George K. Wamae

• ACDI/VOCA- Expanding and Diversifying Viable Economic Opportunities in Northern Kenya Project, -Feed the Future Kenya Livestock Market Systems (LMS), a US $20Million- a five-year program
• It is an integrated program to strengthen people’s resilience to shocks and stresses and reduce the prevalence and depth of poverty, hunger, and chronic undernutrition

Key Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership across the project to apply an inclusive market systems approach
• Develop evidence-based strategies to address market system constraints impacting the competitiveness, inclusiveness, and resilience of livestock market systems in northern Kenya
• Ensure technical quality in facilitation-based interventions; and lead/oversee market studies, research and assessments to inform activity design and implementation
• This collaboration includes initiating and co-leading pause and reflects sessions, hosting sessions and workshops to adapt program strategy and interventions based on lessons learned, changing conditions, Government of Kenya priorities, and county-specific / socio-cultural specific contexts
• Manage and coordinate five County Program Managers in five counties (Garissa, Wajir, Isiolo, Marsabit, and Turkana) regional offices.

Achieved: Reached 78,617 Households, $841,890 -public & private sector investment leveraged to support food security & nutrition, $443,102 Agriculture-related financing accessed, and 15,496 individuals in group-based savings, micro-finance, or lending programs

• Head of the dairy strategy in milk markets, focusing on formal and informal milk markets
• Supported livestock trade facilitation with a focus on the extensive livestock production system in finishing and fattening
• Formulated strategies to develop service markets in the dairy milk markets and seek employment opportunities per sector strategy
• Achieved: +85,000 dairy farmers accessing better milk markets and services, $4.5Million additional income gained by dairy farming Households, $1.5Million invested in markets actors, and 120,000+ bales of hay distributed to dairy farmers.

• Set up three (3) Agricultural marketing hubs- through community mobilization and aggregation of farmers and milk
• Facilitated training of the hub management and operation staff
• Offered technical advice on animal husbandry, animal health, production, and farmer-market linkages to the hubs to increase production & productivity
• Created market linkages for farmers to access input and services and uptake productivity-enhancing technologies
• Set up robust and sustainable extension systems in the marketing hubs

• Developed and piloted smart extension and support services
• Oversaw overall implementation -incorporating innovative solutions & catalytic design activities within the production dairy value chain- (The Concept of Business development service provision)
• Kept projects on schedule by managing deadlines and adjusting workflows.
• Built strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders and devised strategies, initiatives and events promoting products and services e.g. Agro-Vet input suppliers and service providers.
• Liaised between departments to facilitate communication and keep appropriate stakeholders updated on project developments.

• Set up and operationalized six dairy farmers owned business associations with operational hub services- reaching 100,000+ dairy households
• Created a platform for the development of linkages between the associations and business development service providers (Input suppliers, animal health & breeding service providers, Extension service providers, and financial institutions)
• Facilitated training to the organization’s management and operation staff- 200+ local champions of change
• Transformed the producer organizations into a “One Stop Shop” by developing a business hub model by identifying appropriate business investment opportunities.