During his five-day trip to East Africa Federal Development Minister Gerd Müller visited the world’s largest refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya. Most of the 350,000 refugees living in the camp are from Somalia, and some have been there for 25 years. The Minister had good news for the camp’s residents: Germany plans to increase aid to refugee camps in Kenya from six to 11 million euros.

German government supports vocational training

“Sixty million refugees worldwide are presenting huge challenges for many developing countries. Ninety per cent of them have found refuge in developing countries,” Federal Minister Gerd Müller emphasised during his trip. The international community had to make a combined effort to help these people and give them back some prospects in their own countries, he added.

In addition to assisting with meeting the basic needs of refugees in Kenya, Germany also provides training programmes. The German government will be expanding its commitment in this area. More than one third of young people in Kenya are unemployed.

Green Innovation Centre generates income

The Development Minister opened a milk processing plant in western Kenya, marking the launch of a nutrition campaign in the region. Western Kenya is one of the country’s poorest regions. Some 700,000 smallholder households farm on less than one hectare of land.

An innovation centre set up by Germany aims to boost the incomes of 15,000 smallholder farms and create new jobs in food processing. The Green Innovation Centre’s priority areas of activity are potato growing and dairy farming, as well as re-establishing soil fertility.

Creating prospects for young people

“Our 12 Green Innovation Centres in Africa will lead to a step-change in development for entire regions through knowledge and technology transfer. It will enable farmers to increase their income and yields so that they not only become self-sufficient but can also earn a living,” Minister Gerd Müller explained. “We support farmers, from growing and harvesting their crops to processing their products. That creates both added value and jobs.”

That also creates prospects for young people, who, just like in other countries, are being drawn from poor rural regions into cities. “Securing food supply and combating the causes of flight thus go hand in hand,” the Development Minister stressed.

"A world without hunger is possible"

Over half the population of Kenya lives off agriculture, yet one fifth is still malnourished. Development Minister Müller said: “Hunger is one of the biggest scandals that we can put an end to. We already have the knowledge required to produce enough food to feed everyone. A world without hunger is possible.”

The German delegation also visited a fish farm on the banks of Lake Victoria. More than 8,000 farmers have undergone training since 2012 as part of a trilateral sustainable fish production project in cooperation with Israel and Kenyan partner organisations. Stocks of naturally occurring fish in Lake Victoria are dwindling. Establishing sustainable fish farming gives inhabitants back their sources of income and halts the exploitation of Lake Victoria.