Boosting Nutrition with African Indigenous Vegetables

Date: 30 May 2023 | Author: South Africa Farmer
Tags: NA

Advanta’s African Indigenous Vegetable Commercialisation was launched in Kenya to boost nutrition and health, and improved livelihoods of the smallholders farmers in rural communities. Malnutrition remains a key cause of disease across Africa – disproportionately affecting vulnerable and socially disadvantaged groups including women and young children.
Advancing access to nutritious foods is crucial to enhance the social and economic status in rural communities. African Indigenous Vegetables (AIVs) are consumed in certain areas of Kenya as part of the traditional diets in specific communities. AIVs are rich in micronutrients and are proven to combat a number of diseases. Smallholders usually grow AIVs for home consumption and trade any surplus at the local markets, yet the demand for these vegetables dramatically increased also in the urban communities who seek healthier dietary options.

Advanta partnered with the National Museum of Kenya and identified 18 000 smallholder farmers in 20 counties in Kenya for training and support to scale up the growth of AIVs. The program includes educating the growers on the nutrition and teaching them how to grow the vegetable including demonstrations and agronomy advice to increase the productivity and grow the vegetables for trade. The participating growers will learn the value chain of AIV (African Indigenous Vegetables) for commercialisation from seed quality and best agronomic practices through to post-harvest handling and value addition, as well as nutrition value and policy legislation implemented by the government. The program has started with pilot program in Kakamega Country in West Kenya and will be gradually rolled up to other counties. We are further planning to work with Ripple Effect to expand this program into Uganda and Rwanda and Tanzania reaching over 1 million smallholder farmers, and delivering improved nutrition and healthcare outcomes, enhanced livelihoods, and female and youth empowerment.