Kenyans have been urged to eat more beans rich in iron and zinc to address malnutrition or hidden hunger.
Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network nutrition associate Dr Beatrice Kiage said experts are concerned of the zinc and iron deficiency that is contributing to the high level of stunting in the country.
“This is chronic malnutrition which mainly affects pregnant and breastfeeding mothers and also children under five years. It is important to make sure when women are conceiving, they have sufficient amounts of zinc and iron in their body. This will ensure the fetus gets sufficient iron and zinc,” she said.
Kiage spoke during a farmer’s field day on upscaling and adoption of beans rich in iron and zinc in Naromoru, Kieni East, in Nyeri county.
The field day was organised by Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation in partnership with the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network.
A consortium of five organisations have come together through a programme known as ZIRON pulse to upscale consumption of bean varieties rich in iron and zinc.
The programme is being funded by James Hutton Institute.
Other organisations include FANRPAN (dealing with health and nutrition), Kalro, the University of Nairobi (dealing with breeding) and the University of Birmingham in the UK.
The nutritionist explained that beans are highly consumed, versatile, cheap and available compared to other crops.
“Beans are more sustainable in addressing malnutrition, which is also called hidden hunger. This means you can be full but you are still hungry because you do not have iron and zinc. This is a concern because stunting in Kenya is at 26 per cent, this is a third of the population," Kiage said.
"The lack of the two nutrients is affecting cognitive and the IQ level may go down by around 11 per cent. We need to be worried about that.”
She said stunting can be addressed by using the food vehicle, which is available everywhere since every household consumes beans.
Kiage said researchers from Kalro and the University of Nairobi have developed many bean varieties, including nyota that is rich in iron and zinc.
“These bean varieties are good for our health. By consuming beans, we will be able to address issues of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, obese and overweight, which are a big problem in the country. The beans have high fiber and can lower cholesterol levels in our bodies,” Kiage said.
She urged farmers to adopt bean farming so that Kenyans can consume more of the produce.
According to a study carried out by ZIRON, more people are going for yellow beans because they have less gas.
“We have addressed this through the nyota bean variety and we have also realised that farmers have been facing challenges such as pests, drought and climate change. The variety is resistant to pests and it grows within a short period of time-three months. We are killing many birds with one stone while addressing food security and nutrition,” Kiage said.
The national annual consumption of beans is at 700,000 metric tonnes against production of 600,000 metric tonnes.
Globally, Kenya is the seventh highest producer of beans and second in Africa after Rwanda.
She said the deficit of 100,000mt can be covered if people were encouraged to consume more beans, which will motivate farmers to increase their production.
“Currently, we do not have enough to eat. We need to increase our production so that we have enough to sell and at the same time have a family that is well nourished to work and be able to produce as we eat the beans,” the nutritionist said.
Agronomist and Kieni East subcounty agriculture officer Caroline Mwenze said the area receives low rainfall so they promote technologies such as growing drought tolerant crops like beans which do well in the arid areas.
“The county government is supporting farmers by distributing the seeds to ensure the beans are available. We have ventured into bean farming because the crop can solve the issue of food insecurity as it is high in Zinc and Iron. Climate change is a major challenge in the area and this has forced farmers to embrace low attitude crops,” she said.
Mwenze said climate change is a major challenge in the area, forcing farmers to embrace low attitude crops, and that with such technologies farmers can get between six to eight, 90kg bags of beans per acre.
Naromoru bean farmer Agatha Wamuyu said, “Drought has been a big challenge for us in this area. I have resulted in growing drought tolerant crops for me to be able to produce anything. I had planted the "wairimu dwarf" variety of beans but due to poor rains, I did not harvest much."
"I have since adopted the nyota bean variety and I am anticipating at least harvesting five bags from my one acre.”
