By Calvin Awora
Siaya Disburses Ksh 9.9 Million Matching Grants to Strengthen SACCOs
The County Government of Siaya through the Department of Agriculture, Food Security, Livestock & Blue Economy, through the National Agricultural Value Chain Development Project (NAVCDP), has today disbursed Ksh 9.9 million in matching grants to eight SACCOs to strengthen their financial base and expand lending opportunities for Common Interest Groups (CIGs) and vulnerable and marginalised groups.
The initiative seeks to promote cooperative-based financial inclusion, strengthen agricultural value chains, and improve livelihoods across the county.
The County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Agriculture Mr. Willis Ochieng noted that the main reason NAVCDP supports SACCOs is to help them transition into cooperative and profitable ventures, with a focus on moving from value chains to value addition while promoting better procedures and stronger organizational structures.
The CECM for Governance, Administration and ICT Mr. Joseph Rading thanked the Department of Agriculture for its role in supporting the initiative and emphasized the importance of farmers engaging the young generation in agriculture. He noted that improving farming activities would contribute to better outcomes for farmers and communities. He was also involved in the issuance of cheques to various SACCOs.
The County's Director of Cooperatives Mr. Samwel Wambisa congratulated the SACCOs that have received matching grants under NAVCDP, emphasizing the importance of member mobilization and financial literacy. He noted that members should be taught how to effectively manage and utilize money, while highlighting the automation of SACCOs as an important step towards improving their operations and service delivery.
The stakeholders noted that farmers continue to face challenges in accessing credit, including lack of collateral and other loan requirements, limited availability of innovative financial institutions and products, as well as poor credit culture.
The engagement is expected to strengthen SACCOs and improve their capacity to support farmers to access financing, undertake profitable ventures and derive greater value from agricultural activities.
A total of 30 SACCOs were identified by NAVCDP to benefit from matching grants, with the programme also supporting the automation of SACCO operations.
The disbursement adds to Ksh 5.2 million previously awarded to five SACCOs, with the County currently supporting Cohort 3, comprising 17 SACCOs undergoing institutional strengthening and compliance processes to meet the eligibility criteria for matching grants. This forms part of a broader initiative to strengthen 30 SACCOs (one in each ward),with Ksh 25.2 million in inclusion grants already distributed to enhance their operational capacity.
The initiative aims to build public confidence in cooperative institutions, encourage savings and investment, and support the commercialization of selected agricultural value chains.
The exercise held at the County Headquarters was also graced by NAVCDP Project Coordinator Vincent Okoth, representatives from financial institutions and other sector stakeholders.
Additional reporting by:
Shammah Oketch
Celestine Anyango