The "Enhancement of livelihoods in the Kenyan Coastal Region by supporting organic and fair trade certification of smallholders" project is co-funded by the EU Trust Fund, and its main objective is to support the planting a million cashew nut trees and sesame seeds.

“This support is channelled towards food security, manufacturing and job creation, which are fully in compliance of the President Uhuru Kenyatta's Big Four key pillars,” said the V4 Ambassadors in a common statement. "It aims to deliver effective solutions through farmer trainings - to support organic and fair trade certification for 15.000 farmers in the three counties of Kilifi, Lamu and Kwale: this will boost household incomes for smallholder farmers. It also has a positive environmental impact through tree plantation in semi-arid areas. This project will make farming a more attractive career option for young people."

The initiative is being implemented by V4 partner organizations that will train the farmers, as well as provide their valuable expertise in respective fields.

The project will therefore support:

• Introduction of new agricultural technologies and management methods.
• Farmer training in distribution of seedlings and seeds of improved varieties of cashew and sesame, postharvest storage of food crops, and nutrition behaviour.
• Establishment of linkages with other actors of the value chain, e.g. service providers, buyers/processors, financial institutions for credit.