Production of African leafy vegetables such as Amaranthas (Terere), Nightshade (Managu/ Mnavu), and Spider plant (Sagaa) in Elburgon Ward, Nakuru County, is not new.
The agriculturally rich region boasts of adequate rainfall all year round; and good soils that sustain almost every crop that requires a cool climatic condition.
The area, therefore, has the potential to improve the nutritional levels among residents of the vast county and beyond, if farmers utilise their portions of land, particularly in the growth of these vegetables.
It is, however, saddening that the county, which also has other vast areas with this potential, is still lagging in cases of stunted growth and malnutrition.
Agriculturally rich areas of Kuresoi and Molo, as well as pockets of informal settlements across the county, have been cited as prone to malnutrition and stunted growth among children, due to lack of crop diversification.
According to the recent Kenya Demographic and Health Survey, the County had 18 in every 100 of its children suffering from malnutrition and stunted growth. Despite the improvement from 28 that had been recorded by previous surveys, there is a need to bridge the gap between food production and nutrition requirements among its residents, for sustainability.
Leah Kigoro, a resident of the Nyakiambi area in Elburgon Ward, attests to this so well, as her family has largely relied on mashed potatoes and pumkin for weaning, with adults taking maize, beans, cabbages, and kales as their staple diets.
“We have always taken African leafy vegetables as an alternative only during rainy seasons when they are readily available on our farms, but never thought of domesticating them for sustainable production,” adds a 25-year-old mother of two.
Sagaa, which is rich in potassium, proteins, and other minerals, is effective in regulating blood pressure. It is also embraced as a milk stimulant for lactating mothers, while its medicinal values are touted to help in the restoration of women’s health after childbirth.
Its closer match, the Nightshade (managu), is rich in iron and vitamins A, B, and C. The leafy vegetable also has anti-inflammatory benefits. Terere can easily be blended into babies’s food owing to its smoothie feel, for a boost in immunity and iron. Its seeds, best used in baby porridge, are rich in proteins, iron, and manganese, among other micronutrients, and are naturally gluten-free while affording antioxidant values to the growing child.
Kigoro’s sentiments are echoed by Margaret Njeri, who attests that leafy vegetables are better placed to provide the essential nutrients required for growth, right from conception to old age.
“We need to diversify our vegetables as they are accompaniments for ugali (maize meal), which is our main course. The idea to produce these African leafy vegetables has come in handy as it is expensive to keep buying them from the markets.
“I particularly like the blend of the three, when fried in spring onions and tomatoes. The dish becomes more enticing if served with meat,” she says, signalling our salivary glands to affirmation.
The Hope Women group members have come together to learn how to best grow these vegetables as well as capitalise on economies of scale in seeking markets and doing value addition.
“Our families depend on us for nutrition and growth. We leased these plots to enable us to bring on board experts to teach us how best to grow these vegetables, as we seek help in reaching markets and processors for value addition in times of surplus on our farms.
“Cascade, which is a programme under Care Kenya, has come in handy to pool experts for us in capacity building. We now understand the nutritional value of these vegetables as we seek to boast our family’s health and economic status,” notes Ms. Kigoro, who also doubles as the group’s secretary.
The group that also engages in table banking, among other economic projects, has also built capacity on how well they can utilise their earnings and save, as a way of making their households stable, financially.
“A day’s earning of Sh250 from menial jobs was not enough to keep the group going as we were usually torn between feeding our families, paying school fees, and saving as a group.
“We therefore decided to stretch a little further and learn best farming practices that we will replicate in our homes to better our earnings, as we reduce the costs of feeding our families,” adds Njeri.
The group’s demo plots, sitting on a 50 by 100 piece of land, have the three crops already at the nursery stage.
“We have decided to apportion the plot to grow the three types of vegetables under different conditions. What we have on our farms is vegetables growing on untreated soil; here we also have portions that have modern fertilisers, while others are thriving on only composite manure.
“The segmentation will help us gauge the productivity against various conditions the plants are exposed to, while monitoring the soils as well as the crop’s resistance to diseases and erratic weather conditions,” continues Njeri.
Leah Kaguara, the Country Director at Care International in Kenya, sees the Cascade programme as a step in the right direction in managing stunted growth in the country that lags at 18 children in 100.
These leafy vegetables were initially consumed in seasons when they were readily found as weeds on these women’s farms. Those who grow them, do so on a small scale.
“We are focusing on this region as it has the potential to produce more for markets across the country and beyond. Hospitals and schools are their first target, as the women have now planned to cub malnutrition at the early stages of their children’s growth,” noted Ms. Kaguara.
Care International, through the Cascade programme, has pooled together experts and resources.
“We are in partnership with the county government to have these farmers trained on the best farming practices for these vegetables, as well as how they could manage their soils to sustain the crops even in dry seasons,” she added, regretting the erratic climatic changes.
Kaguara, noted that the project also targeted African leafy vegetables, as they were drought-resistant and could earn the group some money while providing food all year round.
“We are using the Farmer-Field- Business Model to increase food, nutrition, and productivity while linking farmers to processors and other consumers,” added Kaguara, noting that surplus will be tapped for processing.
Juan Echanove, Associate Vice President- Food and Water Systems at Care International, underscored the need for women’s empowerment in agriculture, access to water for agriculture, and capacity building.
“The unity of these small-scale farmers, with their small plots at home, is what we want to leverage on to ensure they produce more, better, and sustainable food for their families and markets, in an ecological way.
These women will also receive training on gender equity, as this is a great component of poverty eradication and economic empowerment for the family,” added Echanove.
Nakuru County Agricultural Officer Anne Odhiambo noted that the County had come in to provide extension services to ensure that food production is safe for nutrition values.
“We are working with farmer groups to show them how to best grow the various crops, care for them, and seek markets when in surplus. We are also ensuring safe production in terms of the use of pesticides, to afford Kenyans adequate and safe food for healthy living,” adds Ms. Odhiambo.
Whereas Nakuru’s malnutrition levels are on par with the country average of 18, the county has the potential to turn the situation around across the country, as counties such as West Pokot (34), Samburu (31), and Meru (25) are still in dire need of a boost.
Nutrition International foresees a turnaround situation if concerted efforts are channelled towards bridging this gap, with about 22, 000 cases of anaemia among expectant women, being averted in five years.
The Ministry of Health, alongside its partners, is working towards combating nutritional problems including under-nutrition, over-nutrition, and micronutrient deficiency, which have been cited as major concerns requiring urgent and domesticated solutions.
By Anne Sabuni and Dennis Rasto
