From Dust to Trust: World Bank Pours Hope into Kenya’s Drought Battle

As of recent years, Kenya has faced worsening droughts, depriving the nation of basic necessities such as food, water, and proper sanitation. The United Nations has stated that this is the worst water crisis in 40 years. As rivers, lakes, and aquifers are drying up in the northern areas of Kenya, women and children have to walk 10 to 15 km to access unsafe drinking water. This water crisis extends to livestock and crops as well. 21-year-old mother Dabo Boru trekked 38km from her hometown in order to save her cattle from dying of thirst. “18 of them have already died,” she says, “and we are only left with three”. As of late 2022, 4.1 million Kenyans were food insecure while combating a rise in food prices. 

Recently, Kenya took a major step in fighting the disastrous impact of droughts on its food systems. In May of 2025, the country secured a $100 million(USD) loan from the World Bank in order to launch Phase II of the Kenya Climate Smart Agriculture Project (KCSAP): an initiative focused on making farming more sustainable. With agriculture employing over 70% of the population, action has been desperately needed. That is why this project targets 24 of the most climate-vulnerable counties out of the 47 in Kenya.

So, how exactly will this project increase sustainability? KCSAP  will support drought-resistant seeds, allowing for higher crop yields in the drought-plagued nation as well as improving water conservation efforts. KCSAP will also fund the creation of mobile apps informing farmers about future rainfall and predicted crop yields. This will, in turn, allow farmers to take preventive actions or shift their planting schedules, limiting the harvests devastated by drought.