Food Security

  Soil degradation poses a global crisis as it jeopardises food security, livelihoods, and ecosystem health. The situation is worse in East Africa, where over 40 percent of soils are degraded, threatening the region’s agricultural foundation and resilience.

Nairobi, Kenya, December 9, 2024 - The Route to Food Initiative (RTFI), a programme of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, Kenya, is excited to announce the launch of Kenya’s first-ever Farmers Resource Guide on alternatives to Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs), a groundbreaking tool designed to promote sustainable and pesticide-free farming practices. This guide is by framers for farmers, offering practical knowledge and tools to help farmers at all experience levels to grow healthy, nutritious food while safeguarding their health, the environment, and future generations.

The recent debate in the Kenyan Parliament advocating for a ban on HHPs is a vital step towards ensuring food safety. However, this discussion needs to be followed by concrete action. Dr. Harun Warui emphasized the need for policies that safeguard both human health and the environment.

Regulating pesticide registration and labelling is not enough; close monitoring on the ground is critical. In Kenya, this is where the food safety chain begins to break.

As digital agricultural platforms like Digifarm and Azure Farmbeats expand across Africa, there’s a growing need to examine the broader implications. These platforms, while promising increased yields and efficiency, may also further entrench corporate interests in agriculture, raising questions about the true beneficiaries of this digital revolution. 

Inspired by the Netflix documentary Rotten, this issue of Cha Kula by the Route to Food Initiative, highlights the absurdities in our food systems in Kenya, both historically and in the contemporary moment. 

Our Policy Brief provides recommendations on fossil fuel-based and ‘green’ fertilizer production and use in Africa.