Category: Blog
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Sweet Bananas and Sweet Love
“Unapenda ndizi?” (Do you like bananas?) He asked. I responded in the affirmative. “Basi baki na mimi na hutawahi kosa ndizi.” (Then stay with me and you will never lack bananas.) I was flattered. The young lad, the farm-hand, had walked up to me and perched himself next to where…
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She is
This year’s #IWD2024 theme is Investing in women: Accelerate progress and it had me reflecting deeply on what this means. Oftentimes, when discussing cross-cutting issues such a gender-related matters, the onus lies on a different party to make the changes, seldom is it ourselves. Today, I pose the question; what…
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Wake up and Smell Zea Mays
Have you ever eaten flavored #corn kernels before? Well, it was a first for me. Maize, as we call it in Kenya, is a staple food you won’t miss in many households. What’s the appetite for value-added #maize products though? I share my thoughts in this article. #ValueAddition #FoodSecurity
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Reflections on World Food Day
World Food Day, observed on October 16th every year, serves as a poignant reminder of the urgent need for food security and sustainability in a world threatened by climate change. For a young African climate advocate like me, this day is not just a mere observance but a call to…
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The Kenyan female agripreneurs riding the wave of social media
As digital solutions become the “new normal,” social media platforms have evolved from being primarily about recreation to offering new avenues for business. A growing number of female entrepreneurs are adapting to this new market environment by building on their existing social networks to grow their brand awareness and customer…
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Locusts — Floods — Covid-19: How are Kenya’s food systems coping with the triple tragedy?
The triple tragedy has brought to the fore the indisputable need to make our food systems more resilient. This means investing in early warning systems to prevent and mitigate any shocks to the food system, and in the worst case scenario, an unprecedented global pandemic at the scale of Covid-19.
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Linking agriculture to Covid-19 social protection can boost food security
While there has been little research so far into the links between malnutrition and Covid-19, health experts warn that people with weakened immune systems as a result of undernourishment are at greater risk of a range of serious illnesses, and are therefore more likely to be severely affected by the…
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Could Covid-19 be an opportunity for African scientists to save the world?
African governments have made minimal investments in research and development, due to competing priorities, such as national security, infrastructural development, or alleviating hunger and extreme poverty. In an unprecedented turn of events, the Covid-19 pandemic has brought to the fore the importance of having a strong research and development system.
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How effective is food distribution in Kenya during Covid-19?
The current restrictions on movement, and closure of most facilities and enterprises — with the exception of essential services — has rendered many Kenyans jobless, while many others are feeling the wrenching effects of reduced, or lost income.
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Food safety measures during Covid-19
In the wake of the Covid-19 crisis, the Kenyan government classified agriculture as one of the essential services that will remain undisrupted, in spite of the stringent measures put in place to curb the spread of the virus. In reality, this was easier said than done.
Amanda Namayi 