Building and Strengthening Communities through Farmers Markets: MAMi mission in Kenya

From the 4Th to the 9th March took place The MAMi – Farmers Markets Project Mission in Kenya.

Our Director General Carmelo Troccoli, the Market Manager of Campagna Amica Lazio, Giuseppe Stocchi, together with Enrico Azzone, Project Coordinator, Carmelo Sigliuzzo, Technical Coordinator from CIHEAM Bari, flew to Kenya for the mission in loco: “Building and Strengthening Communities through Farmers Markets”, in order to increase the presence of farmers markets in Kenia.

“The MAMi project has entered its operational phase” Carmelo Troccoli said. “As in Farmers markets we combine vision with practical action. To develop local food systems, you need to go to the streets, go into the maze of public administrations, practice the art of human relations. It’s what Farmers markets teach us every day and it is what we will bring in the projects that we will develop in different parts of the world”.

Several duties during the week, starting from the institutional one, as the official meeting with the Italian Ambassador in Nairobi, H. E. Roberto Natali, or the encounter with Remy Sietchiping, chief of the Policy, Legislation and governance section at UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme) in order to present and promote the project.

Different meetings also with local farmers and producers, as part of the preparation for the opening of the farmers market in Kenya, and technical ones: debating strategies in order to make local farmers markets more engaging.

In this contest, a great work is being done by the Kenyan team led by Dennis Andaye for the creation of the emerging association Regional Farmers Markets Kenya that will promote and manage the new network of farmers markets in the country.

MAMi – Farmers Markets project, is an initiative financed by the Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale and implemented by CIHEAMBari in collaboration with the World Farmers Markets Coalition and promoted by Coldiretti through the Fondazione Campagna Amica. It aims to provide technical support and capacity building for the development of new farmers markets as effective levers to revitalize rural communities, improve livelihoods for family farming and enhance the role of multifunctional agriculture in generating economic, social, and ecological benefits.