Highlights:

The report identifies the following levers for the transition towards sustainable food systems in Kenya:

Adress food and nutrition insecurity and associated regional disparities:

1. Implement effectively existing policies and strategies on food insecurity and malnutrition. This requires:

   • Budgetary support at national and county levels;

   • Resource mobilization efforts;

   • Capacity-building support at county level for the development and implementation of comprehensive agriculture sector programmes;

   • Streamlining the governance aspects of food and nutrition security policy by operationalizing key institutions, such as the National Food and Nutrition Security Authority, the National Food Council;

   • Broadening the coverage of the strategic food reserve to a wider set of commodities and groups;

2. Promoting multisectoral stakeholders’ cooperation (including the ministries, private sector, development partners and farmers’ organizations). Increase investment in research and development for climate-resilient varieties and breeds, for nutrition-sensitive agriculture (including biofortification), for disease- and pest-resistant animals and crops (including transgenic crops) and product development (industrial-level food fortification).

3. Provide support to smallholder family farming:

   • Improving productivity and diversifying production;

   • Strengthening social protection programmes;

   • Supporting development and commercialization of nutrition-sensitive value chains (use of indigenous vegetables and other foods, protein-rich livestock products, and fish);

   • Promoting appropriate technologies for the preparation of diversified nutritious food;

   • Awareness on more varied and healthier diets through education programmes.

Enhance weak agrifood value chains:

1. Increase investments in the agriculture sector and infrastructural development of agrifood value chains (e.g. roads, electricity and communications), technology and extension services to develop food processing, improve food safety and reducing post-harvest losses (scale up existing technologies), while enhancing smallholders’ market access and productivity through quality inputs and advice. Support micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) through:

   • Fostering business support services (e.g. aggregation of produce from smallholder farmers);

   • Supporting farmers (including women and young people) to sustainably raise production volume and quality (including through organic production).

2. Promote and strengthen producers’ organization (e.g. fruits, vegetables and dairy sectors) to improve access to quality inputs, markets, extension services, post-harvest handling, transportation, processing, branding and retailing.

3. Increase awareness among food system actors for the importance of safe food consumption and safe food handling practices. Develop strong regulatory, monitoring and enforcement mechanisms to ensure food safety throughout supply chains (e.g. certification, mandating licenses for food vendors, consumer grievance system, data and information management).

Reduce disparate regional economic growth and income inequalities:

1. Improve the focus of policymaking, investments and development funding to address disparities in regional development by providing basic infrastructure (roads, clean drinking water, sanitation facilities, adequate education, health services and irrigation) in marginalized counties.

2. Streamline and consolidate social protection and agricultural input subsidies, i.e. by selecting the beneficiaries on the basis of vulnerability to poverty.

Reduce natural resource degradation and increasing vulnerability to climate change:

1. Adoption and effective implementation of policies and regulations on climate change and natural resources. Improve governance and coordination of regulatory instruments, including at county level through the involvement of traditional leaders.

2. Strengthen community-based management practices for water resources, forests and biodiversity, in combination with  the support for sustainable farming systems; e.g.

   • agroecological production systems

   • climate-smart agricultural practices and technologies,

   • alternative energy sources to reduce wood fuel dependency

   • conservation of indigenous animal breeds and crop varieties