Kenya: The United Nations (UN) and World Bank reports warn that climate change will negatively affect the global food system and significantly reduce agricultural productivity. Recognizing this, rural communities in developing countries like Kenya are breaking new ground in agriculture.
Exotic and commercial vegetables are still important in Kenyan diets. Leafy greens are preferred by most people because of their high nutritional value and medicinal properties. They are also easy to propagate. Across Kenya, rural communities and smallholder farmers hold invaluable knowledge of local food systems that has been passed down through generations.
They are able to provide nutritious food, interact interdependently with the environment and preserve nature’s rich biodiversity. Various non-profit organizations, such as the GROW Bio-Intensive Agriculture Center of Kenya (G-BLACK), assist smallholder farmers in selecting, storing and managing indigenous seeds. It also helps protect farmers from crop damage and losses.
Rural communities and smallholder farmers in the East African country have adopted indigenous foods to adapt to climate shocks and build resilience. Hundreds of farming communities have returned to indigenous leafy greens and tubers with the help of various rural outreach programmes.
Successful harvests of local crops. Because local drought resistant seeds are used. It guarantees a relatively good harvest. Seed is stored for the next planting season. Seeds are transferred to fellow farmers.