Sauti ya Mkulima: Farmer Advocacy & Governance

The Challenge

For devolution to work effectively, community participation in budget-making processes is essential. However, small-scale farmers in Taita Taveta often lacked a unified voice or a structured platform to engage with the County Government. Without this engagement, resource allocation often failed to address the real needs of the agricultural sector, leading to poor service delivery for the farming community.

The Solution

Mazido International, with funding from the Society for International Development (SID), upscaled the County Farmers Network—known as the ‘Sauti ya Mkulima’ (The Farmer’s Voice) platform. We organized Ward Dialogue forums across 12 wards to elect representatives and constituted a County Core Group. Furthermore, we conducted specialized training on Lobbying and Advocacy under the ASDSP framework to sharpen the skills of value chain actors.

The Impact

The project successfully legitimized the farmer’s voice in local governance, transforming how small-scale farmers interact with state officers:

Policy Engagement

The network is now recognized as a formal structure for planning and decision-making. Representatives successfully secured appointments and held meetings with 3 MCAs and 1 MP to advocate for agricultural resource allocation.

3 Value Chains Strengthened

We enhanced the advocacy skills of actors within the Dairy, Banana, and Indigenous Chicken value chains, empowering them to lobby effectively for their specific industries.

Grassroots Recognition

The ‘Sauti ya Mkulima’ platform gained widespread acceptance. Local Chiefs and Assistants now invite network representatives to address Village Barazas, and Mazido receives direct requests from farmers through this established structure.