Farmers Review Africa Sept/Oct 2019 Farmers Review Africa September - October 2019 dig | Page 12

OPINION
The role of biodiversity in
achieving food and nutrition
security in Kenya
By Emmanuel Atamba
T
he Human Right to Food is yet to be fully
realised in Kenya. More than 10 million
Kenyans suffer from chronic food insecurity.
One-quarter of children under 5 years old
are stunted. Millions of Kenyans depend on
emergency food aid and 1 in 5 families would
not meet the minimum food requirement even if
they spent all their income on food. Additionally,
obesity and diet related diseases are on the rise
in Kenya raising questions on the diversity, safety
and quality of the food.
Conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity
for food and agriculture is a viable approach
in addressing the food and nutrition security
problems in Kenya. This position is informed by
the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s State of
the World’s Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture
Report released in February 2019, amongst
other resources. The report, formed through
compilation of 91 country reports – Kenya
included – concludes that Biodiversity for Food
and Agriculture (BFA) is declining worldwide,
and calls for concerted efforts to prevent further
decline. In the report, FAO Secretary General,
José Graziano da Silva, highlights the importance
of BFA in achieving zero hunger, food and nutrition
security for all and urges efforts to conserve BFA
for realisation of the aspirations of a food secure
world and sustainable food systems.
State of biodiversity for food and agriculture
in Kenya
The report identifies pollution, use of external
inputs, trade and market forces among key
drivers of biodiversity loss. Further, it points out
significant negative impacts of the two drivers on
animal and plant genetic resources, associated
biodiversity, ecosystem services and wild foods
against different production systems. Plant
genetic resources in both irrigated and rain
fed systems face strong negative effects from
environmental pollution, use of external inputs,
market trends and trade.
Plant and animal genetic resources and
associated biodiversity in mixed farming systems
also face decline with strong negative effects
coming from all drivers of biodiversity loss studied
in the report.
10 | September - October 2019
Pollination, among other ecosystem services was
also reported to be negatively affected by pollution
and use of external inputs. Pollination, pest and
disease regulation, nutrient and water cycling
which are important in sustaining agricultural
productivity and healthy agro-ecosystems were
reported to be declining.
Relevance to the Human Right to Food
Kenya’s farming system has for the past four
decades moved towards a more industrial
model of production. This model, in many ways,
downplays the role of biodiversity and it is
functioning in enhancing agricultural productivity,
food quality, dietary diversity and the resilience of
farms and food systems to shocks. The approach
has led to a significant loss of agricultural and
associated biodiversity.
The continued disregard of BFA components and
their resultant exposure to risks of further loss
poses a substantial risk to agro-ecosystems and
resilience of communities to climate change and
in turn, affect food production and access. This
deepens the vulnerability of Kenyans to chronic
hunger and malnutrition and undermines the
realisation of the Right to Food in Kenya, which
is provided for in Article 43 of the Constitution.
Relationship between biodiversity and food
security
Kenya’s varied geography and agro-ecological
conditions, as well as its diversity of people,
communities and cultures, lays the foundation for
a country with a rich diversity of crops, livestock
and associated biodiversity. The knowledge and
traditions regarding food and farming practices
are however slowly fading to pave way for the
production and consumption of staples under
monocultures, encouraging overreliance on
external inputs with promised better returns for
farmers and food for all.
At a political level, agricultural development
policy is pushing for an industrial model of
farming and livestock breeding, which threatens
the sustainable use and conservation of BFA by
instilling farming practices that are not friendly to
the agro-ecosystems in which they are applied.
The approach bypasses knowledge on local
biodiversity and its functioning, held by farmers
and rural communities. As a result of prohibitive
costs and unfair standards, many government
and private sector-led initiatives exclude the
majority of small-scale farmers and households
from profitably participating in commercial
farming, using their eco-friendly practices.
Dietary diversity in Kenya is on the decline.
Based on three studies conducted in Meru, Kitui
and Northern Kenya, more than 30 per cent of
Kenyans living in rural areas have a dietary
diversity score of less than four from a possible
12 food groups identified by FAO and the World
Food Programme. Studies have confirmed that
there is a strong correlation between low dietary
diversity and malnutrition, obesity and other
nutrition deficiency related conditions.
The decline in dietary diversity in Kenya is fuelled
by the continued focus on mainstream foods and
staples, such as maize, rice or potatoes. The
lack of budgetary and policy support towards
the production of non-mainstream, indigenous
foods such as wild foods, pulses, root crops and
oil crops means they are less readily available in
local markets.
Solutions orientation
To enhance conservation and sustainable use of
BFA in Kenya, the following approaches should
be adopted. At the highest political levels, Kenya
needs to mainstream environmentally friendly
farming practices, conscious trade and consumer
behaviour through policy, government investment
and financing – both private and public. Secondly,
government-led initiatives and civil society actors
should create awareness on the importance and
means of BFA conservation. Lastly, investment
in research and documentation on farming
practices and approaches that can sustainably
use, hence improve the role of biodiversity in
food production, enhancing resilience of farms,
households and communities to effects of climate
change, natural disasters and calamities.