Category Archives: Food Security

Food Security & Nutrition

More than 51% of Kenyans are suffering from food insecurity.(National council for population and development (NCPD)
This is contributed greatly to by the reduced rainfall levels and climate change.
However, the National Council for Population and Development in Kenya has attributed population growth as a key contributor to the rising food insecurity. This increased population has led to mass movement from rural to urban areas in search of white-collar jobs.
This has led to increased demand for settlement areas that have led people to settle in sensitive areas such as wetlands and riparian areas, especially in city slums.
Demand for land has also led to the conversion of agricultural lands into building areas. This is so rampant in Kiambu, Murang’a, Kajiado and Machakos.
Pastoralists and other communities that live in marginalized areas suffer the most because their economic activities are dependent on the conditions such as weather for example cattle rearing.
In order to break the chain of food insecurity sustainably, agroecology and environmental education have to be introduced at all levels of education.
Behaviour change towards the environment should be the ultimate goal if the war on food insecurity is to be won.
Every citizen should strive to grow their own food or part of it because with the economic inflation being experienced all over the globe, it is no longer sustainable to buy enough food.
Vertical gardening in urban and water-scarce areas would go a long way to provide part of the household food requirements, especially vegetables.

Regulations especially on waste management especially the biodegradable waste that can be composted to enrich the soil should be put in place and followed to the later.
Banning of converting huge areas of agricultural land into building areas should be implemented to avoid losing the little available fertile land.

Article Written by Julia Wahome

Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. It has four main dimensions:

1. Availability – sufficient quantities of food available consistently
2. Access – having resources to obtain appropriate foods
3. Utilization – proper use of food, including proper food preparation and nutrition knowledge
4. Stability – consistent access to food over time

Food security is primarily addressed in SDG 2: “Zero Hunger.” This goal aims to “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture” by 2030. The specific targets include:

1. Ensuring access to safe, nutritious, and sufficient food year-round for all people
2. Ending all forms of malnutrition
3. Doubling agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers
4. Ensuring sustainable food production systems
5. Maintaining genetic diversity of seeds, plants, and animals
6. Increasing investment in rural infrastructure and agricultural research
7. Preventing agricultural trade restrictions and market distortions

Kenya ranks 100^th out of 127 countries in terms of food security or lack thereof ( 2024 Global Hunger Index). 51% of the population is faced with food poverty.

Food poverty is a large part of the population, and the situation can only worsen with increasing climate change.

However, practicing climate-smart agriculture which advocates for crop rotation, minimum tillage and mulching may assist in increasing the productivity of the land, a great step towards being food secure.

The use of crop biomass to make manure enriches the soil by plowing back the carbon trapped in them in the soil .. This enriches the soil as well as reduces the carbon emissions that would have happened in cases of open burning of crop remains.

Article by Julia Wahome