The partnership between CRAFT and Starlight Farmers’ Cooperative Society Ltd aims to develop climate proof approaches in the potato value chain by promoting greater awareness and facilitating the uptake of climate smart service delivery at the smallholder farmer level.
Starlight leverages the strategic engagement of actors at different nodes of the agricultural value chain to achieve this.
In recognition of her Seed Multiplication System that was put in place with the support of this Project, Starlight was on the 2022 International Potato Day awarded for being the "Best Cooperative in Potato Seed Production," in Kenya.
Through improving access to new crop varieties, Starlight demonstrates the role farmer cooperatives can play in building the climate resilience of smallholder farmers in Africa.
Key interventions
- Build the capacity of the business champion in leadership, business management skills, marketing, and financial inclusion.
- Enhance the capacity of 1,500 smallholder farmers by 2022 on scheduled contract farming agreements to improve potato production by 15% through climate smart agronomy.Recruit and train 20 Training of Trainers (ToTs) on climate smart agriculture. In turn, the ToTs are expected to train the SHFs, conduct continuous sensitisation, and follow up on agreed actions.
- Facilitate linkages between the farmers and 13 value chain actors in areas of mechanisation, finance, inputs, offtakers, and storage.
- Facilitate the set up 36 demo farms to showcase CSA practices and technologies and facilitate self-directed learning for SHFs.
About the Business Champion
Starlight Farmers’ Cooperative Society Ltd is a farmer owned and led agri-business organization in Kuresoi North Subcounty in Nakuru Kenya. The company deals in seed potato multiplication, milk collection, and marketing. Its services include selling seed potatoes to farmers, supporting potato production, aggregation, and marketing. To further strengthen climate resilience in the potato value chain in its areas of operation, Starlight set up an Agrovet shop that supplies farmers with genuine and affordable inputs.
