The Fall Armyworm (FAW) Spodoptera frugiperda is a major economic pest of maize across the American continents from the United States to Brazil. Without proper containment, the FAW can cause maize yield losses between 30-40%. In Brazil, the government spends in excess of $600 million USD annually to control FAW on approximately 15 million hectares …
The goal of Nuru Kenya’s agriculture program is to reduce food insecurity and foster a stable and sustainable economic base to prevent episodic hunger in communities, while empowering farmers to diversify their livelihoods. One of the most important elements needed to achieve this goal is timely access to seed and fertilizer for planting by Nuru …
The second edition of the Aid and International Development Forum (AIDF) Africa Summit was held in Nairobi Safari Park Hotel on 28th February and 1st March 2017. It attracted hundreds of key players from the government sector, NGOs, and private sector from across Africa. The theme of this year’s forum was: “Improving aid delivery and …
In March 2017, staff members from Nuru Ethiopia visited Nuru Kenya in Isibania, Kenya. None of the Ethiopian staff had ever left their home country and two of them were taking their first flights ever. As the airplane departed Addis Ababa, destined for Nairobi, the staff members clenched their jaws and tightly gripped their armrests. …
Meet Eunice–a Kenyan farmer who grows maize Eunice is nearing her 60th birthday. Though now a widow, she is proud to be mother to 10 children and grandmother to over 30 grandchildren. Since 2010 she has been a member of Nuru Kenya’s programs. Before, she would farm the whole long rains season and hardly get 3 …
Teachers in Kenya do not get many training opportunities once they are assigned to schools. This means they aren’t always exposed to the latest, innovative teaching techniques. That’s why Nuru Kenya Education put on a two-week teacher training during the break between Term 1 and Term 2 of the 2016 school year: to help teachers …
The 2016 long rains season has begun with great expectations for maize farmers like Eunice in Kuria, southwest Kenya. Eunice Maroa has attended the trainings in readiness for the season. She has planted maize and millet as her preferred crops. Both her maize and millet are already doing great and she has just applied her …
Working through farmer cooperatives allows Nuru to address the financial and food security of smallholder farmers in Kenya. Through farmer cooperatives, Nuru is addressing the links that do not function well along a specific value chain. Nuru Kenya supports maize, millet and sorghum value chains right from the planting stage by providing input loans to …
#MyMomIsStrongBecause through her struggles and hard work, she gave me a better life than the one she had. My mother, Lydia, hails from Embu in eastern Kenya and was born to a family of twenty-six siblings from three co-wives. Her story is one of breaking many barriers, including breaking the generational cycle of poverty experienced …
From the perspective of a Nuru farmer in Kenya, it may seem like International Women’s Day has nothing to do with her. In rural areas, limited economy, poor infrastructure and low education levels contribute to communities having limited or no access to social media to follow @WomensDay or #IWD2016. Despite the swell of online conversation, she …
As Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Program Manager for Nuru Kenya, I consistently work with my team to build up different strengths that enable us to objectively monitor and evaluate Nuru Kenya’s impact programs. I want to share my experience building a credible and sustainable M&E system in Kenya. Below are the five critical stages our …
2015 was a big year for Nuru Kenya. In June, our whole expatriate (expat) team living in Kenya packed up our suitcases, said our goodbyes, and headed out of town. Our Kenyan colleagues had already been running operations for a year and were well prepared to continue in our absence. Yet, this was a big …
The world is wrestling with some very difficult challenges after this year. Global Challenges ISIS, Al Qaeda and their affiliates are daily growing in strength and number by preying on the desperation of impoverished nations and disenfranchisement of restless youth who are fed up with the world that has been handed down to them. In …
Improving income and food security for small-scale maize farmers in Kenya requires addressing challenges along the entire value chain–from planting all the way through the sale of surplus yield. Nuru Kenya (NK) ensures farmers have everything needed for planting by providing input loans. Support from NK continues throughout the growing season as farmers receive training …
Involving key stakeholders when initiating a project in a new community is essential to the success of any intervention. If a community is involved from the start, it is more likely that the community will accept the programs, become active decision-makers and ultimately advocates and ambassadors for the program. Nuru Kenya takes great care to …