Nairobi 27th November 2024
Nairobi City County Chief Officer responsible for Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Subsector Ms. Gladwell Cheruiyot affirmed the City County’s commitment in advancing circular technologies in food systems.
“Currently, the County is implementing Food Systems Strategy 2022-2027, focusing on sustainable production, value addition and distribution to improve food access in order to serve Nairobi’s population which is rapidly expanding with increasing demand for safe and nutritious food.” She stated.
Speaking at Kenyatta University when she graced Integrated and Circular technologies for Sustainable City region FOOD Systems in Africa ( INCiTis- FOOD ) Road show event, the Agriculture Chief Officer highlighted some of initiatives the County is undertaking to achieve its vision of affordable, accessible, nutritious and safe food for all residents including; integration of circular technologies like micro gardening, livestock keeping, hydroponics and aquaponics which are ideal for maximizing production in limited urban spaces while conserving water.
Other initiatives include strengthening food safety standards across a variety of value chains to ensure consumer protection, promotion of Agricultural food waste reduction and resource re-use including composting and bioenergy generation as well as the insect farming providing an alternative high protein feed for livestock, reducing dependency on conventional feed sources.
The INCiTis – FOOD Road show event aimed at showcasing innovative technologies and solutions geared towards enhancing food security and sustainability.
Prof. Getrude Bichenrieder from INCiTis- FOOD, who addressed the participants virtually from Germany said that the project’s goal is to enhance food nutrition security in African City regions, reduce environmental impacts and promote circularity in food systems. It is designed to empower communities by creating opportunities in agro food supply. “Agri -food technologies are well suited for African cities as they are resource efficient requiring minimal land, water and financial resources”. She stated.
“Growing safe food is a must for this county. To achieve this, we need to come down to the level of ordinary citizens and train them on circular technologies to ensure people have access to clean and highly nutritious food using locally available materials.” Said Prof.Grace Ngare, the Project lead.
In addition, Dr. Pacifica Okemwa noted that the time had come to ensure that knowledge from universities reaches out to the ordinary citizens who use it practically.
The event was attended by different groups practicing urban farming in Nairobi and officers from Kiambu County government.
Ms. Cheruiyot was accompanied to the event by the County Deputy Director, Food Systems and Sector Programmes Ms. Winfred Katumo.
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