Kiambu County department of agriculture in partnership with Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) have held a sensitizing campaign to increase vegetable consumption among residents.
The campaign dubbed ‘Vegetable for All’ emphasizes the intake of dark green leafy vegetables and other vitamin-rich foods
According to Kiambu County Executive Committee Member for Agriculture Wilfred Mwenda the Agriculture team going through training and sensitization will be instrumental in training farmers in the county in vegetable growing and ensuring they adhere to good agricultural practices.
“Gain is implementing ‘Vegetables for All’ project that seeks to increase consumption of safe and fresh vegetables in Kiambu alongside Nairobi, Mombasa, Machakos and Nakuru counties the program will run for five years,” he said adding that the scope of work includes pushing for safety standards through seminars and trainings and advocating for food safety.
He further called on all to embrace the power of vegetables, saying the need to increase consumption of vegetables is not merely a dietary choice but a path to better health, economic growth, environmental sustainability and a preservation of our cultural identity.
“There are various important nutrients in fruits and vegetables that are good for our body. You can think of calcium, iron and magnesium, fruits and vegetables also contain a lot of important nutrients, it is advisable for an adult to eat every day around 200 grams of fruit and around 250 grams of vegetables,” Mwenda added
Inadequate consumption of vegetables and fruits has been reported to be a key risk in the increase of non-communicable diseases in the country, this was highlighted during a two days training and sensitization of Sub County Agricultural Officer and Ward Agricultural Officers on Good Agricultural Practices and Food Safety compliance.
GAIN is a Swiss-based foundation launched at the United Nations in 2002 to tackle human suffering caused by malnutrition
Last year GAIN launched the ‘Vegetables for All’ program in Kenya in partnership with the national government through the Ministry of agriculture, seeks to improve consumption of healthy foods by improving supply, increasing demand, and improving the enabling environment for different vegetables by operating at multiple levels – individuals, households, markets, producers, and policies.
According to a report done by GAIN, Kenya is currently at 100-130 grams per person per day against WHO recommendation of 400 grams of fruits and vegetables per person per day
The report further indicates that only 5.2 percent of adults aged 18-69 years in Kenya consume the WHO recommendation of five servings 400 grams of fruits and/or vegetables per day.
In Kenya, fruits are consumed, on average, 2.4 days a week, while vegetables are consumed five days a week (Stepwise Survey 2015).
By Grace Naishoo
