NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 11 – Agroecology players have urged individuals to adopt a safe food system for sustainability.
Speaking on Friday during the launch of the first Eastern Africa agroecology conference in Nairobi, Executive Director of the Biovision Africa Trust, David Amudavi, addressed the alarming cases of starvation facing millions of Kenyans against the backdrop of large untapped agricultural resources.
‘‘It is disappointing that we have people sleeping hungry in Kenya and only less than a quarter of our land being put underproductive use,’’ Amudavi said.
He noted that the adoption of safe farming methods and the use of farmer-owned seeds that were traditionally used in the country are the only ways to ensure a continuous supply of food for the population.
Grace Mugo from the Ministry of Agriculture said that there is an urgent need to scale up and ensure the sustainability of farming systems based on environmentally friendly technologies and methodologies.
Mugo added that the ministry is very much involved in the drive towards ensuring food security in the country and urged all players in the private and public sectors to consolidate efforts to ensure interventions towards food sustainability and adoption are put into practice.
Representatives from the African Union-led Ecological Organic Agriculture Initiative, led by Alex Mutungi, stated that the continental body is keen on working with regional and national organizations like the Ecological Organic Agriculture entities to ensure the return to sustainable agricultural methods and interventions towards food sustainability are adopted and put into practice.
‘‘We are advocating for safe farming systems that are in sync with the need to slow down the pace of climate change and guarantee a food secure continent,’’ Mutungi said.
Ecological Organic Agriculture project manager Venancia Wambua noted that the conference was timely to address issues that had plagued the food production chain.
She expressed the need for concerted efforts to address emerging issues in technologies that have proven unfriendly to the environment and unsustainable to ensure continuous food production.
The launch marks the beginning of a month-long period that will be marked by discussions and plenary sessions by experts across the world in Nairobi to review food systems in the region.
