The First Ever TOTs Training for Organic Nutrition Sensitive Agriculture in Kenya

Biovision Africa Trust (BvAT) Executive Director also a board member at IFOAM Organics International, Dr. David Amudavi, graced a three-day Training of Trainers (ToT) for Organic Nutrition Sensitive Agriculture in Mountainous Agroecosystems (NMA) that culminated in the graduation of 24 TOTs on 14th May 2021 in Nairobi.

The broad objective of the Nutrition Sensitive Agriculture(NSA) training programs for Rural Service Providers (RSP) is intended to support and mainstream nutrition in Agricultural programs with a focus on organic agro-ecological initiatives. These initiatives are supported by IFOAM/ISD in collaboration with various global entities who share the same mission and vision, in collaboration with FAO. These Agro-ecological Initiatives are aligned with the EOAI strategic areas of Training and Implementation where the trainees (who graduate as Rural Service Providers) are able to support their local communities with a special focus of women and youth integration of nutrition in their organic gardens and related farm activities. In addition to promoting safe and healthy nutrition, Value Chain and Market Access is another strategic area that this Initiative supports the trainees who upon qualification become Rural Service Providers, to acquire capacity to train and support their local farmer groups in accessing organic markets and other agro-ecological products.

Under the auspices of the Organic Consumer Alliance (OCA) and Sylvia’s Basket, this training in Kenya was designed to nurture a new cadre of rural service providers (RSP) and so their graduation came after a year of training and working on their projects – Micro Interventions (MIs). These are individual contributions to farming systems that ensure nutritional needs are met both in quality and quantity.

The importance of increasing agricultural land under organic agriculture and ultimately the quantity of organic products in the market was highlighted in Dr. Amudavi’s address not as a single panacea to attaining nutrition sensitive agriculture but one of the key ingredients towards attaining it. The organic sector in Kenya is still relatively small with about 182,000 hectares of land under organic management, which accounts for 0.69 % of the total agricultural area in Kenya. With this percentage, Kenya does not feature among the top ten African countries with the most commitment of their land to organic agriculture, as reported in The World of Organic Agriculture 2021 by FiBL’s (see Figure below). Dr. Amudavi appealed for more concerted efforts towards increasing the total land under OA in the country.

This training of the RSPs was therefore a major milestone in the promotion of organic agriculture in the country. The TOTs who were drawn from different parts of the country and organizations will be advocating for organic agriculture in their respective regions based on their MIs they have worked on for the past one year. The MIs presented during the workshop cover different areas of the OA value chains and hence the completeness in working together.

The graduation ceremony which marked completion of the Nutrition Sensitive Agriculture training program supported BvAT and by the Institute for Sustainable Development (ISD) was held on one of the participant’s farm – Zuriel Fresh Farm Limited in Kajiado County. The participants appreciated how Mrs. Kemuma has meticulously organized her farm. The farm is a representation of a true agroecosystem where both animals and crops interact for the wellbeing of humanity and the environment. Zuriel Farm produces products for both local and international markets.

The trip to Zuriel Farm wouldn’t have been appropriate for the graduation ceremony of the TOTs, seeing the exemplary work on the farm and remembering the assuring words by the BvAT’s ED that there are plenty opportunities in the organic sector, participants left a motivated lot and there is hope for the future.

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