Kenya is endowed with agrobiodiversity with more than 200 African indigenous vegetables species.
Many agree that given the increasingly perceived importance of fresh fruits and vegetables for healthy diets and the prevention of micronutrient deficiencies and diet-related non-communicable diseases, a stronger focus on the horticulture sector is crucial.
According to research, out of the about 200 indigenous plant species used as leafy vegetables in the country, only a few have been fully domesticated and a number semi-domesticated, while most are wild.
Common indigenous vegetable species in Kenya include cowpeas (kunde), amaranth (mchicha), black nightshade (osuga), jute mallow (mrenda),pumpkin leaves, sunnhemp (mito),pig weed and spider plant.
All these diverse traditional vegetables are part of Kenyan cuisine and culture whose potential has the ability to economically empower local communities.
It is in this regard that NGOs have teamed to promote production of indigenous vegetables as an alternative source of income for rural households in western Kenya.
The Rural Outreach Africa, SNV Netherlands and World Vegetable Centre are currently implementing the Veggies for Planet and People Projects in Kakamega, Kisumu and Vihiga counties.
Under the project, farmers have been put in village-based networks (VBNs) from where they are trained on the best farming practices and how to tap maximum profits.
Rural Outreach Africa regional coordinator Doreen Anjawa said there are efforts to try to ensure food and nutrition security by intensifying production and introducing high-yielding, stress-tolerant crop varieties.
She said that many Kenyans are changing their long-held perceptions and attitudes towards indigenous vegetables, which have been discovered to be toxin-free.
Anjawa said that indigenous vegetables are essential sources of dietary components as they contain essential minerals and vitamins necessary for maintaining human health and strengthening resistance to disease and infection.
“Being native to the African continent, they have been selected over many generations against various stressors in tropical environments, especially drought," she said.
The expert said that since these vegetables are consumed on a daily basis, their demand provides for a ready market that farmers can tap from to transform their lives economically.
She said as an organisation, they encourage use of organic manure by vegetable farmers.
This, Anjawa said, is to minimise the use of chemicals which eventually enable for the production of healthy indigenous vegetables for local consumption and importation.
The organisation has set up VBNs in all the three counties to enable and encourage farmers to produce indigenous vegetables on a larger scale.
“We are encouraging farmers to realise that traditional vegetables farming is quite untapped yet has a lot of potential to change lives economically," she said.
(edited by Amol Awuor)