February 26, 2014, Thika – Today, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Kenya Mission Director Karen Freeman, Principal Secretary for the Ministry of Industrialization and Enterprise Development Dr. Wilson Songa, and USAID and Government of Kenya representatives celebrated seven promising innovators who have the potential to transform agriculture in Kenya.

The seven innovators will receive grant money and technical assistance to pilot and promote new ideas that address improved soil fertility, biological pest control, fusion farming, postharvest storage, and farmers’ access to technology-based information services.  The innovators are participants in the USAID-funded Kenya Feed the Future Innovation Engine, a five-year, $22 million USD investment to support market-driven solutions for improving food security, nutrition, and livelihoods in Kenya.

The Innovation Engine cultivates a private-sector approach to solving development challenges.  It identifies, incubates, and promotes agricultural and nutrition-focused innovations with the greatest potential for large and sustainable impact.  Its goal is to put these innovations in the hands of smallholder farmers to improve productivity and incomes.  The Innovation Engine is part of President Obama’s Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative called Feed the Future, which seeks to address the root causes of hunger and poverty, and create conditions in which food assistance is no longer necessary.

“Kenya has earned recognition globally for leading cutting-edge home-grown innovations in information technology, agriculture, and environmental conservation.  The Innovation Engine will help introduce innovative market-driven solutions to persistent food insecurity, under-nutrition and poverty,” said USAID/Kenya Mission Director Karen Freeman.

USAID is the lead U.S. Government agency that works to end extreme global poverty and enable resilient, democratic societies to realize their potential.  In Kenya, USAID is working closely with government, private sector, and civil society partners to achieve the goals outlined in Kenya's Vision 2030, the country’s long-term development blueprint.