• Adeka said the only way to curb some diseases and get nutrients into the body is by eating more tubers, fruits and vegetables.
• Kenya is classified by the World Food Programme as food insecure.
Image: COURTESY
Do you want to live long? Experts recommend that you eat traditional foods.
National Museums of Kenya chief scientist Ruth Adeka on Thursday said the only way to curb some diseases and get nutrients into the body is by eating more tubers, fruits and vegetables.
“We have about 200 species of tubers, fruits and vegetables readily available in Kenya,” said Adeka, who works with the department of Center for Biological Diversity.
Traditional foods include amaranth, spinach, arrowroot, cowpeas, crotalaria, jute, nightshade, pumpkin, spider plant, stinging nettle, traditional kale and water spinach.
Roots and tubers produced in Kenya include Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, cassava, yams and cocoyams.
“These foods are part of our heritage and culture for many years,” Adeka said
Adeka said Kenyans have forgotten about traditional foods and are going for processed foods, fast foods and meat.
She said they are promoting traditional foods that can adapt to ever-changing climatic conditions.
“People do not know about them and even how to prepare them. As the National Museums, we have documented technologies on how these foods can be planted and utilised in any Kenyan household,” she says.
Adeka said they have also published a book on how to cook traditional food.
She spoke at the National Museums of Kenya on the sidelines of the seventh Kenya Heritage Expo themed 'Heritage Management for Economic Development'. The expo started on Thursday and ends on Saturday.
Culture and Heritage PS Josephta Mukobe said Kenya was among African countries seeking to have a strong cultural identity, common heritage and shared values and ethics. Her speech was read by ministry's Director of Public Communication Michael Ruthuku.
Food security and nutrition is one of the pillars of the government's Big Four agenda. Despite the focus on improving food security, Kenya is classified by the World Food Programme as food insecure.
According to the National Root and Tubers Crops Development Strategy 2019-22, roots and tubers are gaining importance due to their role in food security, ability to withstand drought and their potential for commercial processing.
The country produces 3.68 million metric tonnes of Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, cassava, cocoyams and yams. This is way below the country’s potential.
For instance, the average yield for Irish potatoes stands at seven metric tonnes per hectare compared to the potential of 25 metric tonnes.
Key challenges facing the subsector include weak and dysfunctional stakeholder institutions, inadequate information, underdeveloped markets, inadequate quality planting materials, low processing levels, low access to financial services, insufficient research and technology development.
Production of root and tuber crops remained almost stagnant for three years (2012 to 2015) with an average area of 240,000 hectares (593,052 acres) while total production averaged 3.3 million metric tonnes. This declined to 2.4 million metric tonnes in 2016.
The main reasons for this near-stagnation are the unavailability of clean quality materials for planting and marketing constraints.
However, the situation has improved in both acreage and volume to 322,050 hectares (795,802 acres) and production of 3.68 million metric tonnes valued at Sh65.92 billion.
The area under Irish potato cultivation increased from 99,475 hectares (245,808 acres) in 2012 to 217,315 hectares (536 997 acres) in 2018 while production increased from 1,436,718 metric tonnes to 1,867,376 metric tonnes over the same period.
For sweet potatoes, although the area under the crop has declined marginally from 66,971 hectares (165,488 acres) in 2012 to 64,293 hectares (158,871 acres) in 2018, production reduced markedly from 859,549 metric tonnes to 763,643 metric tonnes in 2014, but has steadily increased to 871,010 metric tonnes in 2018.
Cassava production declined from 73,144 hectares (180,742 acres) in 2012 to 63,725 in 2014 and subsequently to 40,422 hectares (99,884 acres) in 2018.
Similarly, production declined from 930,922 metric tonnes to 571,845 metric tonnes in 2015, but increased to 945,827 metric tonnes in 2018.
This increase in productivity could be attributed to the availability of high yielding planting materials and capacity building on good agronomic practices.
In the case of cocoyams and yams, although the area under the crops declined, production increased significantly by 30 per cent during the same period.
Edited by A. Ndung'u