A Kenyan working with a local non-profit has won this year’s BBC food award which celebrates young people who are working to improve food security.
Samuel Ikua, a project manager with Mazingira Institute, was named the Food Chain Global Youth Champion 2022, during the BBC Food and Farming Awards in Cardiff.
Ikua works closely with Nairobi food system actors through the Nairobi and Environs Food Security Agriculture and Landscape Forum (NEFSALF), a network of food system actors in Nairobi.
“Samuel teaches local people the skills and knowledge they need to start urban farming projects where they live, in order to provide income and food security,” the BBC said in the announcement.
It added: “Samuel encourages communities to collect food waste and use this to feed livestock and create compost for vegetable plots. Other projects include the production of goat milk and yoghurt that people can sell. In his spare time, Samuel enjoys ballroom and salsa dancing.”
Ikua also serves as the Habitat International Coalition’s (HIC) representative at the International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty Youth Working Group.
His other areas of interest include gender issues. Currently, he is pursuing a Master of Arts in International Relations at the University of Nairobi.
The $1000 award is now in its fifth year.
Last year, it was won by Gabriella D’Cruz from Goa, who said she wants to improve diets, transform livelihoods, and protect the planet using an often-overlooked marine vegetable - seaweed.
“Gabriella’s passion and her project’s potential saw her chosen by a panel of international judges as the winner of The Food Chain Global Youth Champion Award 2021,” the BBC said.
BBC said, every year, it invites entries from people aged between 18 and 30 who are trying to change how humans deal with our food, from its production to its presentation and consumption, to have a lasting effect on human’s relationship with food.
