Murang'a residents have been urged to continue consuming organically grown food to safeguard their health as the world celebrated the International Biodiversity Day.
This comes as the national government has embraced production of genetically modified organisms to ensure food security.
Despite the majority of Kenyans expressing unwillingness to consume GMOs, the government’s push received a major boost after the Environment Court dismissed a petition challenging the decision to lift the ban on GMOs.
In October last year, Justice Oscar Angote dismissed a case filed by the Law Society of Kenya, ruling that the government had put in place a robust biosafety regulatory framework that must be adhered to before considering the use of GMOs.
In 2009, the government adopted the Biosafety Act that requires any person intending to sell, import or export GMOs to acquire written approval or face a Sh20 million fine or a 10-year jail term. But the government lifted the ban on GMOs in 2022 through a Cabinet decision.
In Murang’a county, however, efforts to upscale the consumption and production of organic foodstuffs through agro-ecology, a practice that involves sustainable and regenerative agriculture, are being fast-tracked.
The county became the first to adopt an agro-ecology law and policy that have helped the county lobby for organic farming among its residents.
This has seen the county government establish demonstration farms that are used to train farmers on the right agro-ecological farming practices and the benefits of consuming organically grown food.
The county director of agricultural value chains, policy and strategy, Daniel Gitahi, said the government is in the process of establishing a food "farmacy", where farmers can be trained on how to use food to beat diseases and boost their health.
“We are working with individual farmers to produce organic food and discourage the use of harmful chemicals that have been blamed for the high morbidity in the Central region,” he said.
To celebrate International Biodiversity Day, a section of the partners working with the Murang’a county government to implement agro-ecology organised a farmers’ day in Gatuiku village in Gatanga subcounty.
Organic Agriculture Centre of Kenya, a non-profit organisation based in Murang’a, has trained over 20,000 farmers on agro-ecology.
Its executive director, David Karanja, said such farmers’ days are instrumental in reaching out to farmers to engage them on the best practices and technologies available to increase their organic yields.
Karanja said the field days are organised under the Project for Enhancing Livelihoods in Coffee Growing Areas that is run by a consortium of organisations including Rodi-Kenya, COSDEP Kenya and International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, among others.
“The aim is to train them on how to boost their yields using sustainable farming methods and available resources to make farm inputs such as compost manure instead of buying the conventional ones,” he said.
This has helped farmers rehabilitate their degraded soils and realise more returns from their harvests while consuming healthy foods.
Karanja said the high turn-out of farmers indicates a paradigm shift, with more people seeking to live healthier lifestyles and boost the quality of their lives by preventing diseases.
On his part, Joseph Gitau, the vice chairperson of Gatuiku Organic Group, said the two years they have been practicing agro-ecology have placed their lives on a healthier and richer trajectory.
Gitau said the group that has 15 active members was first trained to produce foods agro-ecologically for their families’ well-being before they ventured into the practice commercially.
Since then, Gitau said they have established a niche that has seen numerous farmers stream into their individual farms and the group’s demo farm to buy their produce and learn about agro-ecology.
In the nearby Gatura market, Gitau said they have a specific area where they sell their organic foods that he said are promptly bought off by locals who have come to understand the benefits of organic foods.
“Our plan in the near future is to establish a groceries shop that will only sell our organic produce,” he said.
The group produces cereals, vegetables, sweet potatoes, potatoes, sun flower, fish and fruits, among others, that they have planted in their demo farm and individual farms.
“We have seen major changes in our bodies and rarely find ourselves in hospital because we have managed to boost our immunity. We have also been trained to use foods to fight off various ailments,” he said.
Samuel Maina, a farmer from Kangari in Kigumo subcounty, said such activities help him to showcase his products that include processed spices and herbs that he produces in his farm.
Maina, who is a member of Kangari Organic Farmers group, adds value to his products and has been labelled as a "doctor" in his village as his neighbours go to his farm when suffering from common illnesses.
The farmer sells a range of products including paprika, rosemary oil, mints, mulberry, sage, Artemisia and herbal drinks that control gastric conditions among other ailments.
Peter Kamau, a farmer, challenged the government to consider doing away with oppressive seed laws and allow them to freely exchange indigenous seeds.
Kamau said it's paramount for the government to encourage seeds saving as part of practicing sustainable agriculture as it benefits farmers and their various eco-systems.
“Saving seeds preserves our biodiversity as indigenous seeds are resilient to pests, diseases and climate change, and eradicates the need for us to buy seeds from agro-vets,” he said, adding that they help reduce farmers’ dependency on seed companies.
Kamau said local communities have food cultures that should be sustained by preserving indigenous seeds that have higher nutritional value.
“If you take the conventional maize we plant, it is either plain white or plain yellow but our indigenous seeds had all colours. You can't tell me they all have the same nutritional value,” Kamau said, lauding organisations training farmers for enlightening them.
The Seed and Plant varieties Act Cap 326 of 2012 prohibits farmers from sharing, exchanging or selling uncertified and unregistered seeds, with offenders jailed for two years or fined Sh1 million or both.
However, organisations such as Greenpeace Africa and Seed Savers Network have been pushing for an amendment of the law and have started an online petition to compel the government to review it.
