main occupation of heads • In Isiolo county, 1,620 participants were organized into 540 of households, and wealth ranking. The output of the PRA is the wealth ranking table that categorizes the business groups. During this quarter, efforts in Isiolo county households into ranks, with rank one being considered focused on community entries and participant targeting. as the poorest. Out of this, rank and are nominated for Community entry is part of REAP start-up activities used to further evaluation through the PTT. introduce the Activity and to create awareness and obtain buy- (PTT) is a structured scoring used to further the in from target communities. Following location identification nominated participants from PRA. Administered by in Isiolo county and community entries in Chari and independent enumerators, PTT targets each household Ngaremara wards in the previous quarter, AA1 conducted nominated under rank and from PRA. The enumerators community entries in the remaining five wards— Oldonyiro, visit each one of these households, administer the tool Kinna, Garbatulla, Sericho and Cherab—during this quarter. and generate scores that determine the validity of the household to participate in the REAP program. All As in the other locations, the community entries were participant who score 50 percent and below become conducted through community public meetings (barazas) eligible for enrollment into REAP. mobilized by the respective village mentors and convened by the area chief. As is the tradition under the BOMA Project’s methodology, the Activity used these community entries to explain to the communities about the Activity, the REAP model, and the specific activities that they will be undertaking. In all these locations, the communities were particularly excited about the Activity’s focus on women and the unique approach it uses in targeting the ultra-poor. In each of these locations, the communities selected REAP locational committees consisting of 10 community volunteers who are tasked with the responsibility of overseeing the implementation of the program on behalf of their community. • Between May and June 2018, the Activity through consortium member the BOMA Project, conducted PRAs in Ngaremara, Kinna, Oldonyiro, Chari, Cherab, and Sericho wards. In Garbatulla ward, the Activity started the PRA, but could not complete it due to insecurity around the border of Isiolo and Garissa counties. The PRA in Garbatulla ward will be finalized early next quarter. In addition, the Activity used the PPT in Ngaremara, Kinna, Oldonyiro, and Chari wards. The PTT for Cherab, Sericho, and Garbatulla wards will be conducted early next quarter. The following is a summary of the PRA and PTT process in each of the listed wards:

o Ngaremara ward. In Ngaremara ward, the Activity conducted eight PRA’s in eight sub-manyattas, targeting 689 households across the ward. Out of these, 462 households representing 67 percent of all households were ranked as a one or two for the PTT. Out of the 462 households nominated, the PTT process reached 416 households. The remaining 46 households were not available for PTT administration as they were out of the village. From the PTT, 365 households out of the 416 surveyed in Ngaremara qualified for REAP enrollment. This represents 53 percent of Ngaremara households, enough to form REAP groups in this location. o Kinna ward. In Kinna ward, the Activity conducted nine PRA’s in nine sub–manyattas, targeting 903 households. Out of these, 702 households were nominated as rank one or two for PTT, representing P articipatory (PRA) in process. 78 percent of households in the ward. Out of the 702 nominated households, PTT reached 571 households. A total of 131 nominated households could not be reached due to absence from home, displacement by floods, while others lacked a female member which is a requirement. Following the PTT process, 157 out of 571 households qualified for enrolment into the REAP program. The low household qualification rate of 15 percent is largely attributed to the proximity of the most populated sub-manyatta (Kulamawe) to a major town, Garbatulla, as well as the predominance of agro- pastoral livelihood in this ward. In the next quarter, the Activity will revisit this ward to further review the targeting process and adapt the PTT tool to the uniqueness of this ward. The mentor will visit the unavailable households and conduct the PPT next quarter. o Oldonyiro ward. In Oldonyiro ward, nine PRA’s were conducted in nine sub-manyattas, targeting 858 households. Out of this, 539 households, representing 63 percent of total households, were nominated for PTT. The PTT was administered to 494 of the nominated households. From the PTT, 394 households, representing about 46 percent of the total households, qualified for enrollment in REAP. The remaining 45 households nominated by the PRA were not accessible at the time of the PTT. The village mentor will follow up with them in the next quarter. This is expected to increase the number of qualified participants for enrollment in this ward. o Chari ward. In Chari ward, the Activity conducted 13 PRAs, targeting 1,188 households in 13 sub-manyattas, with 688 households (58 percent of total households) nominated to the PPT. The PTT was administered to 609 households, with 271 households (about 23 percent of households in Chari) qualifying for enrollment in REAP. The mentor will follow up with the remaining 79 households to conduct the PPT survey in the next quarter. Like in Kinna ward, the number of participants qualifying for the PTT is low. The BOMA Project will be revisiting these two wards in the next quarter to triangulate the results. o Sericho, Cherab, and Garbatulla wards. In these three wards, participant targeting is ongoing and is expected to be completed by the end of July. In Sericho, the Activity conducted five PRAs in 5 sub- manyattas, targeting 489 households, with 338 households being nominated for PTT. More PRAs will be conducted in this ward with additional locations and sub-manyattas targeted. In Cherab, nine PRAs were conducted, targeting 773 households, with 455 households nominated for PTT that will be administered in July 2018. In Garbatulla, the PRAs are in process and the data will be reported in the next quarterly report. Refer to Annex 1 for charts illustrating the results of the targeting for selected wards in Isiolo county under REAP. 11

Participant Targeting

Participant targeting was the main field activity conducted during the last quarter. Targeting is a very critical and elaborate step in ensuring that the REAP program reaches the ultra-poor women in these communities. In all the locations identified, the Activity ensured full participation of community members (men, women, and youth) and their leaders in the PRAs and conducted by individual visits to each PPT nominated household. So far, the average qualification rate for enrollment in the four locations with complete targeting is 34.25 percent, with Kinna and Chari wards recording the lowest qualification rates. In the next quarter, the Activity will triangulate the results and review the PTT tool if needed, considering the contextual disparities between the locations.

Based upon the targeting results, the Activity will begin business group formation and launching in the next quarter.

In Marsabit county, BOMA Project, as part of its cost share to the Activity, will provide REAP to a total of 600 participants organized in 200 business groups. The intervention has been divided into two units, one targeting 130 business groups spread across 6 locations and six wards in Marsabit county, launched in March and April 2018—and the other one will be launched in September 2018 and will target at least 210 participants organized into 70 business groups.

In addition, the Activity provided jump transfers to 130 business groups. Each group received $199 (KSh 20,000). Jump transfer is the process of distributing initial capital (asset transfer) to the business groups to start their business. In addition to the jump transfers, the Activity provided mentorship and business monitoring of the 130 business groups in May and June 2018. The REAP village mentors visit each of the business groups at least once every month, spending a minimum of 40 minutes with each group per mentoring session. Each mentoring session must have at least two members of the business group present and covers coaching on business management, life skills training, nutrition, and WASH, business skills, and growth opportunities. Data from each mentorship session is then synced into the BOMA Project’s Salesforce platform.

Based on data received this quarter, 70 percent of the business groups are engaged in small retail shop (duka) businesses, 20 percent in livestock trading, 5 percent in butchery, 3 percent in grocery, and 2 percent in selling clothes. The data recorded as of the end of June 2018, represents a similar pattern for the primary business types recorded in May and April 2018, with no shift or movement of groups from one primary business type to another. Between April and June 2018, data recorded for the 130 business groups indicates that their business value has increased by an average of 42.7 percent of the asset transfer value over the three-months period, with livestock related businesses, butchery, and livestock trading recording the highest growth rates in business values, at 45.1 percent and 48.3 percent respectively. This growth rate represents a 9.7 percent increase in business value compared to the average growth rates recorded in May 2018 which was 33 percent. Benchmarked on the value of the jump transfer, the business value is a critical measure of the performance of the businesses and a key indicator of the progress made by the business groups from their inception. The rapid growth in business value of livestock-related businesses is attributed to the predominance of livestock as a key livelihood asset and main consumption commodity, as well as the proximity of many of the business groups to major livestock markets, such as Ilaut and Merille. These increases in value of assets further underscores the importance of linking REAP businesses with commercial hubs for the pull effect.

Regarding business income, participants took an average of $8 (KSh 837) in cash as income and $16 (KSh 1,670) as credit from the business groups. Participants appear to prefer using credit obtained from businesses rather than using cash income to meet their household needs. This practice is aligned with findings of the Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey 2015/16, which established merchants and shops as a primary source of credit at 28 percent, followed by self-help groups (chamas) at 19 percent. This trend underscores the importance of microenterprises not only as a source of livelihood, but also as a medium of financial inclusion where participants and communities run goods on credit accounts. Based on trends observed in this quarter, the Activity, projects a further growth in business value at between 4 – 10 percent over the next quarter. Refer to Annex 2 for a summary report of Marsabit county-based business types, locations, performance indicators, and participants income under REAP.

During the quarter, Mercy Corps managed REAP activities in Garissa, Turkana, and Wajir grew significantly. Mercy Corps recruited 20 REAP village facilitators in Turkana county (2 women and 4 men), Wajir county (1 woman and 8 men), and Garissa county (5 men) this quarter. REAP facilitators play an important role in training and coaching women participants who are selected through a participatory rural appraisal, and wealth ranking and targeting criteria—cognizant of a combination of factors that contribute to poverty. The recruited REAP facilitators underwent a two-phase induction process, after which, they embarked on an elaborate community entry process in wards that had been selected during Q1 and Q2. Both in-house and outside meetings with local leaders were organized at the ward and village levels. Successful community entries in Turkana, Wajir, and Garissa paved the way for targeting of beneficiaries using PRA, community wealth ranking, and the PPT. Refer to Annex 4 for a description of staff induction process provided under REAP.

The community entry process ensures awareness creation and community buy-in. It also enables the communities to understand specific objectives of REAP, its time frame and target groups. Whereas county and subcounty level community entry processes were conducted in Q1 and Q2, ward and village level engagement of leaders and potential beneficiaries was carried out during this quarter. The community entry process started with a meeting with subcounty administrators, ward administrators, chiefs, assistant chiefs, and village elders. During the meetings, REAP representatives provided an overview of the Feed the Future Kenya Livestock Market Systems Activity and a detailed review of the REAP model. These meetings led to the drafting of a one-week timetable for carrying out public meetings within the villages to create awareness. After the meetings were held, the elders were tasked with mobilizing people in their villages on specific dates so that community meetings could be held at the village level. All the elders were very cooperative and successfully mobilized their communities. During the meetings the team facilitated focus group discussions to profile all villages and provide guidance on relative number of Participatory Rural Appraisal events for participatory wealth ranking exercise. In all wards, the Activity liaised with local communities and leaders who selected seven-member committees, also called REAP locational committees, to monitor the implementation of REAP in the selected areas. REAP locational committees vet participants who have been short listed for project activities to ensure they meet the ultra-poor definition and are willing to start and operate business enterprises and provide community-level dispute resolution.

The following provides an update on the activities in Turkana, Garissa, and Wajir counties during the quarter.

● Turkana county. In Turkana, ward-level community entry processes were conducted from May 9 to June 8, 2018. in Township and Kalokol wards of Turkana central subcounty and lake zone wards of Turkana north sub counties. In Township ward, REAP targeted the peri-urban, ultra-poor populations in eight villages—Kateger Engor, Monti, Katapakori, Kakwanyang, Kalotum, Nakoriongora, Nangomo, and Chokchok. In Kalokol ward, REAP activities targeted four villages of Kalokol (Lochuga, Eperetet, Nariamawoi, and Lopongo) and four villages in Namadak (Akatorongot, Kangoleita, Narukopo, and Nameritaaba)—considered to be the poorest in the ward. In Lake zone ward, seven villages of Lokitoe Angaber, Nasechabuin, Kataboi, Katiko, Kalosep, Kangatukusio, and Lomekwi were proposed by the communities for REAP activities to be implemented. ● Garissa county. In Garissa county, ward-level community entry processes were conducted from May 5–20, 2018 for four villages in each of the five targeted wards—Bura (Daresalam, Ali Emij, Garasweno, and Mansaburu villages), Masalani (Kitile, Alijarire, Hubi, and Hara villages), Balambala (Kuno, Bura Dansa, Lebiley, and Ashadin villages), Benane (Hagar Janes, Kambi Samaki, Tokoyo, and Bullo villages), and Waberi (Bulla Idd, Bula Hodhan, Kun Iyo Itok, and Abdul Lugey villages). ● Wajir county. In Wajir county, apart from the local administrative leaders, members of the County Assembly accompanied the Activity in two out of nine targeted wards. The presence of elected leaders gave more confidence to the communities about the work of the Activity. The nine wards targeted in Wajir were Waberi, Barwaqo, Ibrahim Ure, Habaswein, Tarbaj, Hadado, Arbajahan, Eldas, and Burte.

Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) The PRA process has been ongoing since June 2018 in Turkana, Garissa, and Wajir Counties and will be completed early next quarter. So far, PRAs have been completed in two out of three wards in Turkana county, three out of five wards in Garissa county, and six out of nine wards in Wajir county. During each PRA exercise, the communities mapped their villages and identified all landmarks and households. The communities were then guided through a wealth ranking process as the basis for carrying out individual participant targeting based on their wealth status. Different wealth categories were described in the local language. Rank one was considered the poorest while rank four or five was considered wealthy.

Rankings for Turkana county follow:

● Rank one (Ekebotonit a ngikebootok) were mainly described as those who had very little and included widows and those unemployed. ● Rank two (Eboosit) were mainly described as poor and included single mothers, those who relied on the sale of firewood, charcoal, and brooms. They usually rely on other members of the community for survival. ● Rank three (Ebaribari) were described as those who owned few livestock. They also engaged in some business activities, worked as casual laborers, or were beneficiaries of other programs like Hunger Safety Net Program. These individuals were considered better off. ● Rank four (Ekabaran) were the wealthy, defined as those who were employed, own many livestock and/or had businesses.

Over 80 percent of populations in the targeted villages in Turkana were classified as poor and or ultra-poor.

Rankings for Wajir county follow:

● Rank one (Ceyr) being very poor ● Rank two (Maskin) being poor ● Rank three (Tabarey) being middle (not so poor) ● Rank four (Muruq Maal) being slightly wealthy ● Rank five (Tajiri) being wealthy

These categories were in-line with characteristics identified in Turkana and based on asset ownership and employment status. The graphs presented in Figure 1 indicate that over 80 percent of the participants in Wajir were ranked as either poor or ultra-poor. The findings of Waberi ward in Garissa county were the same as those in Wajir county. The communities ranked more than 90 percent of the populations in the targeted villages as poor and ultra-poor.

Figure 1: Household ranking in selected wards

● Learning agenda workshop. During a one-day workshop on May 17, 2018, to discuss the learning agenda for REAP, ACDI/VOCA, Mercy Corps, and The BOMA Project agreed that the REAP model will document participant and community level impact of REAP. The intention will be to provide evidence on how REAP helps participants to cope with specific shocks and stresses. The technical teams within the two organizations are refining a report that was compiled. A second field-based learning visit to REAP field locations will be conducted next quarter.

▪ Technical support provided by The BOMA Project. Technical support was provided to staff leading the training of REAP staff in April 2018 in Turkana and Garissa counties. Wajir county REAP staff joined orientation workshops which were carried out in Garissa county. Additionally, Wajir and Garissa counties’ staff completed field immersion in Marsabit county with former BOMA Project’s REAP beneficiaries. All REAP staff were trained on the participatory targeting tool (PTT) which is being implemented across the five counties.

● Lessons learned from REAP piloting. Since 2016, Mercy Corps has partnered with The BOMA Project to pilot 240 and 120 business groups of three women per business in Turkana and Wajir counties and has incorporated the pilots for learning purposes. So far, the learning from the pilots informed the decision to propose one business for at least sixty households, to avoid business saturation as witnessed in REAP pilots in Kangatotha ward in Turkana county. As a result of pilot assessments, the project will consider targeting some ultra-poor, peri-urban areas where access to markets and products is easier. The pilots also provide a good baseline and/or standard for adapting REAP models to other contexts.

▪ Challenges faced during the quarter:

o This quarter, weather was challenging with widespread long and heavy rainfall and flash floods across the five counties. This rendered most roads impassable, affecting travel and logistics, and delaying program delivery. In addition, the holy month of Ramadhan began mid-May with a large section of participants observing full day fasting and prayers. This slowed down activities implementations over the one month, with expected marginal extension of some timelines. To address these challenges and recover the time lost, the Activity revised its activity and operational plans, merging and synchronizing some activities, engaged additional personnel (enumerators), and redeployed mentors. With these adjustments, the Activity expects to meet its outputs and remains on course to meet Year 1 deliverables. In addition, delay of the activities in some villages, particularly at the initial phase of community mobilization, forced the teams to focus more on specific villages, but ultimately the Activity teams managed to cover all communities within the reporting period.

o Procurement of vehicles and motorcycles combined with an outstanding vehicle disposition requests, have delayed logistical support to REAP component that requires frequent travel to monitor community field activities. However, ACDI/VOCA is in the process of procuring new vehicles and motorcycles that will solve this challenge going forward.

INCREASE SECURE ACCESS TO A RANGE OF FINANCIAL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES TO SUPPORT LIVELIHOOD DIVERSIFICATION, LIVESTOCK SECTOR DEVELOPMENT, AND INDIVIDUAL AND HOUSEHOLD FINANCE NEEDS

During the quarter, AA1 held several meetings with various stakeholders to support the implementation of this component. The following is an update of key activities.

The team met with Lundin Foundation to explore a partnership that would lead to AA1’s grantees and beneficiaries accessing finance from the Foundation. As a result of the meeting, a representative of Lundin Foundation accompanied AA1 a field trip that was conducted by the grants team to assess potential financing needs and business portfolios of selected grant applicants. Further engagements were held to link the Lundin Foundation’s subsidiary group of companies that are currently providing credit and grant opportunities in northern Kenya. Lundin Foundation is part of Lundin Group of Companies that partners with host governments and local communities to improve the management of and benefit streams from resource development projects. Discussions will continue next quarter.

Staff participated in AVCD’s closeout event held in Nairobi. During the event, AA1 established that AVCD trained 130 groups on business skills. AA1 will identify and select groups among the 130 that have viable business opportunities and will partner with them partnership to facilitate linkages with financial institutions. AA1 also participated in a launch event for Agriculture Finance Corporation Women Affirmative Access Window (AFCWAAW) with the aim of networking with stakeholders to learn more about the organizations. AFCWAAW is an initiative that aims to ensure that women can access to financial products using non-collateral-based securities. AA1 is keen to explore how it can partner with AFCWAAW to facilitate linkages with its women beneficiaries in Garissa, Isiolo, Marsabit, Turkana, and Wajir counties.

Toward the end of the quarter, AA1 began planning for its financial sector landscaping analysis scheduled for Q4. The purpose of this analysis is to map and analyze supply and demand in the market system for financial actors, investors, and to identify potential lending and investing opportunities in the Activity’s target counties in northern Kenya, as well as to analyze perceptions that financial institutions and other capital providers have toward investing and lending to the Activity’s target counties. With this information, the Activity will create a strategy based on opportunities and leverage points for its activities aimed at increasing access to finance for businesses and households participating in the livestock market systems of Garissa, Wajir, Turkana, Marsabit, and Isiolo counties. AA1 will apply these opportunities into the upcoming USAID Kenya Investment Mechanism activities in northern Kenya once the project is awarded.

IMPROVED EMPLOYABILITY AND WORK READINESS SKILLS FOR YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN

In Garissa county, AA1 met with the county director for Vocational Training Centers to discuss opportunities for youth employability and work readiness. The discussions focused on unique courses that youth could study that provide greater opportunities for entrepreneurship in the county. These include electrical studies, mobile repair, refrigeration and air conditioning repair, graphic design, and satellite television installation. The development of a concept note to guide the implementation of the youth employability activity, which provides details on youth sponsorship, linking youth to apprentice and internship programs, start-up kits for youth who will complete technical courses and mentorship programs, is near completion.

AA1 met with Chamber of Commerce representatives in Garissa county to discuss ways of utilizing the resource centers, including linking young entrepreneurs and job seekers to businesses that will be supported by the Activity. Discussions will continue next quarter.

AA1 met with Rural Alliance for Community Development and Action, a local NGO that works within the water sector in collaboration with International Aid Services, that implements activities in Marsabit county. The objective of the meeting was to explore areas of partnership in the development of youth skills as the organization partners with Africa Inland Church which awards scholarships to young people who are interested in technical studies in tertiary education. Discussions will continue next quarter.

The livelihood and labor assessment study finalized during the last quarter, is currently being reviewed to establish how the findings and recommendations can be utilized to inform program design. The study provides information on livelihood diversification interventions that can be used by youth and women to help them benefit from income generating activities and creating employment for community members. Some of the mentioned activities, include livestock sales and trade in livestock- related products like milk, hide, and skin sales. Horticulture and fruit farming is another lucrative business option but it’s only applicable in areas surrounding the Mount Marsabit area. Fodder production, hay production, beekeeping, and animal fattening are other areas that can be explored. Gums and resins have good business potential. The study also identified potential employment opportunities specifically for youth and women. AA1 will identify technical and vocational education training institutions in northern Kenya across the five counties and the training courses they offer that can provide skills to support youth employment in northern Kenya. Through a partnership between SRC and IBM, SRC trained 34 youth in Turkana county to increase their employability skills. The training was through an online program, Digital Nation Africa, whose objective is to build the capacity of youth in digital skills. Some of the modules offered earn the participants certificates that Turkana County Business Coach are valuable to their curriculum vitae or skills portfolio. Plans are carrying out the Dining at AMREC Training Institute underway to engage these youth for other sessions in the next in Lodwar, Turkana County quarter who will form part of the Activity’s target group. Refer to Annex 5 for more details.

OBJECTIVE 2: STRENGTHENED INSTITUTIONS, SYSTEMS, AND GOVERNANCE This section provides an update on AA1 activities to strengthen institutions, systems, and governance to support county governments to develop policies and management frameworks that will lead to the expansion of investment systems.

The following is an update of activities conducted by AA1 during the quarter.

STRENGTHENED POLICY ENVIRONMENT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF LIVESTOCK AND OTHER MARKET SYSTEMS -PASTORALISM AND POLICY

Wajir, Isiolo, and Marsabit county-based staff participated in a DFID-funded Building Resilience and Adaptation to Climate Extremes and Disasters Programme (BRACED). The five-day training on pastoralism and policy from April 23–27, 2018 was held in Isiolo county. The main objective of the training was to provide an opportunity for participants to understand the gaps and current policy development situation in livestock and water governance. The training also provided a good platform for participants to deliberate on how development trends and climate change factors are impacting pastoralism as a system and how governments and communities can respond to them in a pastoralist set up. A key lesson learned from the workshop was that pastoralism is a complex system that is faced with many internal and external challenges. Components of a pastoral system include enabling policies and formal and informal laws, families/households within the pastoral system, the rangelands (water, pasture, and minerals), and public services, among others. The success of the system is dependent on how each component functions.

One of the recommendations made at the workshop was for Wajir county to identify key issues that affect pastoralism and produce a draft plan on how to support pastoral development. The identified issues and solutions will be incorporated into the new CIDP.

COUNTY INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT PLANS (CIDPS) During the quarter, the Activity partnered with PREG partners and relevant county technical teams to make contributions that will inform the development of CIDPs for Garissa, Isiolo, Marsabit, Turkana, and Wajir counties, specifically related to livestock, rangelands, and water sectors. The county teams also participated in “writeshops” and validation meetings to ensure that policy priorities in the key sectors are included in the final documents and that those priorities are reflected in budget estimates. To align the Activity’s work to the CIDPs for Isiolo, Marsabit, Turkana Some challenges faced during the implementation and Wajir counties, a summary for each county’s CIDP was shared of and in northern Kenya with relevant staff to help them understand each county’s development Counties allocate resources for policy and public priorities and how they can collaborate with other counties in areas participation work. Limited budget on governance that share common needs. and policy work slows down the implementation of activities in areas where consultative processes are needed to hold detailed discussions on policy STRENGTHENING LOCAL GOVERNANCE (WARD and public participation issues. DEVELOPMENT APPROACH) Some development partners give incentives to Consultative meetings were held with various stakeholders in the five county officials in form of per diems, etc. while counties of Garissa, Isiolo, Marsabit, Turkana and Wajir on laying the others like Feed the Future Kenya Livestock Market Systems Activity do not. This approach ground for the formation and strengthening of Ward Development makes it difficult for organizations to operate in Committees. During these meetings, the Activity made presentations some of the counties. This is reflected in none or to political leaders, county executives, civil society representatives and partial attendance to important forums called by community opinion leaders on the importance of applying the ward organizations that do not provide incentives to county officials. development approach in strengthening the engagement of citizens in county governance processes.

The ward development approach is an important structure within the county governance framework that can be used to enhance the participation of citizens in the planning and budgeting processes. Through the ward development approach, the voices of citizens at the grassroots level will be strengthened as they will be able to influence development priority issues and to ensure sufficient resources are allocated to implement programs and projects that aim to improve their well-being. As a constitutional principle and legal requirement, strengthening participatory and inclusive development planning is essential in ensuring that citizens take responsibility to work with their leaders to address community challenges, jointly identify solutions to address them, and prudently use the limited resources available to solve problems. When fully functional, the ward development committees will be expected to be aligned to the county planning and budgeting cycle and will be expected to 18

ensure that their development priorities are included in the county annual plans and budget. Refer to section on Strengthened Institutions, Systems, and Governance on page 24 for full details on ward development planning implementation during the quarter.

DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT (DRM) POLICY During the quarter, the Activity provided technical support to the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) to develop the content of Isiolo county’s disaster risk management (DRM) policy. The policy guides the county on how to monitor, respond, and mitigate against negative impact of drought and build resilient communities to withstand climate-related shocks.

OBJECTIVE 3: COLLABORATIVE ACTION AND LEARNING FOR MARKET SYSTEMS CHANGE This section provides an update on the Activity’s work to engage in collaborative action and learning for market systems development.

STRENGTHENED USAID AND IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS' SYSTEMS FOR SEQUENCING, LAYERING, AND INTEGRATION. Both at national and county level, AA1 continues to actively participate in PREG meetings and workshops in an effort to strengthen partnerships and identify opportunities for learning. The following is an update of AA1’s participation in key events during the quarter:

● PREG monthly meetings held in in Garissa, Isiolo, Marsabit, Turkana, and Wajir counties to identify areas of potential layering of activities in each county ● PREG field visits in Isiolo county to monitor ongoing activities of various partners; In addition, PREG partners in Isiolo county formed sector working groups that included Isiolo county’s livestock officials aimed at creating more synergy and layering under each subsector represented ● Non-state actor’s forum organized by Isiolo county government aimed at creating effective coordination among development partners ● Collaboration with WFP in Garissa county where potential beneficiaries of the Activity’s small grants program that are One of the PREG meetings held in Garissa operating in the poultry value chain were identified county during the quarter ● Meeting with Turkana county’s Chief Executive Committee (CEC) for Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries to discuss and identify areas of collaboration and partnership on ongoing activities, including those that are supported by REGAL-AG of livestock markets in Kakuma and Lodwar ● The Activity also participated in a special county steering group meeting held to review of the county disaster management policy, where stakeholder provided input on gender inclusion and mainstreaming elements across the various thematic areas in the policy in Turkana ● Stakeholders meetings held in Turkana county organized by NDMA on the Ending Drought Emergencies (EDE) baseline data collection mission, performance management systems, monitoring and evaluation, and results coaching for counties. 19

● Collaboration with WFP in Garissa county to finalize the development of the concept for small grants for youth, where Kamuthe and Raya locations were identified as areas where the call for applications will be made. Dissemination of call for grant applications is ongoing. ● Meeting with Garissa county’s CEC for Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries to discuss the Activity’s small grants application process and to seek support in the identification of potential grant applicants. During the meeting, the CEC requested that a team from the county government go for a learning visit to Isiolo and Marsabit counties where ACDI/VOCA has already implemented similar grant interventions. ● Business grants launch events of REGAL-AG held in Isiolo and Marsabit counties ● Kenya Environment Partners meeting organized by USAID with the objective of exploring strategies for building profitable, sustainable, and resilient livestock market systems and identifying the gaps to develop strategies that will enhance the resilience of the system and stakeholders. During the meeting, where participants were encouraged to learn from one another especially on rangeland management issues related to climate change and environment conservation, AA1 made a presentation on Feed the Future Kenya Livestock Market Systems Activity.

During the quarter, The BOMA Project benefitted from learning and collaboration with the Activity’s partners. Regular engagement with the Activity’s leadership ensured that the team remains focused and actively involved in the consortium’s activities. The Leader’s biweekly updates ensured that program leadership is routinely updated on activity progress and plans. Joint learning and reflection sessions held between The BOMA Project and Mercy Corps have been instrumental in defining the adaptability of the REAP program, especially the nexus between REAP nutrition, numeracy, and WASH components. This is in addition to providing opportunities for reflection and rethinking of approaches that meet the different contexts in which REAP is implemented. The reflection sessions include analyzing assumptions, knowledge gaps, and generating learning questions for improved implementation and adaptability of the program. The Activity’s REAP team has agreed on a complementary working plan to ensure that nutrition, numeracy, and WASH components are integrated into REAP delivery and measured at the midline and end-line as indicators for success.

SHARED INDICATORS AND LEARNING TO SUPPORT EXPANDED ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES At various PREG work plan meetings held during the quarter, the Activity shared with other partners information on areas for engagement in shared indicators and learning to support expanded economic opportunities.

CROSS-CUTTING OBJECTIVES

GENDER EQUITY AND FEMALE EMPOWERMENT One of the cross-cutting objectives of the Feed the Future Kenya Livestock Market Systems Activity is to improve the status of women by promoting gender equity and female empowerment. To raise awareness and build the capacity of staff to promote gender equity in the work place, ACDI/VOCA organized gender trainings in Marsabit, Turkana, Wajir, Isiolo, Garissa, and Nairobi counties. The trainings were facilitated by the Activity's gender youth and inclusion director and ACDI/VOCA's regional gender and youth advisor. During the training, staff learned the relevant knowledge, skills, and values that will enable them to contribute to the effective implementation of the gender-mainstreaming strategy in their interventions. The overall goal of the training was to educate staff on the shared understanding of gender and its roles, as well as to explore strategies that lead to the integration of women's input during the Activity's implementation. By the end of the training, staff were able to a) identify and expand the network of Champions of Change and advocate for gender equality in the Activity, b) identify gender inequalities in their field of activity, c) define gender-equality objectives, d) consider gender when planning and implementing activities, and e) monitor progress and evaluate the Activity's interventions from a gender perspective. To ensure that these objectives are met, each of the county offices appointed a gender focal person and developed an action plan that will be used to monitor gender mainstreaming progress and integration into planned activities.

In Garissa county, the Activity's gender, youth, and inclusion director met with officials from the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Youth, and Sports to discuss areas of collaboration including the formation and launch of a gender technical working group and support to youth in vocational training, such as the National Industrial Training Authority. At the end of the meeting, the Activity and government officials agreed to develop a gender technical working group. Details continue to be discussed.

Gender Analysis. The Activity completed the development of a gender analysis protocol and tools during the quarter. Data collection, analysis, and report writing are scheduled to take place in the next quarter.

Gender Norms & Gender Based Violence (GBV) Prevention. To address gender inequalities in relation to GBV at the community level, the Activity conducted an orientation on GBV prevention for the GIRL officers using the developed package for community dialogue on gender norms and GBV awareness and prevention. Subsequent orientations will be conducted for the Activity's livelihood officers, community facilitators, and mentors.

YOUTH In May 2018, 32 students from the AMREC Training Institute in Turkana county, through a collaboration with between SRC and IBM were trained on the DNA program which aims to increase digital literacy and skills among youth. Some of the modules earned the youth certificates that are a valuable addition to their curriculum vitae or skills portfolios

During the quarter, the Activity mapped out five high schools in Isiolo county—Isiolo Boys High School, St. Paul’s Kiwanjani High School, Waso Secondary School, and Isiolo Girls High School. The Activity plans to link the students to REGAL-AG’s supported businesses that act as Champions of Change.

In Garissa county, staff held meetings with the Kenya Youth Employment and Skills Activity (KYES) project to finalize the development of a concept on small grants for youth aimed at reinforcing PREG’s SLI efforts. During the meeting, participants reviewed KYES’s curriculum and identified eligibility criteria for beneficiaries, outlined the evaluation process, and developed a dissemination plan. Garissa township and Masalani wards were identified as the target sites for the Activity’s youth grants. The Activity is waiting for the KYES project to submit the database of youth trained on business skills to finalize the call for proposals in the county.

The Activity also conducted business feasibility assessments on successful grants applications. To ensure inclusivity and the desired social impact of the proposed businesses, the Activity ensured that gender was considered through the review process, seeking to explore opportunities for improving access to markets for women and youth, while reducing risks and vulnerabilities. The same process will be applied during the business plan development stage and beyond to ensure continuity. The Activity ensured that the current small grants call strategically targets women and youth in the targeted project areas and seeks to identify new economic opportunities for them while improving their access to productive resources and basic assets.

Besides the workforce and livelihoods study, the Activity’s gender, youth and inclusion director also reviewed the positive youth development training curriculum, developed a concept note, training schedule and other training materials in preparation for staff training in Q4. The objective of the training is to introduce the youth development approach to the Activity’s work and to cover topics such as positive youth development, positive youth outcomes, youth voice and engagement, youth development programming, and youth worker competencies.

NUTRITION-SENSITIVE AGRICULTURE During this quarter, the Activity began developing key nutritive-sensitive messages that will be disseminated to stakeholders during work implementation.

WASH During the quarter, the Activity engaged Kenya Resilient Arid Lands Partnership for Integrated Development (K-RAPID) and other PREG partners doing WASH activities to obtain WASH messages that will be shared and disseminated with beneficiaries.

Start up, Administration, Planning, and Reporting Deliverables No significant activities to report during this quarter.

GRANTS

In pursuit of objective one—expanding economic opportunities through business development—a call for application for large business grants was issued in January 2018 to support livestock- related businesses in the Activity’ operational counties. Out of the 858 applications received, 575 applications went through a technical review resulting in the short listing of 62 applications. In May 2018, the Activity conducted a business feasibility assessment on each of the applications aimed at understanding the operations of the proposed businesses and determining their viability. The Lundin Foundation also participated in some of the assessment exercises aimed at identifying businesses for possible co-funding. In total, 22 prospective grantees were selected from the assessment to move in to the grant Grants assessment exercise by the Activity’s team in negotiation phase from the following counties—six from Nasiger, Turkana county. Marsabit county, three from Isiolo county, six from Garissa county, three from Turkana county, and six from Wajir county. The proposed businesses include dairy farming, fish production and processing, honey processing, integrated farming, meat retailing, fodder production, feedlots, poultry farming, and animal feed processing.

Grant negotiation activities commenced during the quarter for the selected applicants under large grants. This included the following activities:

● BMC training conducted for all relevant field and Nairobi staff, facilitated by SRC, followed by a similar training for prospective grantees by the Activity’s staff. The purpose of the BMC is to enable the selected prospective grantees to identify and document their business value propositions, customer segments, customer relationships, channels, key activities, key resources, key partners, cost structure, revenue streams, social costs and the social impacts of their proposed businesses. The process of developing full business models is ongoing.

● Budget and cost share negotiations

● Design assessments ongoing for proposed businesses with infrastructure needs

● Environmental assessments ongoing for proposed businesses, among others Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning

The following is an update of activities conducted by MEL during the quarter:

● Systems support and training for level 2 (M&E staff) and level 1 (project staff users); data analysis and visualization was provided to AA1 by ACDI/VOCA’s regional systems and technology staff

● Set up of the Activity’s LEAP system and bridges for pushing subawards data into the system initiated

● Met with partners to discuss M&E system data flow on an M&E platform that AA1 will be using for data analysis, to push relevant data from the partners into the LEAP database

● Provided input into the review of the Activity’s baseline evaluation report

● Provided input into the review of the Activity’s AMEL plans based on comments received from USAID on how to measure systems change and learning questions on market systems

● Updated AA1 AMEL plans based on revised indicators from the newly released Feed the Future’s handbook

● Conducted indicator and target and selection for AA1

● Developed M&E tools and training materials for AA1

● Participated in BMC and Organization Performance Index training for business coaches that was provided by SRC

● Provided input in the development of GIS/global positioning system data collection guidelines for the Activity

● Developed market study tools in preparation of the livestock market study Communications

The communications team supported the AA1 team by developing posters aimed at increasing the visibility of AA1 and grant opportunities to internal and external target audiences. PLANNED ACTIVITIES FOR THE NEXT QUARTER

GRANTS MANAGEMENT

● Finalize grants package for large grants for submission to USAID for approval

● Review round two applications under large grants which are due by the August 31, 2018

● Conduct discussions with respective county governments on upcoming small grant opportunities, issue RFAs, and dissemination of the call for proposals to the targeted communities

● Review and selection of applicants to be supported under small grants

● Work planning for grants activities for FY19

OBJECTIVE 1

● Formation of business groups in Isiolo county

● Conduct the Standard of Living Index (SOLI) survey

● Conduct training on business skills and development of business plans

● Distribution of jump asset transfers in Isiolo county 23

● Conduct business group mentoring and business monitoring in Isiolo and Marsabit counties

● Provide technical assistance to Mercy Corps in Garissa, Turkana, and Wajir counties

● Finalize PRA activities in July 2018

● Collect baseline information based on the SOLI of each participant

● Procure and distribute 3,240 mobile phones and sim cards to REAP beneficiaries

● Distribute motorcycles to REAP offices

● Recruit one livelihood officer and one REAP village mentor and to fill in positions that have been left vacant following the resignation of those who previously held the positions

● Conduct joint data collection with The BOMA Project and Mercy Corps for REAP programming and activity design, and strategic planning on targeting future grants that will be distributed

OBJECTIVE 2

● Annual work planning for FY2

● Engage the 22 grantees in BMC development and submit the BMCs to Nairobi for review and approval

● Disseminate information about RFA for small grants in the areas targeted for the grants

● Visit the sites of the 22 grantees businesses for environmental assessment and to conduct environment impact assessment (EIA) for all construction activities

● Conduct technical review for round 2 of APS applications

● Complete data collection for the Activity’s business opportunity assessment and conduct data analysis

M&E, PREG, AND CLA

● Participate in PREG activities at both county and national level

● Participate in the Activity’s pause and reflect workshops/meeting

● Conduct regular monitoring of sub-grantee activities (The BOMA Project, Mercy Corps, SRC, and SIDAI)

● Identify technical and vocational institutions offering training to youth in all counties

● Identify key technical skills needed by youth in the five counties that require training from institutions outside the region e.g., animal health and dairy technology training, and issue RFAs targeting youth training

● Finalize financial landscape assessment, analyses, and information and data, and share findings through a summary report and set of recommendations for future activities and partnerships

● Continue to identify financial institutions willing to work in northern Kenya

● Link grantees to financial institutions for credit and or loan facilities

● Conduct MEL induction and LEAP training for level 1 users (project technical staff), including partners

● Finalize the design of LEAP tables as per the data collection tools 24

● Conduct routine data quality assessments for AA1 and AA2

● Collect annual indicators data for REGAL-AG

● Collect livestock sales baseline data for REGAL-AG’s markets in Garissa, Wajir, and Turkana counties

● Conduct training for research assistants for the livestock market study

● Supervise research assistants during data collection for the livestock market study

● Review and clean data and undertake a detailed analysis of market study in five counties

● Review market system framework, indicators, targets, learning questions, and select market system indicators for submission in a revised AMEL plan to USAID

● Conduct field spot checks and conduct internal data quality reviews

● GPS compilation for SLI and GIS activity mapping

● Conduct GIS training in the counties

STRENGTHENING THE COMMUNITY CAPACITIES FOR RESILIENCE AND GROWTH (AA2) Strengthening the Community Capacities for Resilience and Growth award (AA2) of Feed the Future Kenya Livestock Marketing System Activity is led by Mercy Corps in the five target counties of Wajir, Garissa, Marsabit, Turkana and Isiolo. The activities contribute to building resilience in target communities by “pushing” beneficiaries towards activities that lead to the expansion of economic opportunities aimed at pulling them out of poverty and vulnerability.

OBJECTIVE 1: STRENGTHENED INSTITUTIONS, SYSTEMS, AND GOVERNANCE During the quarter, AA2 reviewed the ward-based development planning process at Key Features of the Ward a reflection workshop that brought together county program coordinators from Development Plan (WDP) Process Garissa, Isiolo, Marsabit, Turkana, and Wajir counties, as well as rangeland and natural resource management (NRM) specialists. The team spent two days reviewing • Government and Community the process that was developed last quarter (refer to Annex 6) and conducted an Driven process analysis based on lessons learned, best practices, and identified areas of weakness. By • Empowers the communities • the end of the workshop, the team developed draft guidelines for each step of the Integrates NRM, Conflict and DR into development agenda process and the expected outputs. The review process was also largely informed by • Bridges humanitarian and Mercy Corps’ resilience approach and lessons learned from similar programs in the development programs region. • Feeds into County Annual Development Plans The ward development plan (WDP) process is driven by the county governments and communities. During the quarter, AA2 focused on obtaining the buy-in and

ownership of the process by key stakeholders to ensure sustainability by integrating the process with the county government’s public participation process and budgeting. The key output of the process is a blue print WDP that will be owned and funded by the county governments. Priorities identified in the plan will be integrated into the annual develop plans and budgeting process.

During the reflection and review workshop held by AA2, the team identified three key pillars (see figure 2) that will form the foundation of a successful model that integrates the communities’ response to shocks and development. It is evident that shocks are inherent in northern Kenya and often undermine and reverse gains made in development. AA2 recognizes that this could be a result of the fact that disaster response and development priorities often are not linked and are therefore, are not integrated. The objective of the three identified pillars of the WDP process is to ensure that community development priorities are made in recognition of—and by integrating contingency plans that will be triggered in the event of a disaster, while at the same time, identifying and building on to opportunities for market development.

Figure 2: Key Pillars of WDP

Under the resilience pillar, the process will help AA2 to:

● understand the system’s dynamics and contexts with a focus on key elements of social, economic, and ecological systems within the target ward that relate to resilience ● develop vulnerability profiles ● map out shocks and stresses that affect individuals, communities, and systems to be resilient

Integrating market systems into the WDP process is integral to achieving sustainable transformation that lays the foundation for greater development while incorporating market dynamics. Under this pillar, the process will focus on three aspects:

● the poor and their context ● specific market systems ● systemic constraints

AA2 will work closely with AA1 and other stakeholders with relevant expertise including using Mercy Corps’ internal resources on markets systems development, to explore the pillars of the WDP and analyze the information collected to provide linkage with other pillars. In addition to county governments leading the process, communities are integral to the WDP process. Community-based committees from all corners of each ward will be involved in the entire process of data collection through community mapping, assessments, problem identification, analysis, and setting priorities that will ultimately contribute to WDPs. However, the Activity is cognizant of the challenges likely to be faced when community members participate in such processes. Greater involvement of diverse community members including women and youth, as well as inclusion of clans, religious groups, and geographic representation is key to both committee formation and data assessment processes. As a result, the Activity at the county-level has sensitized the community on the need to achieve greater community representation, while adopting Mercy Corps’ principles of community engagement. This will ensure greater participation of community members and will provide legitimacy to the process during implementation and after completion.

Once community committees are formed with the involvement to the county government and local administration, they will be critical to the implementation of the three intermediate results under this objective of the Activity.

The role of the committee is to oversee the implementation of activities related Principle of Community Engagement to the intermediate results, while providing an opportunity to integrate natural ▪ Inclusivity resource management, disaster risk reduction, and conflict management under ▪ Equity one umbrella. In total, AA2 will facilitate the establishment of 24 WDP ▪ Transparency committees in the five counties. Important to note is that this new approach is ▪ Accountability very participatory and inclusive and requires a lot of time to ensure buy-in, ▪ Deliberation ownership, and to lay a foundation for sustainability. The integrated approach ▪ Legitimacy ▪ Influence means that the process is likely to take more time given the series of events ▪ On-going needed in each step of the WDP process. In view of this, AA2 will establish only ▪ Accommodating one WDP committee in each county this year. Doing this will enable the team to effectively document lessons learned, best practices, and develop a clear vision and strategy before scaling up WDPs in the remaining wards during the following year. A review and reflection meeting will be held at the end of the year to assess the process. The review and reflection meeting will include participants from committee members, county government officials, NDMA, development partners, and community leaders. Feedback from the meetings in each county will be used to improve the process and adopt best practices, as AA2 WDPs in remaining wards during the next financial year.

Additionally, the AA2 presented the new WDP approach to USAID with support from the agreement officer representatives.

PROGRESS OF THE WARD DEVELOPMENT PLANNING PROCESS BY COUNTY AA2 made significant progress in the WDP process in all five counties. The process began by conducting intensive sensitization and lobbying at community and government levels, which culminated in establishing legitimacy for the entire process. The teams in Garissa, Isiolo, Marsabit, Turkana, and Wajir counties conducted a series of meetings with high-level

county and national government representatives to present the WDP approach. Political and community leaders were involved in the process.

Isiolo County AA2 supported the establishment of the first county government recognized WDPC in Isiolo County. Although the process started last quarter in Ngare Mara Ward, during this quarter, AA2 focused on steps three and four of the WDP process which culminated in the formation of the committee. After holding several high-level meetings and making presentations of the WDP approach to Isiolo county government, the county acknowledged the importance of the approach to decentralize development at the ward level through public participation.

One-on-one sensitization meetings on the WDP process were held with different key county government officials which included the relevant CECs for the Ministries of Livestock, Agriculture, Environment, Climate Change, and Natural Resources, NDMA, deputy governor, county secretary, speaker, and members of the County Assembly. This was followed by sensitization meetings held with technical officers, including chief officers, directors from key departments, as well as civil society organizations, and community leaders. A key outcome of this process was the consensus by the stakeholders to adopt the Activity’s WDP approach and to use the outcome of the process to prioritize community development and disaster response using contingency plans. As a result, the Isiolo county government appointed the CEC in charge of Water, Environment and Climate Change to spearhead the WDP process on behalf of the county government and to provide feedback to the cabinet on progress made. The CEC has since remained an integral part of the process. The CEC also leads the implementation of the World Bank-funded Kenya Climate Smart Agriculture Program and has committed to utilize the WDP committee established by the Activity to inform other programs.

In addition, the NDMA seconded two of its staff to dedicate their time towards supporting the WDP process.

Left: CEC Member for Water, Environment Climate Change gives a remark during the sensitization workshop on the WDP process, and right, the Activity’s senior takes the Livestock Agriculture, Yussuf Hajji and of Fisheries through the Activity’s WDP approach.

The Activity identified Ngare Mara ward in Isiolo county selected to establish a WDPC. During the sensitization meeting for communities and elders, it was agreed that the ward will be divided into 11 clusters. Each cluster identified three representatives who will lead the process of community sensitization and committee selection. By the end of the meeting, the community had selected an 11-member committee that included women, youth, and representatives from key sectors. The committee will work closely with the county government’s technical teams from key departments, as well as NDMA to conduct the remaining processes of the WDP.

The meeting was also attended by various Isiolo government officials, including the CEC member for Water, Environment, and Climate Change, who during launch of the WDPC, reiterated their commitment of the county government to support the

committee and streamline development at the ward level. He further stated that future development projects in the ward will be subject to approval by the committee.

The Isiolo Governor H.E Hon. Dr. Mohamed Kuti made a formal written request to the Activity that support be granted to the county government to set up WDPCs in all the 10 wards in the county. The county government is adopting ward-level planning to inform the annual development plans for the county.

Garissa County The process for the WDP in the Garissa county basically followed the same approach described under Isiolo County, and this is similar for all the other counties where the Activity operates. In Garissa county, some of the key government officials that participated in the process, included the deputy governor, CECs for Gender, Education, Livestock, Environment, and Natural Resources, and Health, chief officers and directors and deputies of the respective departments, Members of County Assembly, and the Department for Inter-Governmental Partnership. In addition, state government officials including the subcounty administrator and chiefs also participated in the community sensitization and selection meetings.

Bura Ward was identified to establish a WDP in Garissa county. Following the buy-in and sensitization of the county government, key departments, and several community meetings and mobilizations, an 11-member WDPC was established. Like in Isiolo county, the ward was divided into 11 clusters with each cluster of villages identifying three members to serve on the committee. In the end, the final committee members were selected from the 33 members, ensuring that each cluster of villages was represented.

The WDP process in Garissa county is led by NDMA and the Bura sub county Administrator, Mr. Department of Environment and Natural Resource. during one of the Community sensitization meetings held in Garissa county. Marsabit County In Marsabit county, AA2 identified Golbo ward in Moyale Subcounty as the first ward to establish a WDPC. Key departments involved in the process included the Department of Finance and Economic Planning, Department of Health, Department of Administration, Disaster and Cohesion, Department of Water and Natural Resources, the Office of the County Secretary, the Office of the Speaker of the County Assembly, members of the County Assembly, Office of the Deputy Governor, national government Department of Education, and NDMA. In addition, the county commissioners, sub-county commissioner, ward administrators, and chiefs were instrumental during community entry meetings and participated in the process. NDMA also played a key role in the entire process.

The ward was divided into 15 clusters. Following community mobilization and sensitization across the cluster, the communities identified the initial 33 people to represent the clusters. AA2 will finalize the remaining process to establish WDPCs in the next quarter.

Community leaders’ sensitization meeting in Odda (Left) and in Godoma (Right) on WDP process.

Turkana County Lake Zone ward in Turkana South was identified as a target area to develop a WDPC. Key departments involved in the WDP include Disaster and Decentralized Administration, Ministries of Livestock, Water, Health, Public Administration, Veterinary, Education, Gender, Youth, and Fisheries. These departments were engaged at CEC level, as well as technical teams such as the director and their deputies. Other participants included the NDMA and provincial administration including county commissioners, subcounty commissioners, ward administrators, and chiefs.

The Turkana county government appointed CEC members for Disaster and Decentralized Administration to spearhead the WDP process to be facilitated by AA2. The county government has shown interest to scale up the approach to cover all thirty wards in the county, but the Activity made it clear that it can only support five under its current scope of activities.

During this quarter, AA2 focused on step three and four of the WDPC process. In addition to the community and government sensitization, the team conducted several community mobilization processes in several villages in two locations. The formation of the WDPC is expected to be completed early next quarter.

Wajir County Both Wajir and Garissa counties are served by one NRM technical staff who is based in Wajir. However, given the political uncertainty in Wajir County where the courts have nullified the election of the governor, it has become a challenge to get the county government to commit to the WDPC process, mainly due to prolonged absences of key technical staff.

As a result, the NRM adviser focuses more in Garissa county, while the county team in Wajir conducts strategic engagement meetings with key departments. AA2’s chief of party together with the county program coordinator and NRM advisor met with Wajir county’s chief economist who is leading the CIDP process, to discuss the Activity’s approach, and it was evident that the WDP process will be integral to the county government’s planning process. The team also met with members of the County Assembly from the five wards identified for WDP setup, along with key departments such as Livestock, Agriculture, Health, Education, Natural Resource Management, and Water. Bute ward in Wajir North subcounty was identified for the WDP process.

The team started the community mobilization process and will continue during the next quarter to complete the formation of the WDPC.

STRENGTHENED AND SUSTAINED RANGELAND AND WATER MANAGEMENT This section provides an update on AA2’s work to strengthening institutions, systems, and governance by promoting the overall stability of the pastoral system through facilitating planning in times of non-crises to create effective crises response, and build resilience to lessen the impact of crises when they occur.

Strengthen community engagement for effective rangeland and water management Parallel to the formation of the WDPCs, the Activity engaged in NRM initiatives. During the quarter, the rangelands specialist based in Isiolo and the deputy chief of party participated in a five-day pastoralism and policy training organized by Mercy Corps’ BRACED program and the International Institute for Environment and Development. The workshop was attended by stakeholders from different counties in northern Kenya. The objective was to understand the policy landscape in northern Kenya in relation to the livestock sector and to:

● Build understanding and consensus on the economic, ecological, and social rationale of pastoralism and particularly, the strategic importance of livestock mobility in ensuring household food security and a vibrant livestock-based economy in northern Kenya ● Raise awareness on the key provisions within the Constitution, the Land Policy, the County Government Act, the Community Land Act, and other relevant policies and laws that have specific provisions for securing the commons, cross-county and border mobility, community-identified and managed natural resource management rules and regulations in support of pastoralism ● Build consensus and agree to a broad work plan for the implementation of subsequent activities The lessons and best practices gained during the workshop are critical to the implementation of activities and policy development at later stages of the WDPCs.

Strengthen capacity of county government and national level bodies for rangeland and water management AA2 continues to support county government, NDMA, and other partners on NRM. The following is an update of activities conducted during the quarter.

● In Isiolo county, the senior rangeland specialist joined other key stakeholders of the Isiolo Climate Change and Environment Forum to review the Isiolo County Rangelands Management Policy. At the end of the meeting, a memorandum was compiled for submission to the county cabinet for review. ● At a meeting organized by the Center for Minority Rights Development, the Activity joined other stakeholder to review the National Climate Change Action Plan and provided input into the review of the draft County Climate Change Fund Bill. The bill was approved by the House Committee on Water, Environment, and Natural Resources and is currently at the Assembly for deliberation. ● The Activity’s Isiolo county-based senior rangelands officer was appointed as the representative for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working on the climate change action at a workshop on the National Climate Change Action Plan 2018–2022. The workshop was organized by the state government in Garissa in April 2018. Participants were drawn from other counties in the country. ● In Marsabit county, the Activity contributed towards the development of the Planning for Sustainable Natural Resource Management meeting. The Activity is a member of the NRM actors’ forum that is formulating the County Climate Change Policy. ● Also, in Marsabit county, the Activity participated in a Water Governance Workshop that brought together stakeholders to discuss and agree on ways of sharing work plans to avoid duplication of efforts.

STRENGTHENED DROUGHT RISK MANAGEMENT Support communities to develop improved water availability & access AA2 is working closely with the NDMA in all counties where it operates. In Isiolo, Marsabit, and Garissa, the Activity participated in reviewing the contingency plans discussed below. However, it is the formation of WDPCs that will lay the 31

foundation for this activity to take shape in the next quarter. The development of community based contingency plans and implementation of the priority areas, will be key to strengthening drought risk management at community level.

Strengthen drought response and coordination between NDMA and counties AA2 supported several initiatives led by NDMA across the five counties where it operates, aimed at improving drought response and coordination between NDMA and county governments. The following are the key activities that the Activity actively participated in and made contributions towards their implementation during the quarter:

▪ Isiolo County draft DRM policy dissemination meeting organized by NDMA and facilitated by PREG, led locally by Merti integrated Development Project (Mid P), a local organization in Isiolo. Following comments received from stakeholders, an improved version of the DRP policy was developed and has been shared with the Isiolo county executive. ▪ County Contingency Plan review meeting held in Isiolo to review the key indicators, thresholds, and possible interventions areas at all stages of the drought cycle (normal, alert, alarm, emergency, and recovery). ▪ Non-state actors lobbying for approval of Marsabit County Disaster Management Bill in Marsabit, which was approved at the end of the quarter.

Support development of improved information for effective drought cycle management and natural resource management The Activity met with NDMA in the counties where it operates to explain to them its approach on governance related to NRM, using the WDP process. The project also explored early warning early response, policy gaps, and Activity opportunities. In addition, county climate information services plans were discussed by looking at existing gaps and possible opportunities to improve available services. Once the community contingency plans are developed, the Activity will work closely with NDMA to improve ways of disseminating information for effective management of drought and natural resources.

STRENGTHENED CONFLICT MANAGEMENT Promote community mobilization for peace During the quarter, the Activity mapped key conflict hotspots in Garissa, Isiolo, Marsabit, Turkana, and Wajir counties. It also held meetings with the provincial administration, civil society organizations, and community leaders dealing with conflict.

As the WDP process continues next quarter, the Activity will support communities to identify the causes of conflict, the actors, impact, and to agree on possible resolution mechanisms. The WDPCs will incorporate peace actors in the ward to promote peaceful coexistence between warring communities.

Disburse peace dividends and oversee community-prioritized project This activity will take place once WDPCs are established and active conflicts are resolved.

Negotiate trans-border agreements This activity was not implemented during the quarter.

OBJECTIVE 2: IMPROVED HUMAN CAPITAL This section provides an update on AA2’s support to facilitate improved human capital to help individuals to become more resilient and prepared for economic engagement.

IMPROVED AND SUSTAINED HEALTH, NUTRITION, AND HYGIENE PRACTICES Support innovative community and private sector nutrition efforts to address drivers of malnutrition Activities under this intermediate result will be achieved through WDPs at community level, as well as through GIRL groups at household and individual levels. During the community participatory planning processes, nutrition will be a major focus

area under Feed the Future Kenya Livestock Market Systems Activity. Communities will be expected to identify nutrition promoting interventions during the development of drought contingency plans and ward development plans.

Build robust and sustainable behavior change systems The Activity developed terms of reference (ToR) for a nutrition study to be conducted early next quarter. The ToR was reviewed by AA2’s AOR, and alternate AOR who is a nutrition specialist. Recommendation of the study will be used to develop a behavior and social change communication strategy that will be used during the implementation of the Activity’s nutrition interventions. In addition, study recommendations will be used to inform the county and/or context specific interventions on the bests model to be integrated into program interventions, such as REAP, GIRL, WDP, as well as the approach to be used to undertake nutrition-sensitive interventions under AA1.

IMPROVED LITERACY, NUMERACY, AND LIFE SKILLS Promote life skills training Activities under this intermediate results will be achieved through the GIRL component of the Activity, whereby girls between 10 and 19 years old will participate in a structured nine-month training and mentoring program. Girls within this age group are the most vulnerable in the community where the Activity operates. They face a myriad of challenges, including early and forced marriage, early pregnancies, gender-based violence, school drop-out, and lack of economic opportunities and access to assets and financial services. The girls are further divided into two different age groups of 10 to 14 years, and 15 to 19 years, and include those in school and out of school. The aim is to empower the girls through life skills training to help them navigate through challenging social and cultural situations. The specific objectives of this activity include the following:

● Improved decision making ● Increased asset ownership amongst girls, including increased business opportunities ● Increased household income ● Diversified dietary intake at the household level through nutrition awareness ● Transition back to school for those who have dropped out ● Increases school attendance and retention

During the quarter, the Activity started the GIRL component in two wards where 15 groups were formed in each ward. The wards were selected based on the high number of reported incidences of early marriage, early pregnancies, and low education levels, amongst other key factors.

By the end of the last quarter, Mercy Corps had formed 67 GIRL groups with an enrolment of 1,675 girls. During this quarter, an additional 83 GIRL groups were formed with an enrolment of 2,075, bringing the total number of groups formed to 150 with an enrolment of 3,750 girls. Refer to Table 1 for more details. Each of the 150 groups are led by a mentor who is selected from the local community. Within the GIRL component, mentors are trained, who in turn train their respective group members under the supervision of the Activity’s GIRL project officers and community facilitators. Monitoring is conducted on a weekly basis to ensure that quality mentorship is provided and attendance of the trainings is maintained.

The process of recruiting girls started with mobilization of leaders from the communities and county and national government to inform them of the project’s goal and specific target groups and to address any potential changes and expectations. Given the cultural dynamics and the need to reinforce this AA2’s objective through mentoring, all the GIRL group mentors are women from the same community as the girls they are mentoring. Despite high incidences of early marriage and pregnancies, some communities are still sensitive to teaching adolescent girls about family planning. For example, in Marsabit, the project team had to conduct a series of meetings with community and religious leaders to convince them of the need to integrate family planning lessons. Despite the initial reluctance, the team finally managed to convince the elders, and as a result, family planning is now integrated into the girls’ training module.

Sensitization of community leaders from Yabello (left) and Kinisia (right) in Marsabit county on the need to integrate family planning in the girls’ training module.

During the quarter, 150 groups in the five counties where the Activity operates were provided with training materials, as well as materials for making reusable menstrual pads, menstrual cycle beads, and savings boxes.

In addition, Mercy Corps has also signed a memorandum of understanding with Lifeline Energy for the donation of 72 radio players. The radios will be distributed across the five counties where the Activity operates to disseminate key messages during community meetings on lessons developed by the Activity. Next quarter, the Activity will engage beneficiaries to develop content, as well as to prerecord plays and poems in the local languages for target groups.

Table 1: Number of GIRL groups formed in each county

County Number of Number of Total Number Total Number of Wards Groups (Q2) Groups (Q3) groups formed girls enrolled

Turkana 15 15 30 750 Kanam Kemer and Kerio

Marsabit 13 17 30 750 Butiye and Golbo

Wajir 29 1 30 750 Bute and Arbajahan

Isiolo 10 20 30 750 Ngare Mara and Burat

Garissa 0 30 30 750 Abaqelye and Daadab

Total 67 83 1501 3,750

SUPPORT COUNTY INITIATIVES FOR IMPROVED EDUCATION In Garissa, Isiolo, Marsabit, Turkana, and Wajir counties, the Activity engaged the Education Departments prior to establishing the GIRL groups. Given the high number of school drop-outs among girls and early marriages across the five counties, the Activity is targeting students as part of the GIRL component. The objective is to raise awareness and provide girls with relevant skills to ensure their retention in schools and transition to secondary schools. The girls are also sensitized on the available mechanisms to address negative cultural behaviors, for example, out of school girls, the in-school groups are taught life skills that will empower them. They in return are expected to empower their schoolmates through peer-to-peer groups.

Promote basic literacy and numeracy Out of school GIRL groups in Garissa, Isiolo, Marsabit, Turkana, and Wajir counties were taught basic literacy and numeracy. It is expected that by doing this, they will be inspired to want to learn more and will return to school to continue with their education.

The project team conducted pre-tests once the girls were recruited, and the results are used to monitor their individual progress. For instance, it has been established that groups with girls that are school drop outs were progressing well.

When it comes to older girls and those who are already married and are unlikely to continue with their education, the basic numeracy and literacy training will be beneficial to them when making decisions in the household.

1 The target for this financial year is 150 GIRL groups with 3750 members and this has therefore been achieved. 35

Promote life skills training A total of 150 groups with 3,750 members received life skills training in all five counties during the quarter. As previously mentioned in this report, the process began with the training of the mentors who in turn trained the girls in their respective groups. To date, all 3,750 girls have completed the first section of the life skills manual. AA2 adopted the training manual from Mercy Corps’ GIRL program in Turkana. The manual was reviewed and adapted to the girls’ needs by incorporating the cultural and religious diversities in each of the counties.

The Activity’s GIRL project officers and community facilitators conducted the trainings and also monitor GIRL group mentors. They also monitor the training of the girl groups, and this is done on a weekly basis, however, cases of insecurity in Ngare Mara ward in Isiolo county over cattle rusting and subsequent clashes between the local community and the security forces affected the timely monitoring of some groups. Despite this, the Activity was able to visit all groups as required. One of the key skills the girls learn during the life skills training is how to make reusable sanitary pads. Lack of access to sanitary pads is regarded as one of main A mentor taking girls through basic literacy in Wajir. causes of school dropouts and absenteeism and often forces young girls to be coerced by men on the pretext of providing them with pads. Girls both in school and out of school, are provided with materials for making reusable pads and are trained on how to make them. In addition, the girls were also taught how to make menstrual cycle beads that will help them monitor their menstrual cycles more closely. The objective of this training is to empower girls to make them independent by using use locally available materials to make reusable pads. Other activities conducted during the quarter include:

● Use of drama Girl groups in all counties use drama and plays to share information on key issues affecting them in their respective communities. Many of the plays focus on early marriage and the negative effects it has on the girl-child, early pregnancies, and peer pressure. The plays, based on cases from the training manual, are proving to be a good opportunity for the girls to express themselves and build their confidence. The Activity is planning to use selected girls to develop appropriate messages for community awareness and sensitization regarding issues such as NRM, conflict resolution, community-based disaster risk reduction, health and nutrition, and other livestock-related messages.

Core components of AA2’s life skills training

▪ Physical changes in boys and girls ▪ Menstruation and hygiene ▪ The process of menstruation ▪ Making re-usable sanitary pads ▪ Early pregnancy and its effects on girls ▪ Abstinence ▪ Family planning Mentors from Turkana county making re-usable pads (left) and on the right, their methods/child spacing colleagues from Wajir county showing the final products. ▪ Moon bead making ▪ Sexually transmitted infections

and HIV/AIDS ● Safe space training ▪ Gender based violence ▪ Life skills for leadership One of the key activities in the GIRL component is to provide safe spaces for girls in each community. During mentor trainings, they are taught PRA tools that help them to identify safe spaces for girls. These tools include transient walks, mapping, and a calendar to determine the seasonality of issues affecting girls— for example, are there particular months in the year when early marriage is common like during school holidays? During the process, the girls identified community institutions or areas they perceive as safe with access to appropriate services such as health, safety nets, and opportunities for economic growth. The objective is to help girls to understand their environment, to identify risky areas and seasons, and to understand available opportunities within their communities.

● Financial literacy and savings One of the objectives of the GIRL component is to empower girls economically. This is done by training them on financial literacy and to encourage savings. The out-of-school girls aged between 15 and 19 years are currently learning basic financial literacy and are being encouraged to start saving money. The groups were provided savings boxes and will be supported in developing a constitution to manage their savings. The groups will be saving from their own family incomes, ranging between $.50 - $1 (KSh 50- 100) per week. As groups save money and undergo further trainings in financial literacy, they will be supported in developing business plans and supported to access financial services.

● Stakeholder engagement During the quarter, the Activity’s GIRL project officers engaged various county government departments by sensitizing them on the objectives and approaches of the GIRL model. These included the Health Department, Gender Department, and Social Services Department, as well as the local administrations.

In Turkana, the Activity’s GIRL project officer met with Kenya’s First Lady, Mrs. Margaret Kenyatta, who gave her assurance to support the Activity and to advocate for the needs of vulnerable girls in the county by sensitizing other leaders to support the initiative.

In addition, staff of the Health Departments in the five counties where the Activity operates trained GIRL groups on family planning, sexually transmitted diseases, and gender-based violence.

A mentor with a Mission

“I am a victim of early marriage. I got married at 16, when I was in class eight. I have since dropped out of school and have two children, I am divorced. I decided to be a mentor under Feed the Future Kenya Livestock Market Systems Activity to help young girls to make the right decisions, so that they do not go through the pain I did. I want to mentor them. I want them to know their rights and be productive in society. I want to help young girls so that they can continue with their education and not become victims of negative cultural practices.” Mentor (center) from Nasuroi GIRL group acting a play on early Lilian Leisiamito marriage with colleagues from Isiolo county. Mentor, Nasuroi Girl Group, Isiolo County

OBJECTIVE 3: COLLABORATIVE ACTION & LEARNING FOR COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT This section provides an update on the Activity’s work on facilitating collaborative action and learning for the community.

STRENGTHENED USAID AND IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS SYSTEMS FOR SEQUENCING, LAYERING, AND INTEGRATION Both at national and county level, AA1 continues to actively participate in PREG meetings and workshops to strengthen partnerships and identify opportunities for learning. The following is an update of AA2’s participation in key events during the quarter:

● PREG monthly meetings held in in Garissa, Isiolo, Marsabit, Turkana, and Wajir counties to identify areas of potential layering of activities in each county ● Joint USAID field monitoring exercises held in Isiolo, Marsabit, and Turkana counties ● The Activity’s nutrition advisor attended the quarterly Nutrition Technical Working Group meeting to identify opportunities for sharing tools. Further discussions were held with K-RAPID, UNICEF, and Concern Worldwide on best practices. ● The Activity’s nutrition advisor attended a five-day SCALE+ nutrition workshop organized by Nutrition and Health Program Plus (NHPplus), a USAID funded nutrition program ● Joint work planning workshop held in Wajir county where opportunities for layering were identified ● REGAL-AG’s business grants launch events in Isiolo and Marsabit counties ● The MEL manger attended a one-week training on GIS organized by Kenya-RAPID in collaboration with SERVIR Africa. The objective of the training was to build the capacity of personnel working in arid- and semi-arid lands on the use of earth observation in bridging resilience and promoting sustainable development

SHARED INDICATORS AND LEARNING TO SUPPORT EXPANDED ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES 38

AA2 team in collaboration with the Activity’s awards and partners, reviewed the AMEL plan and indicators. In addition, AA2’s chief of party, deputy chief of party, and MEL manger reviewed the baseline survey report to check for quality and to assess how best to take the recommendations forward. Overall, the AA2 MEL manager has been instrumental in developing customized indicators for the award and in identifying opportunities for learning in the Activity.

Cross-Cutting Objectives

GENDER EQUITY AND FEMALE EMPOWERMENT During the quarter, AA2 Nairobi and county-based staff members participated in a gender mainstreaming training organized by the Leader. The objective of the training was to empower staff on how to integrate gender into the Activity’s interventions, and how to use best approaches to ensure women participation in work activities. Given the cultural dynamics in northern Kenya where women’s input is rarely sought, the training was particularly interesting and empowered the team on approaches to be used to ensure that decisions at the community level are inclusive.

At the end of the training, county staff developed gender action plans that will be closely monitored to ensure compliance in the coming Women participating in the community leaders quarter. To reinforce the action plan, AA2’s deputy chief of party workshop in Ngare Mare for the WDP process. They continues to ensure that the integration of Mercy Corps gender were part of the larger committee selected by the minimum standards are incorporated into the Activity’s interventions. clustered villages.

AA2 continues to empower women in all its activities. The WPDCs established in two counties during the quarter had women participants in all community meetings, and they were encouraged to actively participate and share their views. In the GIRL component, AA2 is working with 3,750 adolescent girls and is empowering them through teaching them life skills, basic literacy and numeracy, and health and nutrition. Meetings held during the quarter with key departments in county governments, such as Gender and Social Services and political leaders including Turkana county’s First Lady, were aimed at advocating for women’s empowerment across the sectors.

YOUTH Youth play an integral role in the implementation and sustainability of AA2’s interventions. As a result, they have been involved in the Activity’s work activities. In the WDPCs and GIRL component recruitment processes, they actively participated in community meetings that were held and in selections. During the quarter, youth formed community groups to facilitate decision making. This inclusive process provided an opportunity for youth to express their views and participate in decision making. Members of the WDPCs formed during the quarter include youth who will represent their interests in the committee and during advocacy with the county governments. The involvement of youth in this process empowers them with the necessary skills to organize themselves and engage stakeholders on issues that directly affect them. The youth now understand their role in community development and regard themselves as key decision makers in the community— a role that is normally dominated by elders with little regard to youth and women.

NUTRITION-SENSITIVE AGRICULTURE During the quarter, a number of activities that focused on achieving this objective were carried out, including the following:

● Review of existing curriculum for the GIRL component to mainstream nutrition and WASH into the girls training. Technical teams at headquarters reviewed the draft modules and their input was incorporated. The training will help beneficiaries to understand appropriate nutrition-sensitive agriculture that can be adopted locally. ● AA2 team reviewed growth grants proposals that are intended to support investment in Garissa, Isiolo, Marsabit, Turkana, and Wajir counties. One of the key criteria for the business selection is the ability of the proposed investment to support community nutrition and WASH.

However, this objective will primarily be achieved once the grants are disbursed and the WDPCs process advances to the next level in the coming quarter, where communities will conduct self-assessments and develop action plans through the PRA process. The Activity will support these communities to prioritize nutrition-sensitive agriculture and/or investments while providing them with the appropriate technical support.

START UP, ADMINISTRATION, PLANNING, AND REPORTING DELIVERABLES START UP, ADMINISTRATION, PLANNING, AND REPORTING DELIVERABLES

RAPID START UP AND ADMINISTRATION Staffing and Recruitment Mercy Corps managed to recruit all staff for AA2 during the last quarter, but as implementation went into high gear, it became evident that there is a significant gap with regards to operations and finances. In Marsabit, Isiolo, and Garissa where AA2 is hosted by ACDI/VOCA, Mercy Corps had not budgeted to recruit finance and logistics personnel as this was mainly supported by the county coordinators with assistance from the Nairobi office. However, given the fact that there is need to segregate duties and to ensure that compliance to both the donor and internal policies, Mercy Corps has internally agreed to recruit finance and administration officers in the three offices, who will be responsible for managing finance and operations duties. Doing this will enable county program coordinators to focus more on the delivery of activities under AA2.

In addition, Mercy Corps has advertised for the position of an additional NRM and conflict officer who will be based in Garissa county. The Wajir county based NRM specialist has been handling implementation in both counties. It has become evident that AA2 Objective 1 activities and the WDP process is delayed due to inadequate technical resources—hence the reason for the position in Garissa.

Following the resignation of AA2’s Marsabit county coordinator, Mercy Corps has advertised the position and the position is expected to be filled early next quarter.

Procurement Mercy Corps and ACDI/VOCA continue to work closely in the procurement of equipment for the Activity. The procurement of the vehicles by ACDI/VOCA which started last quarter is still on going, and it is expected that the vehicles will be delivered in the next quarter. Given that Mercy Corps had only budgeted for two vehicles, the team is facing challenges in the field due to lack of adequate transport to implement several activities. Short-term vehicle rentals have helped defray this burden and ACDI/VOCA continues to support AA2 activities whenever there are shortages of vehicles by using AA1 vehicles. But given that both awards will scale up activities in the coming quarter, the inadequate number of vehicles poses a major challenge in the effective delivery of activities.

PLANNING AND REPORTING DELIVERABLES

AMEL Plan: Staff of AA2 met to review the AMEL plan and theory of change before submission to USAID by the Leader. Separately, AA2’s MEL manager participated in a review exercise of the AMEL plan indicators.

A2 quarterly reflection and learning workshop: Mercy Corps conducted a quarterly reflection and learning workshop for AA2 county coordinators and the NRM team from Garissa, Isiolo, Marsabit, Turkana, and Wajir counties. The workshop was attended by the AOR for AA2 had the following objectives:

● to review the current project progress in each county against targets ● to identify challenges, lessons learned, and best practices ● to develop costed work plan and set targets for remaining quarters of the fiscal year ● to review the WPD process and develop implementation plan for each county Additionally, the policy and governance advisor made a presentation on the policy landscape in target counties and opportunities, while the gender and inclusion director and communication team made presentations on their respective components. At the end of the workshop, the team conducted a review exercise of the proposed WDP process and developed draft guidelines that detail each step of the process. Each county also developed costed work plans for the remaining quarter of the year to facilitate AA2 activities, to closely monitor its expenditure, and to submit a near accurate forecasts for each month.

Mercy Corps Kenya Senior Leadership Team: AA2’s deputy chief of party and county program coordinators attended a national Mercy Corps senior leadership workshop held in Nairobi. All programs implemented by Mercy Corps Kenya were represented and made presentations. This provided an opportunity for the Activity to learn about approaches used by other programs with similar objectives such as the DFID-funded BRACED program and GIRL project which are being implemented in Wajir and Turkana counties. During the event, the Activity made a presentation on how the NRM component is designed and shared experiences and best practices. The workshop also focused on program quality and knowledge management, finance and compliance, and gender, diversity, and inclusion at Mercy Corps.

Security training and assessments: Conflict over natural resources and political boundaries by armed groups is a common phenomenon in the counties where the Activity operates. Whenever there is conflict, activities slow down and development gains are lost. To help the team to plan better and integrate ‘Do No Harm’ principles and minimize risk, Mercy Corps trained key AA2 staff on risks and hazards inherent in the work areas, mitigation measures, and defensive driving. Staff were also trained on how to monitor early warning signs for potential conflicts and to develop risk matrices that will help to integrate mitigation measures in the event of conflict(s).

Mercy Corps Kenya’s security focal person conducted security assessments in three county offices of the Activity, Marsabit, Isiolo, and Turkana. Assessment reports with recommendations on areas to improve were shared with the Leader who also conducted similar assessments in other field offices.

GRANTS MANAGEMENT

The following are key activities conducted during the quarter.

Project Grants

● Identification and development of small grant opportunities were also conducted during the quarter in pursuit of Objective 1. This was centered around using the SLI approach to explore innovative ways of enhancing value chain and market system efficiencies by: a) building on other partners’ investments, b) focusing opportunities on a targeted geographical scope in each of our operational counties, and c) focusing on women and youth with the aim of linking

them to markets by diversifying their economic opportunities along value chain segments. This process culminated in the development of five RFAs—one for each county where AA2 operates with different focus areas and geographical targets all aimed at addressing market inefficiencies within livestock value chains, agriculture post-production, and value addition.

● AA2 reviewed the growth grant proposals received from Garissa, Isiolo, Marsabit, Turkana, and Wajir counties in response to a request for proposals that had been advertised in the previous quarter. Participation in the proposal review process was important for AA2 and provided the team with an opportunity to understand the business landscape in the counties. This will help in identifying potential businesses at the household and community level through AA2 grants.

● AA2, through the COP and the grants officer, continue to work closely with the grants team under the Leader to prepare small grants applications, to identify potential businesses, and to target groups before proposal solicitation starts in the next quarter.

Sub Grants under AA2

Mercy Corps signed sub-agreements with WomanKind and SAPCONE to implement project activities in Garissa and Turkana counties. This followed due diligence and capacity assessments that were conducted by AA2’s grants officer with support from Mercy Corps Kenya’s grant and compliance team from Nairobi. The agreement was submitted to ACDI/VOCA’s compliance team for approval. Mercy Corps’ grants and compliance team then met with the team to discuss the capacity recommendations in detail and later developed a capacity building plan to ensure that key findings were adequately addressed. During the same period, similar assessments were carried out with WASDA. However, delays in submission of key documents and management response to the findings of the capacity assessment led to the delay in signing of the sub-agreement. Consequently, the signing of the sub-agreement will take place early next quarter. Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning

AA2’s M&E plan will facilitate the routine tracking and assessment of project results. These includes selection of indicators and setting targets. Once the indictors were developed, the team started developing digital electronic M&E tools on an open data toolkit based platform called ONA. Staff were trained on the systems, and a pre-test of the tools and data entry were conducted in Turkana county. It is evident that the ONA system will provide AA2 with the appropriate platform for data collection as it provides an interface with the LEAP systems used by ACDI/VOCA. Since the training and pre-test were conducted, field staff have continued to report on activities. The system provides an interface for quality assurance and validation before final upload.

As shown in Annex 7, data flows from the field at point of entry (community) where initial verification is done by component heads, and then further reviewed by county program coordinators. If any anomalies are noted, feedback is provided. MEL staff then approves the data with inputs from project management team, and the verified data is visualized through indicator- related customized dashboards. The Activity’s AMEL team will continue to train staff while uploading data from all the five counties.

Mercy Corps Kenya is using a visualization platform called Canopy Discover for indicator reporting. The system is able to generate charts from different datasets like ONA, combine them into a common format to publish dashboards and share them securely with partners and donors.

AA2 field teams have also started collecting data based on GPS location. This is submitted along with the weekly field report and will later be entered into the systems. Doing this ensures that management is fully informed of implementation of activities and when to closely monitor work progress.

Communications

The communications team under the Leader supported AA2 during the quarter, by training staff on best practices when engaging and communicating with stakeholders and beneficiaries. They also provided a training on photography. In addition, AA2 posters were produced aimed at increasing the visibility of the Activity to internal and external target audiences. PLANNED ACTIVITIES FOR THE NEXT QUARTER

GRANTS MANAGEMENT

● Post award training for Womankind, SAPCONE, and WASDA

● Conduct quarterly financial monitoring visits for Womankind and SAPCONE

● Release of RFAs for small grants targeting safe space for GIRL groups in Turkana and Wajir Counties

● Review and select applicants to be supported under small grants

● Work planning for grant activities for FY19

ANNEX 1: CHARTS ILLUSTRATING THE RESULTS OF THE TARGETING FOR SELECTED WARDS IN ISIOLO COUNTY UNDER RURAL ENTREPRENEUR ACCESS PROJECT (REAP).

Figure 3: Scores by locations. Figure 4: PRA Nominated Households by Location

Figure 5: Distribution of PRA scores by location. Figure 6: Ratio of participants qualifying from PTT.

ANNEX 2: Summary Report of Marsabit County Based Business Types, Locations, Performance Indicator and Participants Income Under Rural Entrepreneur Access Project (REAP).

Figure 7: Types of Primary Businesses. Figure 8: Distribution of Business type by Location.

Figure 9: Growth in Business Value by Business Type. Figure 10: Growth in Business Value by Location.

ANNEX 3: Average Business Values and Average Value of Goods

Table 2: Average Business Values over the quarter by Business Type.

Table 3: Average Value of Goods taken as Income and Credit by Business Type.

Table 2: Average amount of cash taken as income and Credit by Business Type

ANNEX 4: BOMA Project’s Staff Induction Process Provided Under Rural Entrepreneur Access Project (REAP).

In Turkana, a four-day induction workshop for six REAP village mentors and one livelihood officer took place April 17-20, 2018, at St Teresa Pastoral Resource Centre in Lodwar. In Garissa, a four-day induction workshop for 14 REAP village mentors (nine from Wajir and five from Garissa) and three livelihood officers (two from Wajir and one from Garissa) occurred from April 19-22, 2018. Heavy rainfall in Garissa resulted in a two-day delay for their training as the Wajir team was unable to reach Garissa due to flooding. The BOMA Project team facilitated the induction workshops in both Wajir and Garissa. AA2’s chief of party and deputy chief of party participated in the workshops in Garissa and Turkana counties and enabled teams to understand the overall framework and deliverables of the Livestock Market Systems activity. All county coordinators and AA1 staff in Wajir, Garissa, and Turkana offices attended the REAP induction workshop. The induction workshop topics included:

● REAP overview ● Roles of BOMA Project and Mercy Corps in Turkana, Wajir, and Garissa counties. The BOMA Project will be providing technical assistance and technology software for implementing REAP, while Mercy Corps will conduct the implementation of REAP to reach a total target of 3,240 ● Definition of REAP target groups or participants or beneficiaries; ultra-poor women who have been selected through REAP targeting process and criteria ● Community entry process ensures that the community is sensitized to program activities and to seek community buy in. It enables communities to understand the main objective of REAP, time frame and target group ● Targeting participants: PRA methodology ● Targeting participants: PTT methodology ● Roles of REAP village mentors and livelihood officers ● Ethical issues REAP staff should observe ● SOLI baseline survey ● Generating business ideas and business mentorship ● Jump grant asset transfer training and disbursement. ● Basic adult learning and training skills: The sessions are aimed at helping REAP staff to ensure respect and recognition is given to participants’ life experiences. Learning is related to real-life problems, opportunities are provided to think and compare to their own practices and experiences, there is REAP Facilitators from Wajir and Garissa conducting a community recognition of their success, they get mapping exercise during induction training by BOMA support from other adult learners, and materials are relevant, attractive, and useful ● Mentor jobs (Taro works) ● Business monitoring tool (Taro works) 47

● Savings group monitoring tool (Taro works) ● Business and Life skills training (Taro works) ● Sample dashboard reports and alerts ● Business groups and savings groups formation, mentorship and monitoring ● Mentor timesheets (Taro works) ● Work plans and action points

The induction workshop enabled business group staff to understand the REAP model and to draft a detailed work plan for implementing the REAP model for Turkana, Wajir, and Garissa counties.

The table below shows the work plan developed during REAP staff induction in Turkana and Garissa for Year1 REAP implementation covering activities from April to September 2018.

Table 4: Template of REAP work plan.

Apri Description of Activities l May Jun Jul Aug Sep

Training of REAP staff (in house training and field immersion)

Community entry meetings with opinion leaders and village profile survey

Participatory rural appraisal (social mapping and wealth ranking) 3days per ward

Participatory Targeting Tool(PTT)

Job Training applications (formation of business groups)

Recruitments and training of enumerators

Standard of living index survey (SOLI)

Jump transfer disbursements (Asset transfer grants and business skills training)

The induction workshop was followed by a five-day field immersion for all 24 REAP staff. 18 REAP staff from Wajir and Garissa, and seven REAP staff from Turkana proceeded to their field immersion in Marsabit and Turkana in April 2018. The field immersion enables newly recruited staff to shadow more experienced staff from existing REAP groups in Marsabit and practice mentoring and monitoring of business groups. The field immersion enables new staff to develop confidence, witness the impacts businesses have on women, and motivate teams to achieve key performance indicators that enable women to reach graduation criteria on schedule.

ANNEX 5: Turkana County Held Training by Livestock Market Systems Activity (AA1)

Figure 11: List of participants.

ANNEX 6. WARD DEVELOPMENT PLANNING PROCESS

Figure 12: Ward Development Planning Process.

1. Stakeholder Mapping

2.Identification of target 11. .Implementation wards

3. Sensitization of 10. Dissemination and Community & Govt resource mobilization leaders on WDP concept

WARD DEVELOPMENT PLANNING STEPS

9. Approved and adopted 4. Community WDP Mobilization

8. Review and Reflection 5. Planning and process workshop workshop

6. Community 7. Draft WDP Participatory Planning Process

Annex 7. Data Flow Chart for AA2

Figure 13: Growth in Business Value by Location.

ANNEX 8. GIS DATA COLLECTION FOR FEED THE FUTURE KENYA LIVESTOCK MARKET SYSTEMS

Figure 14: Link of GIS Data collection

LMS_ Kenya IP GIS Data Collection Template PREG_22 July 2018_QUATERLY.xlsx

ANNEX 9. MAP - FEED THE FUTURE KENYA LIVESTOCK MARKET SYSTEMS Figure 15: Map of Kenya