County officials from the Department of Agriculture in the Central Region Block (CEREB) in Kenya want to adopt agroecology for sustainable food security in the region.
The County Executive Committee (CEC) Members say they have been challenged to adopt agroecology and other organic-based solutions to agriculture in response to challenges that exist in agrifood systems which have adverse effects on the environment and human health.
Agroecology is centered on food production that makes the best use of organic farming practices by improving soil and plant quality through available biomass and biodiversity rather than battling nature with chemical inputs.
Promoters of agroecology strive to improve food yields for balanced nutrition, and strengthen fair markets for agroecology produce while enhancing healthy ecosystems.
The team led by CEREB Chair for Agriculture Committee Prof. Kiringai Kamau speaking during a benchmarking visit in Murang’a County on Agroecology said that transforming a county’s food systems requires effective leadership to drive it to ensure the transformation of the systems is grounded on agroecology.
“Bringing agriculture leaders in the region together enables them to exchange knowledge and create platforms and collaborations, which ensures that their perspectives are integrated into policies and implementation strategies to adopt agroecology,” said Kiringai.
Kiringai who is also Murang’a CEC Member for Agriculture noted that the CEC Members identified Murang’a county for a benchmarking visit on Agroecology because it is the first county in the region and Kenya to adopt a Policy and ACT exclusively focused on agroecology.
“Murand county being our model county, we wanted officials from other counties who are policymakers in agriculture to come and learn and see that agroecology is working so that they can adopt it in their counties,” she said.
Kitui CEC Member for Agriculture Stephen Kimwele Mbaya said that the visit provided an understanding of agroecology principles and practices that farmers in his county can adopt to produce food that is safe for consumption.
“Kitui being a semi-arid county which doesn’t experience adequate rains, we look forward to adopting appropriate agroecological practices to be carried out in arid and semi-arid parts of the country to boost food production and enhance food security.” he said.
Mbaya observed that some of these lifestyle diseases like cancer are correlated with the type of food that we eat which sometimes contains toxic chemicals noting that adopting agroecological practices will arrest some of these challenges.
Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM) Kenya Head of Programs Manei Naanyu on her part said the visit was to catalyze and stimulate discussions on agroecology in other counties to ensure there is enough safe food in the country at large thus ensuring food security.
Jjointly, the Murang’a County government, Institute of Culture and Ecology (ICE), and multi-stakeholders associated with Murang’a Agroecology Platform in partnership with Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM) Kenya, launched in March 2023 Murang’a County Agroecology Development Policy 2022-2032 and Act 2022.
“The established Policy and Act aims to promote sustainable agroecological practices which will provide for the adoption, development, regulation, and promotion of organic food industry in the county,” he said adding that the county is setting a precedent among the 47 counties in terms of agroecology.
He said the recently launched Murang’a Agro ecology Implementation Framework online strategy for integrating agroecology into institutions, has seen the county launch a short course in Applied Agroecology at Murang’a University.
“The curriculum recognizes the pivotal role of academia and research institutions in transforming the food systems and agroecological practices in the country,” he said, adding that it is a way of knowledge transfer to embrace sustainable agricultural practices.
The benchmarking visits saw a knowledge exchange forum with agroecology groups in Kangari and the Organic Agriculture Centre of Kenya (OACK) Bio inputs shop.
The delegates visited Mukarara Farm in Kangema where goat farming is used to produce biogas and the biomass produced is used for organic farming.
The visit also included an exhibition of products from organic farming where organic farmers displayed their produce.