SACCOs in Kwale County are among the organisations benefiting from Sh18 million in grants aimed at expanding agricultural enterprises and strengthening value chains across the county.
The funding, provided through the National Value Chain Development Project (NAVCDP), targets priority commodities including tomatoes, cashew nuts, mangoes, apiculture and poultry.
Beneficiary SACCOs include Kinango Ward Community SACCO, Mwavumbo Ward Community SACCO, Tsimba Golini Ward Community SACCO, Pongwe-Kikoneni Ward Ukulima Community SACCO, Vanga Ward Community SACCO and GOBON CDDC SACCO.
Farmer organisations including Dzombo Farmers Cooperative, Kinango Poultry Cooperative and Kwale Korosho Cooperative are also beneficiaries.
Kwale Governor Fatuma Achani said the grants were intended to strengthen farmer organisations, expand economic opportunities and enable communities to capture greater value from agricultural production.
For the SACCOs, the intervention has a direct business relevance: stronger member enterprises can create a more active base for savings and borrowing.
Agriculture is an important source of income for many rural households, but farmers often operate small businesses with limited capital and weak links to formal markets. Strengthening these enterprises can increase their capacity to participate in the formal financial system, including through SACCO savings and credit.
The targeted value chains also give SACCOs a more defined pool of agricultural enterprises to serve. Financing can be linked to productive activities such as farm inputs, poultry units, beekeeping equipment, produce aggregation and small-scale processing.
This is particularly relevant for commodities such as cashew nuts and mangoes, where increasing value beyond raw produce can create additional income for farmers and new business activity for cooperatives and other member-owned organisations.
The grants are therefore not simply an agricultural intervention. For participating SACCOs, they provide an opportunity to strengthen the economic activities of their membership—the businesses from which savings, loan demand and repayment capacity ultimately emerge.
Achani urged the beneficiary organisations to manage the funds responsibly and strengthen their structures so that the support reaches farmers at the grassroots.
The county government also recognised the contribution of NAVCDP partners, Members of Parliament, SACCO and farmer-organisation leaders and county officials in supporting the programme.
The wider significance for Kwale’s cooperative sector lies in connecting agricultural development with member-owned finance. As farmer enterprises become more organised and commercially active, SACCOs have a stronger foundation from which to serve them with appropriate financial products.
For the beneficiary SACCOs, the immediate task will be to translate the grant support into productive economic activity while maintaining sound governance and accountability. The long-term business value will depend on whether stronger agricultural enterprises ultimately translate into stronger and more active SACCO membership.
