ABOUT LATIA RESOURCE CENTER

Latia resource Center (LRC) is a Kenyan Social  Enterprise established in 2008 to provide training and business support services to farmers, pastoralists and agribusinesses in Africa. LRC believes that the modernization of agriculture and improvement in food security in Africa can be greatly enhanced by effective practical training, adequate dissemination of knowledge and technology and the provision of business support services to farmers, pastoralists and Agribusinesses.
LRC strives to increase agricultural productivity in an economically and environmentally sustainable manner. It provides access to knowledge, appropriate technology and mentorship to farmers, pastoralists and agribusiness to yield healthy crops and livestock and sustainable agriculture practices. In 2016 LRC formed a new for profit subsidiary company to allow an expansion of its programs that target commercial activities. The new company Latia Agribusiness Solutions (LAS) was started in April 2017 and took over the commercial activities undertaken by LRC previously.

LATIA RESOURCE CENTER PROJECTS

Currently LRC in partnership with development partners is implementing the following
projects:

Agriculture Apprenticeship Program

LRC pioneered Agriculture Apprenticeship in Kenya in 2008. The program introduced a new way of agriculture training where apprentices split their days between classroom instruction (30%) and on-the- job time (70%) at a real farm. This training approach brings is very different from the way agriculture is currently taught in Africa. It targets to teach more than skills and its goal is to produce workers who can solve problems. Apprentices graduating from the program are skilled, thoughtful, self-reliant employees who can improvise when things go wrong or when they see an opportunity to make something work better.

NICHE project:

This is a 5 year capacity building project funded by the Dutch Organization for Internationalization in Education (NUFFIC). The project goal is strengthen LRC’s capacity to provide training and business support services in a sustainable way.

Agricultural Entrepreneurship Incubator Project

This project which is popularly known as the “Telephone Farmers Project” is implemented by LRC and four partners who include Maastricht School of Management (MSM) Aeres Group, Strathmore Business School (SbS) and Netherlands Africa Business Council (NABC). The project goal is to develop a business incubation model to be used in unlocking the potential of small and medium sized commercial farms who in Africa have a huge potential to revolutionize agriculture.

HortIMPACT project

This project is a partnership between LRC, Delphy and SNV and targets to introduce modern greenhouse production or vegetables in Africa. The project trains farmers on improved production techniques and demonstrate smart farming technologies including Fertigation, greenhouse climate control, integrated pest management and efficient irrigation systems.

Outreach program

The outreach program works with the pastoralist community in Kajiado County to develop local solutions to food insecurity, high unemployment and negative impacts of climate change. The program which has been in existing for over 5 years has trained pastoralists and local farmers in improved livestock and crop production as well as supported introduction of alternative enterprises including poultry, bee keeping and piggery. The program has also introduced solar lamps, solar irrigation pumps and Ferro cement water harvesting tanks to hundreds of beneficiaries in the semi-arid counties of Kajiado, Makueni, Machakos and Narok..