October 2022 will mark 10 years since the start of the Furrows in the Desert (FID) program. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the MCSPA program management has convened a participatory evaluation to assess the performance of the project during these 10 years, as well as to discuss the direction the program should take in the years to come.

The evaluation took place from 24th to 28th January, during which a team of MCSPA and FID together with external evaluators from the Turkana County, Utawala, Baraka College and others, visited different places to meet with farmers.

We had a very successful mission where the farmers shared their challenges and successes through open discussions about all the different aspects relating to farming, water, irrigation, infrastructures, and marketing among others. So far there are 221 farmers have been trained and 16 additional assistants have been installed in the last 10 years.

The evaluation ended and was crowned with planting trees in the model farm of Furrows in the Desert in order to mark the 10 years for the FID existence in Turkana.

Thanks to all the team involved in the assessment, and especially the Lobur Mission team plus Arava Institute, our Israeli partners for all of these years of effort, that has helped many families begin to realize that fruits can grow in the desert, to produce and improve life.

Fr. Joseph Githinji MCSPA Lobur Mission