MASTER THESIS
The Construction of Success
Applying PQmethodology to unravel how knowledge brokers shape the development process in Kiambu County, Kenya
Supervised by dr. ir. Yves van Leynseele Second reader: dr. E.K. Eric Chu Jacob Schaap 10242813
2 Cover photo: chicken farmer (by author)
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Remco Rolvink for offering me the possibility to combine my research with the production of a short video about the RAIN project.
Many thanks to Alexander Valeton and his excellent video production company Media HQ – Nairobi (including Florian Fussstetter, Hanna Matheron, Brenda & Justin Wachira) for help and guidance on my video assignment, for offering me working space and for sharing countless, colorful stories about life in Kenya. And finally, thank you for your friendship.
Much of this this thesis I owe to Yves, who went out of his way to make time for me, read my progress and advise on which road to take next. You helped me to get the most out of it. Thank you for inspiring me.
Kind regards,
Jacob Schaap
A thesis in video
As an assignment for DASUDA, I produced a short video highlighting the
inclusiveness of the RAIN project and discussing some of the concerns expressed by different stakeholders. The video taps into the same research data as this thesis. The video can be found in the following link and unlocked with the password “nairobi”: https://vimeo.com/225221961
3 Abstract
Regional Agro Industrial Networks (RAIN) is a Public Private Partnership (PPP) aiming to achieve food security in Kenyan urban areas through spatial planning interventions. The success of a PPP is determined by several factors that are addressed by so-called development brokers. The research for this thesis is an assignment by such a development broker aiming to improve the understanding of different narratives along the food value chain in Kiambu, Kenya. I generated PQmethodology with representatives from 5 stakeholder groups: consumers, farmers, supermarkets, politicians and foreign experts. I identified three narratives about the future of agriculture and identified four reoccurring themes that were brought up most by my respondents during the research. The narratives vary greatly in terms of the position of the smallholder, agricultural brokers, necessity of quality control and the added value of foreign experts. However, the research concludes none of the narratives is necessarily negative towards the interventions planned by RAIN. The research data is used to construct a communication advise for the brokering process in the RAIN intervention and emphasizes the important role of development brokers. In the final part of this thesis, the usefulness of PQmethodoligy in discourse research is assessed, considering the particularities and shortcomings of this specific research.
4
Inhoudsopgave
Acknowledgements 2 A thesis in video 2 Abstract 3 List of figures 6 1. Introduction 7 2. Theoretical framework 10 2.1 PPP - Partnering with the private sector 10 2.2 PPP – factors that determine its failure or success 11 2.3 innovation systems 12 2.4 match making in innovation 13 2.5 brokering in PPPs 14 2.7 conclusion 15 3. Research Questions and Methodology 17 3.1 problem statement and research questions 17 3.2 Research method – introducing PQmethodology 18 3.3 Applying PQmethodology to research the RAIN intervention 19 Phase one: exploring the field 19 Phase two: collecting sorts 22 Phase three: analyzing sorts 25 3.4 A qualitative interpretation of PQmethodology 27 3.4 Embedded as filmmaker 28 3.5 Limitations to this research 30 4 Background of the research 32 4.1 Food security and food safety in Kenya 32 4.2 Fitting in RAIN 34 4.3 Tomatoes 36 4.4 Market analysis into the current situation 37 4.5 Partners in the RAIN project 38 4.6 devolution of government 40 4.7 Kiambu County 41 4.8 Dutch policy background 42 4.9 conclusion 44 5 Main findings and discussion 46 5.1 motivating sorts 46 5.2 Land Subdivision 47 5.3 Food Quality 49 5.4 Agricultural brokers 51 5.6 Foreign experts 56 5.2 PQnarratives 57 5.3 conclusion 60 6 RAIN – building a business case 61 6.1 DASUDA, Knowledge Brokers 61 Brokering and acquisition - selecting clients 61 6.2 The process 62 6.3 The solution 64 6.4 Assumptions underlying the project 65 6.5 Using PQ methodology to construct a business case 65 6.6 Conclusion 675 7 Conclusion 68 7.1 The RAIN narrative 68 7.2 Brokering for RAIN 69 7.3 PQ methodology as a method to analyze discourse 70 8 Literature 73 9 Appendix 77
6 List of figures Overview of different phases to apply PQmethodology in the case of RAIN ... 19 Final list of PQstatements. ... 21 research set-up for PQmethodology ... 22 Respondents per stakeholder group followed by their code in the statistical software program PQmethod. ... 23 Entering PQsorts in the statistical software program PQmethod. Not that the PQboard I designed in the software is equal to the PQboard designed in reality. ... 25 Rotating of statements is a technique to find distinct clusters on which respondents can be loaded ... 26 Loading respondents on the three distinct clusters. Respondent on is loaded on cluster two, respondent two is loaded on cluster three, and so forth. ... 26 Codes used to analyze interviews and number of quotes per code ... 28 The diagram of a Regional Agro Industrial Network shows how agriculture and agribusiness meet in consolidation centers where products are processed and stored to enter the city markets or to prepare for export markets (DASUDA, 2017). ... 35 Kiambu County and its administrative subdivision unfortunately difficult to read but is shows the sub-counties: Gatundu South, Gatundu North, Ruiru, Thika, Githunguri, Kiambu, Limuru, Kikuyu and Lari (Kiambu County, 2013). ... 41 Brokers come in different shapes and sizes. This man uses his car to transport eggs from farms in Kiambu to restaurants in Nairobi. ... 52 Distribution of respondents over the different narratives. ... 60
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1. Introduction
The agricultural sector in Kenya, as in many Sub-Saharan countries, is driven largely by a policy and practice push to transform smallholder farmers into entrepreneurs while continuing to address food insecurity challenges (Kilelu et al., 2011). Numerous international, (non)-governmental development organizations support the policy and are currently involved in Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) such as innovation systems facilitating agricultural innovation across Kenya. Collaborations that support this intervention consist of a wide selection of actors from the public domain, private business and researchers (Kilelu et al., 2014) and offer a broad selection of innovation support systems. In the Dutch development collaboration aiming to support agricultural innovation, there is a strong emphasis on the role of private businesses in development. The Dutch foreign policy ‘A World to Gain, A New Agenda in Aid, Trade and Investment’ formally motivates Dutch companies to participate in PPPs throughout developing economies (Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2013). Even though, evidence regarding the impact of PPP’s on smallholder producers is very limited (Poulton, 2012).
In this thesis, I will zoom in on the case of the Dutch development cooperation ‘Regional Agricultural Industrial Network’ (RAIN), a public-private partnership aiming to spatially and financially construct development plans for agro-industrial hubs in Kenya. RAIN is currently active in two out of 47 Kenyan counties. It has a strong focus on bringing in Dutch expertise in the planning stage of development projects. RAIN has constructed a spatial planning tool in which it facilitates the exchange of knowledge through training, ultimately aiming to construct an agricultural Greenhub. A Greenhub is a logistical solution to food provision in urban areas where food is collected through shared logistical channels, storage and processing improve efficiently and food quality. Greenhubs have already proven their success in the Netherlands and the RAIN-team argues that the system could very well be re-contextualized to a Kenyan context and fit the local challenges of urbanization and population growth. After the planning phase of the agrohub the Duch partners will opt out of the RAIN program, leaving it to the local government to find appropriate investors and users for the agro hub construction. However, since the current RAIN
8 programs are the first RAIN programs, Dutch partners stays involved longer to ensure lasting impact and success, which can be used to market the project to other local governments.
The concept is promoted by DASUDA, an umbrella foundation representing the interests of private companies and institutes specialized in spatial planning who are involved in the project. DASUDA has taken up a brokering role and works hard to build partnerships between the companies it represents and (local governments). Recently, RAIN completed the planning phase of the Greenhub with the government of Kiambu County and now prepares to attract investors and companies who want to be part of the network. To build a strong and coherent business case that appeals to different stakeholders along the food value chain DASUDA needs to consider different stakeholder perspectives along the food value chain they seek to change. They asked me to research what narratives are currently commonplace along the food value chain and to advise them on how to consider these narratives in their business case.
I designed an instrument suitable for PQmethodology, which allows for symmetrically research across groups of stakeholders by asking different respondents to sort the same, relevant, statements on a board according to their opinion. All sorts are combined to give an overview of the different stakeholder narratives and who supports them. The sorting process is much like a structured interview, where respondents can express what themes are most important to them. I used this data to to write a communication recommendation on how RAIN can further develop their business case inclusive to potential stakeholders, and I used the data to produce a short film that highlights the inclusiveness of the RAIN project towards other stakeholders.
In this thesis, I will highlight the role of DASUDA as a professional knowledge broker that is responsible for translating the practical interventions in a justifying narrative of “success” which all stakeholders can rally around, and is important in involving and convincing aid donors (Mosse & Lewis 2016). My research has shown that while
9 there are many different narratives in the food value chain, none of them seems to exclude the RAIN scheme of spatial planning and the introduction of agro hubs. All narratives can be considered in the RAIN business case, without changing the nature of the project. Finally, I will take the opportunity to reflect on the usability of PQmethodoligy in the pinpointing of different narratives.
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2. Theoretical framework
The private sector’s growing interest in developing countries as new consumer markets and as new sources of production for global supply chains, is best reflected by the monetary flows going into the developing world. Today, the private sector is the biggest player in developing countries, leaving other monetary flows like
remittance and development funds far behind (Ion, et al., 2014). This new player is eager to work with donor organizations as it is argued that they understand the unique challenges that come with working in the developing countries contexts and with poor populations. On the other hand, donors are very willing to partner up with the private sector to leverage their vast resources to achieve development impacts, but also because the private sector is the front runner in research and development, unlocking innovation that could be beneficial to lowest income people (Ion, et al., 2014).
In this chapter, I will discuss how the private sector and donor organizations collaborate in development related PPPs and how these are perceived in the available literature. Next, I will use examples from innovation systems theory to indicate the different roles in these partnerships. Together, this should form a framework in which RAIN and DASUDA should be understood.
2.1 PPP - Partnering with the private sector
Development agencies, as well as the public sector and governmental originations are increasingly looking for ways to structure their engagement with the private sector. One of the constructions that has had much attention, not in the least from the Dutch government, is the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) (Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2013; Ion, et al., 2014). A PPP is a partnership between private companies and a government. It is inherently different from collaborations based on tendering. A process in which the government designs a long list of guidelines and conditions on how a project should be executed before looking for a partner. In a PPP, the public party is likely to be more focused on the end goal (as a dot on the horizon) and will leave the means to reach this end goal (the roadmap) to the private party.
11 The ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Netherlands conducted a literature review to assess the functioning of 18 different PPPs. In the review, the authors were reluctant to establish a definition on what exactly a PPP entails, how it functions and what its outcome should be. The agreement on definition goes as far as stating that a PPP is a “Cooperation between a public- and private party”. In most of the PPPs discussed by the study, there is agreement that there is an “Agreement on sharing of resources
and tasks”, and a “Clear agreement on goal”. In most cases, there is an “Combination of public- and private funding”, and finally in almost half of the cases
there is a statement on “Distribution of risks between the public and the private
sector” (Internationaal Onderzoek en beleidsevaluatie, 2013, study 378)
The PPP fits the Dutch Foreign Affairs policy transition from aid to trade. The shift from ‘aid to trade’ entails an increased involvement of the private sector in international development. Through budgetary incentives private companies are motivated to align their business goals with the international development agenda. I will elaborate further in chapter ‘4.5 Dutch Policy background’. A PPP allows governments not only to reach out to the public sectors to share the risk in costly programs, but also because of the private sectors expertise and knowledge about emerging markets and connection to those and international markets (European Commission, 2004: P7).
2.2 PPP – factors that determine its failure or success
The IOB study (378) provides several factors that are of influence on the failure or success of a PPP.
(a) standard setting and permanent involvement of public agencies, (b) clear formation requirements (goals, inputs and expectations),
(c) sound regulatory framework regarding costs recovery and benefit distribution, (d) adequate partner selection arrangements (based on compatibility, capability, commitment and control),
(e) common vision and mutual trustful relationships and
(f) transparent negotiation on multiple interests of key participants (Internationaal Onderzoek en beleidsevaluatie, 2013, study 378).
12 The first three factors; A, B and C are much concerned with the formal organizational structure of the PPP, while the final three factors, D, E and F are concerned with the construction of a common vision. My thesis will be concerned with the final three factors. I argue that in the PPP structure there is a need for certain intermediate actors who act as matchmakers to improve the nature of the collaboration and create a common vision. However, the literature on PPPs is not very sophisticated when it comes to discussing these types of actors. To further explore these actors, I will consider innovation systems literature. In the next section, I will introduce innovation systems and point at commonalities with PPP structures. Next, I will elaborate on so called innovation system brokers to explain how intermediary actors are of value for PPPs.
2.3 innovation systems
Innovation systems usually pertain to the analysis of technology development in a concrete platform setting. The innovations are supposed to bridge the gap between demand and supply of services by exchanging knowledge and innovations. Intermediary brokers play a major role by bringing different actors together and aligning their interest to participate in these systems.
In the past, innovation systems, funded with development money, where mostly science-based and technology-driven. Innovation agenda’s where set by experts and only then shared with local stakeholders. The idea was that scientists would develop or introduce new technology, extension agents would “transfer” it to farmers, who would then apply it in their own fields and agricultural development would occur. These systems proved very limited in their development impact and were largely discontinued in the early 1990s when the World bank started promoting more participatory programs. The main criticism was that they did not consider place-specific knowledge of the farmer, let alone the cultural context in which the farmer operates (Nederlof, 2012). Ultimately, development agents were driven to rethink their strategies and adopt demand-driven approaches such as farming systems research (FSR) and participatory technology development (PTD) which later evolved in systems based on participatory technology development. The transition could be described as moving from attempting to manipulate stakeholders into different,
13 Western inspired behavior, to empowering stakeholders to critically asses what innovations fit their space-specific situations (Jones et al., 2013). The Demand-driven innovation aims to turn the process up-side-down, putting the needs of the stakeholder central and seeking technology that is derived from research agendas shaped by the stakeholder’ influence (Paassen et al., 2013); (Roling, 2012); (Kilelu, 2011); (Jones, 2014). Local farmers’ knowledge and skills are combined with those of external agents to develop place-specific and socioeconomically adapted farming techniques to address challenges and opportunities facing smallholder farmers (Jones, 2014) (Kilelu, 2014). As stated in the introduction, Innovation systems rely on broad partnerships that are brought together by intermediate actors who undertake a brokering role to find a ‘best-fit’ between the innovation need, supply and context (Kilelu et al., 2011), in the next section I will explore this brokering role more in-depth and point out the applicability for PPP structures.
2.4 match making in innovation
Innovation systems are based on the principle that to find meaningful long-lasting innovations different people, enterprises, governments and institutions should be brought together to turn ideas into a process, product, or service (Kilelu et al., 2014). All these different actors are known as stakeholders. Stakeholders are often classified in types such as stockholders, employees, supply chain partners and consumers, competitors, governments and communities (Donaldson and Preston 1995). In my research, I consider Consumers, Farmers, Markets, Politicians and Foreign experts as the different stakeholder groups.
By constantly improving the match in the innovation system, brokers have an important role in enhancing innovation processes (Kilelu et al., 2014); (Kilelu et al., 2011); (Klerx et al., 2011). The brokers facilitation of exchanges (either in knowledge or recourses) is of particular importance in developing societies and countries with governments lacking capacity to support agricultural innovation. It links stakeholders via informal, voluntary, and asymmetrical relationships reducing the unpredictability of the state’s efforts at intervention and control (Harrison, 2013; Mosse & Lewis 2006). Intermediaries are not only passive channels for information flow; they articulate and promote their clients need, and search through existing and new
14 knowledge to find options that best meet those needs (Romney, 2013). Sometimes they will need to take an advocacy role to empower certain groups such as farmers, when they are being disadvantaged in the innovation system. To take up this roll the broker needs to apply a skillset of diplomacy and careful balancing of stakeholders (Klerkx et al. 2009), to ensure he retains his legitimately and can engage with all stakeholders in the innovation process as it evolves. Sometimes brokers will take up the role of trainers or advisors to create the best fit between knowledge supply and demand, as will be case in my research.
Professional brokers such as managers are responsible for translating the practical interventions in a justifying narrative of “success” which all stakeholders can rally around, and is important in involving and convincing aid donors (Mosse & Lewis 2016). In my specific research case, the study of brokerage is used to analyze how a policy model such as transformation of smallholder farmers into entrepreneurs is presented convincingly to relevant stakeholders and transformed into applicable and practical interventions. This form of brokering entails lobbying and advocating to overcome resistance to change and to build legitimacy for the innovation system. This brokering role extends well beyond the creation of knowledge and into the realm of effecting the demand for knowledge. (Nederlof, 2012). The lobbying for change can be in the form of trainings and entails a process of collaborative learning in which experts who add knowledge on the topic of the intended innovation team up with local farmers who bring understanding of the local situation, demand and implementation potentials.
2.5 brokering in PPPs
In the previous section, I explained the role of so-called intermediate actors in the context of innovation systems. In this thesis, I argue that in the context of PPPs, there also is a need for this type of actor to address the issues related to the creation of a common vision as were highlighted by the IOB study discussed earlier:
- adequate partner selection arrangements,
- common vision and mutual trustful relationships and,
- transparent negotiation on multiple interests of key participants. (IOB study 378, 2013).
15 In my research, I examine how DASUDA takes up an intermediary role to align different stakeholders in the RAIN project. Knowledge brokers such as DASUDA are extending into the realm of affecting the demand through advocating, lobbying and mutual learning schemes. I problematize this, because DASUDA represents several private businesses that have interests in the RAIN project. There is a danger that conflict of interest arise and profit is chosen over development.
The RAIN project demonstrates that private businesses indeed have an increasingly large part to play in innovation systems. As an umbrella foundation, DASUDA represents the interests of more than 15 private companies that are running a business while working to achieve government set development goals. In agricultural innovation systems, having commercial parties from the public sector on board can help design innovations that increase a farmer’s output of marketable products and the farmer’s connection to the market. Moreover, the current Dutch Foreign Affairs policy seeks to align development goals with well-informed business self-interest. On the other hand, PPP’s are not without criticism. Not all PPPs inherently benefit the poor, nor do they integrate them into their solutions (Ion, et al., 2014). In fact, the evidence regarding positive development impact of PPP’s on smallholder producers has been very limited (Poulton, 2012). Lobbying for change is an accurate way to describe the role of DASUDA within the RAIN network. In this specific research case, the development broker should work to include place specific food security issues of Kiambu county as well as Dutch-Kenyan development policy requirements into the broader theme of Greenhubs. In chapter four, I discuss the background against which the intervention takes place. It will become clear that the RAIN intervention needs to deal with subdivision of the land, food quality issues, the position of the broker and the role of foreign experts. These themes will be reoccurring in this thesis as drivers for the narrative that PQmethodology will generate.
2.7 conclusion
In this chapter, I discussed PPPs to offer a framework in which RAIN and in extension DASUDA should be understood. The literature raised several issues that play a role in the failure or success of a PPP. Issues that could very well be
16 addressed by so-called intermediary actors. Since the literature on PPPs is limited when it comes to these types of actors I included literature on innovation systems. In the innovation systems literature, the intermediary role is well established and offers an informed angle to understand the functioning of RAIN and DASUDA
In my research, I will understand RAIN as a PPP, whilst considering DASUDA as a knowledge broker that addresses the PPPs collaborative challenges: - adequate partner selection arrangements, - common vision and mutual trustful relationships and, - transparent negotiation on multiple interests of key participants. In my thesis, I explore how DASUDA tackles these challenges. DASUDA focusses on knowledge sharing, as it promotes the importance of planning processes before the executing of projects. However, they are also driven by the importance to build a strong business case to sell their planning knowledge across the developing world.
As an intern within DASUDA, I explored different stakeholder perspectives along the food value chain. My research is focused on identifying these different perspectives and advise DASUDA on how to integrate these in their business case.
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3. Research Questions and Methodology
In the precious chapter, I discussed innovation systems theory and PPPs as frameworks in which to understand DASUDA and RAIN. I highlighted the importance of aligning stakeholder objectives and I used innovation systems literature to explain the role of intermediary actors in the process. While the previous chapter has shown the importance of understanding different stakeholder’s perspectives, it did not explain how to do this. In this chapter I will introduce my methodology to discover different stakeholder perspectives.
3.1 problem statement and research questions
This thesis is built on an assignment by RAIN to investigate different stakeholder perspectives and advise on how to engage with these stakeholders. To answer this question, I will first investigate into the RAIN project. I will use their documents to explain the RAIN narrative and shed light on how RAIN promotes this narrative among relevant stakeholder. Next, I will interview pre-defined stakeholder groups, namely consumers, farmers, politicians, markets and foreign experts to pinpoint other narratives along the food value chain. As a final step, I will research how RAIN can incorporate these narratives in their own narrative to build a strong and inclusive business case. To structure my research, I will answer the following research question:
How can RAIN incorporate stakeholder narratives into their own narrative?
And three sub questions:
What is the ‘RAIN perspective’ and the sets of assumptions, viewpoints, opinions, beliefs, and attitudes underpinning it?
Which other stakeholder perspectives are prevailing along the food value chain RAIN seeks to change?
18 The last question is a methodological question that came up during the research. Since it was the first time for me to apply PQmethodology, which I will explain in the next section, I wanted to take the opportunity to reflect on my experience using it in relation to PPP analysis.
3.2 Research method – introducing PQmethodology
The psychologist William Stephenson (1953) developed PQmethodology in the 1930s as a tool to systematically research human subjectivity. It combines elements from both quantitative and qualitative research traditions to identify a person’s beliefs, opinions and attitude (Baker, 2006). Although specifically designed for the field of psychology, the methodology proved to be a valuable tool in analyzing discourse and has been deployed in work on environmental policies (Addams and Proops, 2000). PQmethodology allows a researcher to step away from the idea that the stakeholders are clearly distinguished groups. By posting the same question to respondents from different stakeholder groups PQmethodology can break through the different categories normally considered to be ‘worlds apart’ and detect cross-cutting perspectives and unexpected distributions (Hilhorst et al., 2012). I adopt the methodology to identify different stakeholder perspective held along the food value chain and test them with the perspective health by DASUDA.
PQmethod takes place in several distinct phases. Phase one is a qualitative exploration of the field. It can be policy analysis, structured and unstructured interviews or observations from the field. The data collected in this phase, informs the design of a tool suitable for PQmethod. This tool consists of a PQboard, PQstatements and a list of stakeholder groups from where representatives will be selected. In phase two data is gathered by letting respondents sort the PQstatements on the PQboard based. In phase three data is analyzed by aggregating all the collected sorts and identifying clusters of statements that are often sorted together. These clusters serve to describe certain discourses or perspectives. By analyzing individual sorts, it becomes clear on which narrative the individual respondents can be sorted best. It allows me to break through stakeholder barriers and research
19 shared and opposing narratives. In the next section I will elaborate on how I will set up the different phases in my research.
3.3 Applying PQmethodology to research the RAIN intervention
Overview of different phases to apply PQmethodology in the case of RAIN Phase one: exploring the field
The decisions made in phase one are partly theory-driven and partly derived from a qualitative exploration of the field and serve to design a PQtool for data collection. I started with a desk study to find out more about PPPs, innovation systems and agriculture in Kenya. Next, I conducted interviews with experts and potential
stakeholders in combination with observation from the field to gain an understanding of the dynamics in the local food value chain of Kiambu. I attended RAIN meetings with local politicians and foreign expert to see how the interact with one and another. And finally, I studied the different RAIN communication what exactly is part of the RAIN narrative. documents to understand how the RAIN project. The documents included in this study are:
- DASUDA- Nairobi Fruit and Vegetable Procurement Systems – A Market For Change?
20 - DASUDA (2017) Greenport of Kiambu, proposition document
- DASUDA (2017) PowerPoint presentations used for county meetings - RAIN business case based on tomatoes
- Kiambu county spatial plan
- County Integrated Development Plan (CIPD)
-County Government of Kiambu – Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries
Phase one ends with the designing of a PQtool building on the collected data, which serves as an ‘qualatative exploration of the field’. The tool consists of PQstatements, a PQboard on which the PQstatements can be sorted and a selection of stakeholder groups that need to be included in the research. I designed 34 statements to test assumptions and thoughts I encountered during my exploration of the field and desk study. Statements q-Research Locally produced food does not meet the standards of the local middle class The demand for high quality agricultural products is growing Farmers in Kiambu should produce according to international export standards Food should be of certified quality (international standards in relation to pesticides e.g.) There is enough food in Kenya I think it is unfair that the demand for export standards excludes smallholder farmers from agricultural networks All farmers should be able to tap into the market, even if they produce low quality and quantity I think it is a good thing that smallholder farms will disappear as a side effect of professionalizing production Western Experts are here mainly to make money Western experts are here mainly to help the local community Western experts and local farmers can be friends Western experts who advise in land planning help local agribusiness to make more profit Farmers in Kiambu need more outside knowledge to on planning to increase their agricultural output (quantity and quality) Kiambu farmers know best how to serve the Kiambu market, there is no need to produce up to international certified quality Kiambu farmers make optimal use of their lands, there is no need for foreign experts to come in Food security can only be addressed if different sectors work together (agriculture, planning, logistic etc) Small holder farmers are an important part of Kenyan (agro) tradition and should not disappear
21 Final list of PQstatements.
The statements cover several fields that are relevant to the RAIN intervention: - The role of foreign experts (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 20)
- Local food demand and international standards (1, 2, 3, 4 5, 6, 7, 14, 32) - Upscaling and professionalization (8, 17, 19, 25, 29, 33)
- value chain and market acces (16, 21, 22, 23, 24, 27, 30) - Spatial planning (18, 26, 28, 31, 34)
To ensure my list of statements was well balanced, I tested them both with RAIN advocate Remco Rolvink and Dr. Hannington Odame who has 25 years of experience in agricultural knowledge sharing and learning tools and has a keen interest in inclusive agricultural innovation systems, with a focus on smallholder innovations. Remco Rolvink end dr. Hannington Odame have very different ideas on how to tackle food security issues, their shared input will ensure a well-balanced list of PQstatements that does not favor one viewpoint over another.
traditional subdivision of land is holding back food security Small holder farmers are valuable to food security Western experts understand an appreciate the local situation The share brokers earn is to big when compared to other stakeholders Brokers are a farmer’s best connection to the local market Food quality can be increased by better logistics Food security is very important and should not only be organized by agribusiness, the government should play a role Green house farming is a good method to mitigate with climate change (little rain) If it is necessary for food security, informal settlements should be removed There is not enough trust in agribusiness for different actors to collaborate on making the food production more efficient Spatial planning is an important instrument to improve food security The true innovation that Kenyan agriculture needs is not more pesticides, seeds and new material, but better organization Post-harvest loss is a serious threat to food security in Kiambu Urban sprawl in agricultural lands is a serious threat to Kenyan food security There is no need to import food, Kiambu can feed itself upscaling of farms is necessary, even if this means that some farms will disappear formalizing land subdivision should be better organized even if this means that people will lose land claims
22 Respondents are required to sort the PQstatement on a PQboard according to their level of (dis)agreement with the statements. The respondent places statements he disagrees with heavily in the far-left column, statements he feels neutral about is the middle column and statements he agrees with heavily in the far-right column. the design forces the respondent to distill the statements he feels most strongly about, as the board offers much space for statements where the respondent is neutral about, but only limited space for statements where the respondent feels strongly about.
research set-up for PQmethodology Phase two: collecting sorts
Phase two is about collecting data. In contrast to standard survey analysis, PQmethodology does not get into characteristics such as demographical features. But rather examines patterns within and across stakeholder groups by focusing on their perception of a particular issue. PQmethodoligy assumes there are only a limited number of ordered sorts which is why A minimum of only four representatives per stakeholder group is required to sort the statements on the board (Barry and Proops 1999:339).
Based on the field exploration in phase one I selected five stakeholder groups to be included in the research: Farmers (agr), Middle Class Consumers (cons),
23 Supermarkets (spr), Foreign Experts (exp) and County Politicians (pol). Limited by time and the difficulty to make appointments I selected the minimum of four representatives per stakeholder groups, except for county politicians of whom I spoke with 5 representatives.
Jude Muoki consumer cons1
Joshua Obaga consumer cons2
Julita Bhagat consumer cons3
Brenda Wachira consumer cons4
David Gatimu Director of planning pol1
Dr. Samwel Otiento Chief Officer – Trade, Industry, Tourism and cooperatives pol3 Ruth Ng'ang'a Director of Agri-business pol2
Gerald Githinji Deputy Governor pol 5
Dr. Monicah Waiganjo Minister of agriculture pol 4
Stephen Nyutu Cattle farmer agr1
Albert Kamatu Herbal farmer agr2
Edwin Chicken farmer agr4
Fred Kamau Chicken farmer agr3
Dr. Jasper Grosskurth Research Solutions Africa – managing director exp2 Naomi Bronkhorst Co-planning expert exp3 Remco Rolvink Urban and spatial planning expert exp1 Stefan Engels SNV – project manager exp4
Anil Thakkar Foodplus - owner spr2 George Osiko Zucchini – procurement manager spr1 Hanif Rajan Foodplus – head of communication spr3 Sandeep wadhwa The Corner Shop - owner spr4 Respondents per stakeholder group followed by their code in the statistical software program PQmethod.
Respondents were selected when they fitted the criteria of the stakeholder group which were as follows:
Middle Class Consumer: consumers who plan their consumptions expenditures several days ahead. They have savings and do at least part of their grocery shopping at supermarkets. I selected the representatives for this group from my personal social environment in Nairobi. I chose to have two men and two women as representatives.
24 Politicians: politicians on county level that are involved with areas that would be effected by a RAIN-intervention. All but one politician who participated in the research are member of the local RAIN team. They are the only respondents in the research who have interacted with the Dutch RAIN-team or know what the RAIN intervention is. Participating politicians were all aware that I was working for DASUDA, the possible bias stemming from this is discussed later in the chapter.
Farmers: entrepreneurs in Kiambu who farm as a core business and can make a living of their land. They have at least 4 acres of land. I met my first respondent on a training for avocado farmers in Limuru. After visiting his farm, I snowballed other farmers who fit the criteria. Snowball sampling is a sampling technique in which the researcher samples initially a small group of people relevant to the research questions, and these sampled participants propose other participants who have had the experience or characteristics relevant to the research (Bryman, 2012: 424)
Foreign Experts: foreign professional (expats) working on food security issues. Two of the respondents in this group were part of the Dutch RAIN team. The other two were acquaints of Remco Rolvink. They are employed by East Africa Research Solution and SNV Netherlands Development Organization. I approached both respondents by email without elaborating on the RAIN project but emphasizing my research about stakeholder perspectives on interventions in the food value chain.
Supermarkets: stores offering a variety of food and household items. This group was particular hard to get interviews with as they were very afraid of negative press coverage. I found my respondents through social media, email and visiting offices in person. Because of time limitations I interviewed four major players in the
supermarket group without further defining criteria for the group.
In total, I collected 21 sorts from 21 respondents. In ordinary PQresearch sorts are strictly quantitative data, however I moved beyond the rules of PQmethodoligy and used the sorting moments to interact with my respondents and collect qualitative data
25 as well. I filmed the sorts and held short interviews about the choices my respondents made on the board. A sort accompanied by an interview took an average over 50 minutes, accounting for a total of 17 hours of footage.
Phase three: analyzing sorts
In phase three all sorts are collected using PQsoftware. An aggregation of the sorts identified clusters of statement that are often placed together on the board. These clusters are used to create several distinct “average sorts” that serve as ideal types for certain narratives. Finally, the software loads the respondents on the average sort that is closest to their actual sort. Print screens one to three show the general flow of the software.
The average sorts identified by the software can be translated into narratives or discourses. By loading the respondents onto the different narratives/discourses and revealing which stakeholder group they represent it becomes apparent how discourses and narratives are distributed among the different stakeholder groups. It becomes possible to break through the different categories normally considered to be ‘worlds apart’ and detect cross-cutting perspectives and unexpected distributions.
Entering PQsorts in the statistical software program PQmethod. Not that the PQboard I designed in the software is equal to the PQboard designed in reality.
26 Rotating of statements is a technique to find distinct clusters on which respondents can be loaded
Loading respondents on the three distinct clusters. Respondent on is loaded on cluster two, respondent two is loaded on cluster three, and so forth.
27 3.4 A qualitative interpretation of PQmethodology
During the sorting process, I asked the 21 respondents to motivate their choices. This led to a total of 17 hours of interview material. To analyze this material, I had to go beyond PQ methodology and dive into the qualitative data separately; first, I went through all the footage and wrote down how respondents elaborated on their choices and what other information they shared related to the research topic. I put the
document with all the quotes in ATLAS.ti where I added relevant codes to every quote. This allowed me to easily navigate through the document and inventories what was being said by whom
Table two shows the codes that I used to analyze the qualitative data from the sorting process. The codes that have occurred most are certification, smallholder, markets,
foreign experts, value chain management, food security, brokers and innovation.
Apperantly, these are the most important topics to my respondents. I will discuss quotes related to these codes in chapter 5.
28 Codes used to analyze interviews and number of quotes per code
3.4 Embedded as filmmaker
The RAIN team and in extension DASUDA, has invited me to research stakeholder narratives along the food value chain in Kiambu and produce a short movie on the subject. During a first brainstorm, RAIN advocate Remco Rolvink suggested he
29 would like to see different stakeholders discuss statements that have to do with food safety and food security and the type of intervention RAIN seeks to implement. My assignment would be to design statements and collect a video report on the
response of different stakeholders groups on those statements. This request
triggered me because it partly follows the same procedure as PQmethodology which is a methodology I was eager to experiment with. PQmethodology is unique because of the use of the PQ-board that forces respondents to distill their most important thoughts. Since the board is highly visual, the RAIN team was very positive about incorporating it in the documentary. Also, the final steps in PQmethodology which aggregates the sorts of the different respondents to generate distinct narratives and then load the different respondent on those narratives, were a useful tool to
understand the quotes I would gather for my movie. It allows the viewer to interpret the research data, and make it specific per different stakeholder group.
The synergy between the assignment by RAIN and the requirements for PQmethodology allowed me to integrate the research for my thesis and film completely. The outcome of PQmethodology is integrated in my communication advise for RAIN to include in their business case.
I explained to all my respondents that I am working on my master thesis as well as on a documentary about planning innovations. I never explicitly mentioned the RAIN project, because my stakeholders didn’t know what it is, it didn’t add to the clarity of the interview. I also noticed that affiliation with any organization lead respondents to believe I could introduce them to different innovation schemes, while I obviously was not. An exception is the county personnel included in the research and the short film. They were aware of my affiliation. With this group, I ran the risk of getting what they would think are desirable answers. I have had a conversation before every sort explaining the importance of considering personal preferences over county preferences. However, I believe the lengthy sorting process, which by many is experienced as a game reduces this type of answering. It did occur to me that
high-30 positive among politicians, suggesting that politicians were not afraid of giving their honest opinion while there are ‘foreign experts looking over their shoulder’.
3.5 Limitations to this research
In qualitative research, and in participatory embedded situations the researcher is closely involved in the social settings and actions he wishes to observe. Participant observations therefor tend to be obtrusive (Creswell, 2013). Throughout my time in Kenya I noticed that many people were under the impression that I am very well connected because I am white. The farmers somehow expected that I would be able to connect them to innovation platforms and subsidies. I was always quick to explain I was merely a student and have nothing to offer except my sincere interest.
Bryman (2012) points at the limitations of qualitative research in social science, arguing that qualitative research runs the risk of being subjective, is difficult to replicate, has issues of generalization and a lack of transparency. As discussed earlier PQmethodology has elements of both quantitative and qualitative research, partly overcoming the issues Bryman positions. Subjectivity is limited in the research since conclusions are based on sorts that have been analyzed by statistical software. Since my research conditions are outlined and I have noted every step in the
progress my research is replicable. I have filmed all my conversations and described how I will go about analyzing my data making the research more transparent. Finally, I believe my findings can be generalized to the extent that other researchers can use my recommendation considering PQmethodology to analyze the impact of innovation systems.
My research time was limited due to university deadlines, my fieldwork took place over the course of just six weeks. Kenya has over 40 local languages, Kiswahili serves as a lingua franca, and even though an official language, English comes third. Interestingly, the choice of language can often be related to the level of intimacy between the conversation partners. Local and/or tribal languages are mostly spoken among family and very close friends, on the streets and in shops there is Kiswahili and Sheng (Nairobian/urban slang derived from Kiswahili with strong influences from
31 English, Sheng varies from neighbourhood to neighbourhood) and in the workplace or during official encounters, many will switch to English (Russel, 2010). Even though, almost all off my respondents spoke English at a high level some I feel I missed out on information because I was not able to converse with them in a more familiar and intimate language.
Because of the upcoming elections in Kenya (August 8th), both at national and at county level, the RAIN-project is in a fragile state. It runs the risk that the Kenyan part of the team will not be able to continue their work after the election. The RAIN-team is afraid newly elected officials might ‘steal’ ownership over RAIN and endanger the process made so far. There is also a fear that information on the actual plan for the agro hub might be leaked, this can lead to speculation with land prices in the areas’ of planning.
DASUDA has agreed to grant me access to the entire RAIN-project business case. This means I have access to confidential information on the location of the agro hub and some of the price projections that are of potential interest to my respondents. It has been agreed that I will not disclose any confidential information about the RAIN-project to its potential stakeholders and in this thesis. The confidential information is restricted to potential hub locations, land and crop prices. I do not believe this is a limitation to my research or for this thesis, as I will be exploring more broth issues regarding food security. Internal documents that deal with the official assignment as stated by RVO and the Dutch department of economic affairs as well as internal memos have not been shared with me, limiting the span of my research.
32
4 Background of the research
This chapter is intended, as the title suggests, to give background information on the research case and both its geographical and institutional context. The research for this chapter was input for the construction of the PQtool, the selection of the statements and respondents.
In this chapter, I start by painting the background of the research by describing issues of food insecurity in Kenya in general. Next, I elaborate on who and what the RAIN-project entails. I will outline the geographical location of my research and explain the relevance of the devolution of government in Kenya. Finally, I will place RAIN within the Dutch development policy.
4.1 Food security and food safety in Kenya
The green in Kenya’s flag represents the county’s abundant agricultural resources. Indeed, Kenya is often characterized as “agriculture-based,” that is, agriculture is the backbone of its economy (Branch, 2011). In 2015 33% of the country’s GDP is earned in agriculture and about 60% of the population works in agricultural (World Bank, 2017). Agriculture is dominated by smallholder farmers who occupy most land and produce most of the crop and livestock products (Salami et al, 2010). Small holders enjoy a good reputation in Kenya. There will be very few Kenyan doctors, bankers or lawyers that have not been educated thanks to the efforts of smallholders over the previous generations. The key challenge smallholders face is low productivity stemming from the lack of access to markets, credit, and technology (Salami et al, 2010); (Leenstra, 2015). Subdivision through heritage and the selling of parts of land is fragmenting plots and forced many smallholders to adopt livelihood diversification strategies to survive. Those strategies are preventing them from being entrepreneurs that reinvest in their company which is essential for a business to grow (Leenstra, 2015).
33 Kenyan money; agriculture is the backbone of Kenyan society as is reflected by the commonly used 200 KES (1,73 EUR) showing cotton farmers out on their land.
Characterized as “agriculture-based,” Kenya is nevertheless a net food importer. Since the 1980s there has been a sharp increase of exports in coffee, tea, fruits vegetables and flowers. While, at the same time, Kenya started importing staple goods such as maize and cereals which are at the heart of the Kenyan diet (Rakotoarisoa, et al. 2011). Declining domestic food production has created many food insecurity issues. This year, like many of its neighbors, Kenya is suffering the effects of two failed rain seasons in a row which hugely reduced crop harvests. The number of Kenyans needing emergency food aid has doubled in the past three months to three million, the Red Cross said late march (Author unknown. Al Jazeera Kenya 2017, 28 March)
Food imports and the scandals surrounding them have been at the center of the political arena for years. At the time of writing it is no different. Throughout 2017, the maize shortage drove up the price of Ugali, Kenya’s national food. In May president Uhuru Kenyatta announced a maize import of 29,900 tonnes from Mexico. The maize arrived in Mombasa two days after the announcement was made, while shipping from Mexico to Kenya usually takes up six weeks. Newspapers, such as the Standard, have suggest the maize was not at all from Mexico but either horded by local milling families to drive up the price. Raila Odinga, opposition leader in the upcoming elections, has accused the government of creating an artificial shortage in order “to be the angel of mercy coming to the aid of hungry Kenyans”.
34 Most Kenyan food standards are adopted from international agreements, such as International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC). Food supply chain operators must apply either national (mandatory) standards or private (voluntary) standards. In the food supply chain, farmers should apply Good Agricultural Practices. However, because of the enormous informal sector in the food industry, which accounts for at least 80% of the supply to the domestic markets, there is little control if set hygiene standards are being met. Food-borne diseases are still a major problem in Kenya (Oloo, 2010). Off-the record talks with a central broker for supermarkets in Off-the top segment revealed that even though fresh articles in certain supermarkets are sold with ‘quality checked
and approved’ trademarks with regards to pesticides e.g., there are no instruments
available to perform the necessary food control to make those statements. During my interviews, consumers made clear they choose top-segment supermarkets because of that quality mark, they are unaware that food, in most cases, is not being checked. This might be rather anecdotic and not serve as scientific proof whatsoever, it does illustrate the uncertainties surrounding the quality of food in Kenya
4.2 Fitting in RAIN
To explain how RAIN fits in this situation, I will start by stating the RAIN-goals. Next, I will discuss a paper business case about the viability of the Greenport based on tomatoes, because it demonstrates how the RAIN team wants the Greenport to play out in reality and what the impact could be for stakeholders in the local food value chain. The business case was designed by REBEL Group who were hired as the main source of external expertise to test the proposals that were designed during the collaborative meetings.
The RAIN-project is a private sector initiated development program with (budgetary) support from the Dutch government. The project has a two-fold objective 1) to promote planning as an instrument for sustainable economic development amongst a wide range of different actors from civil society, business and governmental institutions and, 2) to bring these different backgrounds together either in an innovation system focused on a more efficient food value chain model or in an
35 inclusive approach to the concrete planning of an agro-industrial business case such as a Greenport (DSUDA, 2015). A green port is a spatially planned zone where agriculture and agribusiness meets. It can be shaped in several ways, for example a conciliation center where agricultural output of many farms come together for further processing and packaging. The green port is a way of streamlining production to make the food value chain more efficient and shift profit margins from the agriculture brokers to the agro-producers and farmers allowing them to further invest in their companies. The Dutch-Kenyan partnership relies on the Dutch bringing in knowledge and planning expertise, while the Kenyan team, made up from county officials, will bring an understanding of local knowledge to the table to re-contextualize the Dutch knowledge appropriately. Ultimately, the project works to increase food security and through a professionalization of production aims for higher food safety as well. The RAIN-project is currently active in the two Kenyan counties Uasin Gishu and Kiambu. It is predominantly occupied with the re-contextualization of successful cases in the Netherlands to a Kenyan context. In May 2017, the RAIN project has finalized the planning phase and presented Kiambu county with a paper business case for a greenport based on tomatoes.
The diagram of a Regional Agro Industrial Network shows how agriculture and agribusiness meet in consolidation centers where products are processed and stored to enter the city markets or to prepare for export markets (DASUDA, 2017).
36 4.3 Tomatoes
Tomatoes have been used as an indicator crop in the paper business case, because they are a typical vegetable that could benefit from the Greenport and greenhouse production. For the sake of clarity, I will also use tomatoes in my examples. However, it should be clear that the green hub can be suitable for all perishables.
In the current situation, hotels, restaurants and retailers set out food order with brokers. The broker then uses his network to contact farmers and fill the order he received. Next the broker will set up the required logistics to get the food order in the right place. The broker ensures the farmer gets paid and will keep a part of the profit to cover his services. The power relation in this process is skewed both because of facilities and knowledge lie with the broker. In general, the farmer does not have (cold) storage facilities for his tomatoes, forcing him to sell as quickly as possible after harvest to keep his post-harvest loss to a minimum. In his case, it is better to get some money for his tomatoes than none. Also, the farmer does not know what the end costumer is willing to pay for his tomatoes, he has to take the brokers word for it. Therefore, the broker is often able to get handsome margins on the tomatoes at the expense of the farmer.
The broker is often seen as a negative force exploiting farmers. Minister of
agriculture in Kiambu county, Dr. Monicah Waiganjo, went as far to call the broker “a necessary evil”. However, farmers shouldn’t be victimized too much. Two of the four farmers in this research set up their own brokering services when they were not happy with the available brokering services. Often the farmer has more than one broker and “shops around” to get the best price for his goods.
Nevertheless, in the current system post-harvest loss is as high as 45% suggesting that this is not the most efficient way to deal with perishables. Also, many farmers complain that they do not have the necessary funds to make investments in their plots, leaving the yields per acre relatively low. The necessary funds might be met if income in the food value chain was more equally divided (DASUDA, 2016)
37 4.4 Market analysis into the current situation
The Dutch part of the RAIN-team and liaison in Kenya Naomi Hoogevorst and project intern Bas van den Hurk, conducted a market analysis to research current challenges in the food provision and identify measures to improve the chain. They identified challenges related to fresh food procurement by enquiring with (formal) supermarkets, hotels and catering services in Nairobi. Their research showed that for buyers there is 1) a lack of a continuous and reliable supply of produce; 2) a lack of produce that is consistently high in aesthetic quality and nutrients and low in pesticides; 3) time and financial investments required that are related to procurement; 4) negative external influences of weather and infrastructural conditions; 5) Internal issue of theft, and finally; 6) Fluctuating prices of produce related to volatile markets (DASUDA, 2016). The RAIN team relates these six issues to deep rooted institutional and cultural barriers. According to RAIN, to keep up with growing and changing demand of metropolitan Nairobi the agricultural sector needs to professionalize. Several challenges have been further identified:
- The socio-economic and cultural heritage of subsistence farming where farmers work their land to survive and mostly not to make a business or profit. - The often diffused and disorganized nature of many Kenyan farmers.
- The strong role of middlemen as brokers that fill the gap between producers and consumers, providing divers services like loans and transportation.
- The insufficient effects of local governmental and NGO efforts to improve procurement systems (DASUDA, 2016)
The RAIN team integrated these challenges in the RAIN Greenport model to build their case of re-contextualization. The RAIN-team envisions a situation in which produce will be collected shortly after harvest and transported to the central Greenport where tomatoes can be processed and stored for several months. By storing tomatoes and selling at the right value, prices become more stable which allows a farmer to estimate his potential income when he is planting his tomatoes, allowing him to make informed investments in his business. Modern storage facilities ensure the high quality of the products when they reach the market. Shared facilities such as processing plants reduce the cost per product. the Greenport model
38 envisions a redistribution of power relations along the food value chain in favor of the farmer, without dismissing the value of the broker who will play an important role in logistical and network processes such as extension schemes. The collaboration of different stakeholder categories in the Greenport stimulates the exchange of knowledge and innovation.
4.5 Partners in the RAIN project
The Rain-project is a Dutch-Kenyan partnership, and argues that its Kenyan counterpart brings understanding of the local situation, demand and implementation potentials. However, the Kenyan part of the team is made up from county staff. However, governing on county level didn’t exist up to four years ago, making it a rather bold assumption that they can accurately represent needs and demands of the local population. The people who will be impacted most by the RAIN-intervention; that is the farmers consumers and brokers, haven’t been included in the shaping of their potential future.
Formally RAIN is an assignment by the Dutch government and the Dutch Enterprise Agency (RVO), but designed by DASUDA. The Dutch government granted the assignment to DASUDA and hired them to carry out the tasks described in the program. RAIN is acknowledged by the Dutch Embassy in Kenya and the Dutch Government as an important G2G program (Government to Government), especially in the agricultural sector. RAIN is seen as paving the way for Dutch private and corporate investments in Kenya.
DASUDA
The RAIN-project is an initiative by DASUDA. DASUDA is an umbrella foundation bringing together over 15 private companies and institutes in the Netherlands and multiple local partners that participate in spatial planning projects in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Ghana. The companies behind DASUDA expertise in sustainable urban development. Their aim is to achieve sustainable urban development as an integral part of project development in developing countires. They work with local stakeholders and try to create long lasting partnerships. DASUDA performs as an knowledge broker for the RAIN-project. It has taken up a selecting, lobbying and
39 advocating role to connect to local governments and promote the RAIN method. One of DASUDAs main objectives it to make the planning stage part of integral development schemes throughout the developing world.
Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO)
Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) is part of the Ministry of Economic Affairs. it encourages entrepreneurs in sustainable, agrarian, innovative and international business. It helps with grants, searching and selecting business partners, know-how and compliance with laws and regulations. The agency works in The Netherlands and abroad with governments, knowledge centers, international organizations and countless other partners. The aim is to improve opportunities for entrepreneurs and strengthen their position (www.rvo.nl). In the case of RAIN the RVO is the formal commissioning partner of the project. Funding for the project is organized from the department of Economic Affairs. The RVO remains involved in the project as it unfolds by bringing in a liaison member of their staff, in Caroline Warmerdam as team member.
County of Kiambu
Kiambu County is one of the local governments that teamed up with DASUDA to create the RAIN-team. Just north of Nairobi, the county plays a big part in the food provision of the city, while also facing their own food security challenges, being one of the fastest urbanizing counties in Kenya. The county’s ambition is best captured by the mission statement in their CIDP: “Make Kiambu County the best County in which to grow, live and work” (Kiambu County, 2013). Kiambu attempts to realize their mission by being an early adaptor in as many as fields as possible. On agriculture and planning they have formed a dedicated team aiming to introduce agro-hubs inspired by Dutch examples such as Greenport Venlo. The dedicated team is led by Deputy Governor Gerald Githinji and consists of three members; Director of Agribusiness Ruth Ng’ang’a, Chief officer urban planning David Gatimu and Chief Officer Trade, Industry, Tourism & co-operative development Dr. Samwel Otiento. The county of Kiambu is the local partner in the RAIN-project that I will research.
