Laikipia, Isiolo, Samburu Transforming the Environment Through Nexus (LISTEN) LISTEN The Laikipia, Isiolo, Samburu Transforming the Environment through Nexus (LISTEN) project is a 3.6 million Euro project funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and implemented by a consortium of partners comprising of SNV, Netherlands Development organization, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and the Frontier Counties Development Council (FCDC). SNV is the lead agency. The project goal is to contribute to enhanced resilience through enhanced food, nutrition and water security in selected ASAL counties (Laikipia, Isiolo an Samburu) in Kenya through a Nexus approach. The projects strategic objectives are:

1. Contribute to stronger institutional capacity and regulatory frameworks for planning, coordinating, and implementing resilience initiatives at county and community level;
2. Improved management of watersheds, rangelands and cropping systems at the landscape level.
3. Increased capacity of county government and private sector to boost farmer, herder and trader productivity through improved efficiencies in market and water use in livestock and crop agricultural systems;
4. The development and introduction of relevant innovations and platforms for better coordination and increased production and market efficiencies.

The project is anchored on the centrality of county governments for ownership and scale and will work at the county, landscape, community and farmer level.

Specifically, the project will:

1. Capacity build on existing skills and roles in county, including in coordination, and bring in lessons learned and best practices from consortium members and other sources.
2. Use the Nexus approach to provide a platform and environment for a landscape and ecosystem approach between ministries and counties based on the Ewaso Nyiro watershed, and to advocate for and catalyse action and funding within and between ministries at national and county level, and between counties. The Nexus approach will improve inter‐ministerial collaboration and strengthen coordination
3. Support the establishment and management of Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) Funds, plans and strategies at national and county level, which are climate‐proofed and protected from emergency spending. Involvement of local community and private sector in implementation CCAF projects will be encouraged and written into the conditions.
4. Provide technical support to county governments on water efficiency and balanced plant nutrition; on sustainable rangeland and natural resource management, ensuring private sector involvement in provision of innovative technology, business planning, linking farmers to finance and input and service suppliers, aggregation for offtake and market events.

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