Food Rights

Under this special programme, The Route To Food Initiative, hbs Nairobi works towards realizing the Right to Food in Kenya, which is provided for in Article 43 of the Constitution: “Every person has the right to be free from hunger, and to have adequate food of acceptable quality.” Our activities aim to influence the political approach to food security and target avenues related to policy development and implementation at national and county-level. Additionally, the initiative relies on creative communications and an influencer-led campaign to promote innovative solutions to the problem of chronic food insecurity. We engage with mainstream and alternative media to shift the emphasis of the debate on hunger and unaffordable or inadequate food to a discussion about food rights.

Toxic Business | Highly Hazardous Pesticides in Kenya

Food Production Without Toxic Pesticides in Kenya is a Reality.

Press release

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.

Parliamentary debate on pesticides is a positive step, immediate action is required

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.

By Harun Warui

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Recent Publications

Cha Kula Issue 7 | Rotten

Publication

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. Cha Kula is a bi-annual publication that gives prominence to food as a political issue in Kenya. It calls into question the power dynamics that dominate our food system, which determines who eats, what they eat and who goes hungry.

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Toxic Business | Highly Hazardous Pesticides in Kenya

Publication

The report “Toxic Business; Highly Hazardous Pesticides in Kenya” presents analyses on actual data of pesticides used in 2020 in Kenya. It shows that immediate action is necessary to protect human health, the environment, and the right to healthy food in Kenya.

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All publication on Food Rights

Our Programme Goals

Agroecology

Feminism + Agroecology = Feminist Agroecology²

Article

Food is a crucial subject the world over. All aspects of how we produce, process, distribute and access food is increasingly coming under sharp, serious scrutiny. This is partly due to the universal understanding of food as a basic right – necessary for life rather than a commodity we trade, invent, re-invent and innovate with little consideration of the implications that has on access, safety and quality. Various discussions have been brought to the table, mainly trying to figure out the best approach to our food and farming systems and what approach gives a better chance to end hunger and malnutrition; now and in the days to come.

By Felistus Mwalia

Pesticides and Food safety

Pesticide Paradox: Unwrapping the Regulatory Riddle in a World Where Veggies Need More Protection than Your Medicine Cabinet

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.

By Christine Gatwiri

Food Security

App-solutely Plowing Through: Debunking the Digital Farming Myth and its Plot Against Farmer Sovereignty

Article

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.

Gender and Food Systems

The Blind Spot

Publication

The Route to Food Initiative, a program component of the Heinrich Boell Foundation, has launched a special edition of the Chakula Magazine, a graphic novel entitled “The Blind Spot.”

Agroecology defined

A Farm of Hope - Agroecology - RTF Route to Food

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Join the Route to Food Alliance

The Route to Food Alliance is a group of more than 600 women and men who use their personal or professional platforms to champion for the Right to Food in Kenya.

Joining the Route to Food Alliance means you are part of an initiative to realise the Right to Food in Kenya. The reason we exist is to create a network of like-minded people from government, media, civil society, academia, farmers and the private sector who want to work together to end food insecurity in the country.

Why you should be a member of the Route to Food Alliance. - RTF Route to Food

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