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Agricultural Diversification with Indigenous Vegetables for Cash Cropping and Nutrition: Examples from Rift Valley and Central Provinces in Kenya  E.A. Ndenga1, E.G. Achigan-Dako1,2,a, G. Mbugua2, D. Maye3 and W. Ojanji1 1 Plant Resources of Tropical Africa, PO Box 30677-00100, Nairobi, Kenya 2 Faculty of Agronomic Sciences (FSA), University of Abomey-Calavi, 04BP 0174

Cotonou, Republic of Benin 3 Kenya Agricultural Research Institute - Thika, PO Box 220-01000 Thika, Kenya 4 Ministry of Agriculture District Agriculture Office, PO Box 27-20400, Bomet, Kenya Keywords: amaranth, African nightshade, consumption, crop diversification, income

generation, spider plant

Abstract At many occasions, diversification of agriculture has been raised as a way to

improve smallholder farmers’ livelihoods. However, information on how local communities would respond to a modification of their production system has rarely been adequately explored. This paper summarizes the response to promotion of traditional vegetable crops in the cultivation and diet systems of rural communities in central Kenya and the rift valley. We used group discussions and structured questionnaires to evaluate a post-intervention situation in which spider plant (Cleome gynandra), African nightshade (Solanum scabrum) and amaranth (Amaranthus cruentus) were promoted for increased production and consumption. At the time of the survey, over 90% of the respondents cultivated at least one of the three vegetable species against 11% before the intervention. The uptake of knowledge on the importance of indigenous vegetables and production techniques has increased. So did the proportion of non-participant farmers between 2006 and 2009 for all three vegetable species. The sizes of vegetable plots were, in general, small (0.041±0.03 ha for nightshade, 0.045±0.03 for spider plant and 0.034±0.05 ha for amaranth). Area allocation for vegetable production varies per region and per gender. However, there were no differences between participants and non-participants for area allocation for any of the species. Amaranth was the most often consumed vegetable, with 87% respondents reportedly consuming it, while spider plant was the least consumed, with 29% of respondents. There were no differences between men and women for the frequency of consumption of all three species. The positive response of farmers to diversification offers a strong background upon which further improvement of African agricultural system can be built.

INTRODUCTION

The intensification and specialization of agricultural production overlook local crops on which livelihoods have been built for centuries. Increased reliance on major crops led to a shrinking of the food basket which humankind has been relying upon for generations (Prescott-Allen and Prescott-Allen, 1990). At the same time, the survival of a number of smallholder farmers is currently threatened by both low production and low income. Also the nutritional paradox noticed in sub-Saharan Africa has its source in the agricultural simplification practice in which only few food crops are favoured at the expense of others (Ogle and Grivetii, 1985). In such conditions diversification of the cropping system in rural settings to include local crops is a promising way to lift many smallholder farmers out of poverty. Agricultural diversification can be profitable, add on employment opportunities and expand commercialization options, reduce the risk of crop failure and increase ethnobotanical knowledge (Prohens et al., 2003).

Crops like indigenous leafy vegetables are important candidates to bring into                                                             a e.dako@protaafrica.org

Proc. 2nd Int. Symp. on Underutilized Plants Species “Crops for the Future – Beyond Food Security” Eds.: F. Massawe et al. Acta Hort. 979, ISHS 2013

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intensive agriculture and to ensure substantial returns for poor farmers. This commodity group has been significantly prominent within the research, policy and development agendas in recent years. Also, it is widely accepted that indigenous vegetables are important resources to overcome the nutritional gaps and to support rural and urban livelihoods of populations in sub-Saharan Africa (Chweya and Eyzaguirre, 1999). Previous papers explored ways to integrate these crops into the global fruit and vegetable program initiative (Smith and Eyzaguirre, 2007) to mainstream the recommended daily intake of 400 g of vegetable and fruits (FAO/WHO, 2004) which cannot be achieved if production remains low.

In Kenya, the current status of consumption of vegetables is far from brilliant and unacceptably high rates of micronutrient deficiencies persist mostly among resource-poor smallholder farmers (Ekesa, 2009). Participatory rural appraisals carried out by the ministry of agriculture in Narok (Kenya) indicated that over 78% of farm families are nutrient deficient. Incidence of rural food poverty was found to be 51% (IMF, 2000). This was attributed to the predominant production of cereals, which have long production cycles and bring in little income. Production of vegetables in this area has been faced with challenges including lack of information, which led to production of a narrow range of vegetables, poor prices and incidences of pests and diseases. Lack of preservation techniques also led to shortages during the dry season.

To overcome the lack of production and low consumption the Plant Resources of Tropical Africa (PROTA) promoted, from 2006 to 2007, the production and utilization of three indigenous vegetable species: African nightshade (Solanum scabrum Mill.); spider plant (Cleome gynandra L.); and amaranth (Amaranthus cruentus L.), to improve the standards of living for small holder families by empowering them with knowledge and skills on production, utilization and marketing of these vegetable species. Three years after the intervention several questions are raised: what is the status of farmers’ knowledge and skills on indigenous vegetables, their nutritional importance and production in the study areas? To what extent did the project contribute to increased consumption of the species that were promoted? So far, have farmers earned any income from the sale of indigenous vegetables? To what extent have the new farmers adopted the production and consumption of the indigenous vegetables?

This paper presents the post-intervention situation on introducing indigenous vegetables into established cultivation system with focus on smallholder women farmers. We hypothesize that the overall livelihood of women small farmers can be improved by increased production and consumption of indigenous vegetables.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Over 230 small scale farm households (150 from Narok in the Rift valley and 80 from Maragua district in central Kenya) were targeted at the onset of the intervention. Before 2006, 11% of farmers from Narok district grew indigenous vegetables on their farms. In Maragua district, production was negligible and the vegetables were mostly collected from the wild, or from volunteer crops on the farm (Mbugua et al., 2006). Consumption rates were much lower in these districts compared to other parts of Kenya. For example, in western Kenya, 60% of the vegetables consumed are indigenous vegetables (Abukutsa-Onyango, 2007).

During a farmer-participatory prioritization exercise in Maragua in 2005, farmers listed 22 indigenous vegetables and selected seven as the most important including African nightshade, spider plant and amaranths (Mbugua et al., 2006). Using information mainly from Grubben and Denton (2004), training materials were developed and participatory training was conducted on aspects including crop production methods, pest management, irrigation methods, post harvest handling, seed processing, nutritional and commercial value of vegetables and marketing.

By the end of the intervention in 2007, more than 85% of the participating farmers (herein referred to as participants) had planted the vegetables in their farms. Neighbouring farmers who were not involved in the intervention (herein referred to as non participants)

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also started growing the vegetables. Only few had begun marketing their produce by the end of the project.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Description of Study Area

The post intervention study was conducted in 2009, in two districts: Narok District1band the former Maragua District2. Narok district covers an area of 15,097.8 km2, and is situated in the southwestern side of the country, in Rift Valley Province. The population is 445,836, with approximately 52% living below the poverty line. Narok District has five livelihood zones, namely: pastoral, agro-pastoral, leasing/pastoral, mixed farming and trade. Mixed farming is mainly practiced in the northern, high potential parts of the district, while pastoralism is practiced in the southern parts of the district (Kenya Food Security Steering Group, 2006). Maragua District is situated in central province and covers an area of 868 km2. The population of Maragua district is estimated at 387,969, with over half of them living below the poverty line. Maragua District is mainly a mixed farming and trade zone. The main crops cultivated in the area include maize, tea, Irish potatoes and horticultural crops including vegetables and fruits. Among the participating households, family size ranged from 2 to 15 persons with an average of 6. The majority of the respondents (92%) were farmers by occupation. The others were traders (4%), private company workers (2%), and casual laborers (2%).

Data Collection

A survey was conducted among 103 households in the study areas (49 from Narok District and 54 from Maragua District). The respondents, including 41 men and 62 women, were drawn from seven divisions, in the two districts. A questionnaire was designed to collect information on the following aspects: knowledge of nutritional benefits of indigenous vegetables; production of the indigenous vegetables; consumption and sale of the indigenous vegetables; and level of satisfaction with the project. The enumerators who conducted the household survey were drawn from the extension officers in the Ministry of Agriculture and from KARI-Thika. A session was held with the enumerators to read through and develop consensus in the understanding of the questionnaire and in interpretation and recording of data before the commencement of the exercise. The respondents were sampled using the snowball technique (Trost, 1986).

Group discussions were held with members of the six groups that participated in the project. These were Ol Marei, Sirinik and Enyuata FFS groups from Narok District; and Nyongo Self help group, Basic Needs Network and Kigumo Horticulture S.H. Group from Maragua District. All these groups were already in existence before the intervention, and were engaged in various agricultural income generating activities. Over 110 members participated in the group discussions. The group sessions had an average of 18 members. The aim of the group discussions was to find out if the project had improved their livelihoods, in what way, and any problems encountered and challenges to the sustainability of production and consumption of indigenous vegetables. During each session, the discussion was facilitated by the local extension officer from the Ministry of Agriculture and the project implementation coordinator. In Maragua District, the local language ‘Kikuyu’ was used in the discussions. The conclusions were recorded in English on a flipchart. Visits were made to the farmers’ plots to confirm the continued production and assess the extent of production of the local vegetables.

Data Analysis

Three fixed factors were taken into account for data analysis: the intervention                                                             1bNow divided into two districts (Narok North and Narok South). For purposes of this study, we shall use

Narok District to refer to the two districts. 2 Now divided into 3 districts (Murang’a South, Kandara, and Kigumo). For purposes of this study, we shall

use Maragua District to refer to the 3 districts.

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region (Maragua and Narok, with respectively 52 and 48% of respondents), the participation in the project at its inception (participants and non-participants, representing 55 and 45% of total respondents respectively), and the gender (women and men representing 64 and 37% respectively). The uptake of knowledge and the perception of farmers on the importance and the cultivation practices of indigenous vegetables were analyzed by comparing the proportion of participants and non-participants or the proportion of men and women with regards to their perception, using Mann Whitney U test (Sokal and Rohlf, 1995). To summarize the distribution of allocated areas for vegetable production by region, gender and participation we used box plots which display the median, the percentile and the standard deviation. Continuous variables (e.g., allocated areas for vegetables production) were checked for normality and equality of variances. Differences between groups were checked using independent samples T-test for groups with normal distribution and equal variances. Otherwise a non-parametric test such as the Mann Whitney U test was used. To test for independence between the frequency of consumption of any of the vegetable species and the region of study, gender or the participation we used chi-square test (χ2) or the Spearman’s coefficient rs. All statistical analyses were performed in SPSS for Window (version 12.0, 2003).

RESULTS

Enhanced Knowledge and Skills on Indigenous Vegetable Production and Utilization

The intervention contributed to building and improvement of skills of the community in production and utilization of three main species of indigenous vegetables: amaranth, African nightshade and spider plant. The majority of respondents (54%) were trained during the intervention. Another 24% were trained by a third party who previously benefited from the intervention. A large percentage of respondents stated that they had acquired skills on nursery preparation (51%), planting (72%), crop management (55%), food preparation (60%), benefits of consumption and marketing (67%), for these three species from the training organized during the intervention. 14% of respondents were never trained in the matters listed above. During the focus group discussions, members stated that they shared the knowledge and skills gained with other groups, many of them being groups of women. They also shared with individual farmers who were non-participants. It was their first time ever, to be taught about propagation and management, compost preparation, controlling pests and diseases, nutritional benefits, cooking, preservation and marketing of amaranth, African nightshade and spider plant.

The study indicated that the farmers were well aware of the advantages of indigenous vegetables. The respondents cited these as follows: nutritious (82.2%); a major source of food (71.3%); medicinal (65.3%); tasty (51.5%); easy to grow (50%); available in the wild (32%) and able to grow in the local climatic conditions (18%). Most of the respondents listed more than one advantage.

88% of the respondents, required additional training on issues related to: market information (46%); increase of yields (15%); consumption and nutritional value (15%); pests and diseases (14%); other local vegetables (14%); food preparation (14%); seed varieties and their acquisition (8%); irrigation information (4%).

Production of Indigenous Vegetables Improved

Production of amaranth, African nightshade and spider plant was boosted by the intervention from 2006 to 2007 (Fig. 1). At the time of the study, over 90% of the respondents cultivated at least one of the three vegetable species, on their farms. About 71% of respondents stated that they initiated the production of indigenous vegetables in 2006, which corresponds with the start of the intervention. The proportion of non-participant farmers has equally increased between 2006 and 2009 for all three vegetable species (Fig. 1).

The size of vegetable plots were in general small (0.041±0.03 ha for nightshade, 0.045±0.03 ha for spider plant and 0.034±0.05 ha for amaranth). Cultivation of vegetables

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happens in kitchen gardens. The variation of plot size by region, gender and participation status is summarized in Figure 2. Area allocation for vegetable production varies per region and per gender. Farmers in Narok allocated more land for the production of the three species than those in Maragua (Mann-Whitney U test, p<0.01) and so did women, for nightshade (t=3.0, p=0.004) and spider plant (t=2.94, p=0.01). There was no difference between participants and non-participants for area allocation for any of the species. Participants and non-participants tended to allocate similar land sizes for vegetable production.

Estimates of the farm yields by the respondents indicated that each respondent produced on average 47, 67 and 56 kg of fresh leaves of amaranth, African nightshade and of spider plant per month respectively at the time of the survey. Amaranth was the most frequently harvested, at a rate of more than six times per month for 54% of respondents. For African nightshade and spider plant, the respondents who harvested more than six times in a month were 39 and 19%. Although it was considered ‘cheap’ to cultivate indigenous vegetables, due to less farm inputs, the activity is labor intensive. About 68% of the respondents stated that they spent money on farm inputs with the highest cost going towards labor. Production of the indigenous vegetables was however reduced during the dry seasons.

Increased Consumption of Indigenous Vegetables

All respondents indicated to have consumed at least one of the three species of indigenous vegetables. Figure 3 illustrates the consumption patterns of the respondents for all three indigenous vegetables. It indicates that most of the vegetables were consumed more than once per week. Amaranth was the most often consumed, with 87% respondents reportedly consuming it while spider plant was the least consumed by 29% of respondents. About 36% of the respondents consumed amaranth more than three times per week, compared to 34% for African nightshade and 31% for spider plant respectively. Many respondents rarely consume spider plant (40%). There were no differences between men and women for the frequency of consumption of all three species (Mann Whitney test, p>0.05). In contrast the difference between participants and non-participants was significant for the frequency of consumption of nightshade (p=0.03) and for spider plant (p=0.02) but not for amaranth (p=0.05). Similarly there was a highly significant difference between Narok and Maragua for the consumption of nightshade and spider (p<0.001) but not for amaranth (p=0.10). For all three species there were no associations between consumption frequency and gender or region of study or participation in the intervention (p>0.05 in all cases).

During preparation, the three species of vegetables were often mixed together, to attenuate the bitter taste of some, like the spider plant, therefore increasing consumption of all the species at once. The benefits of consuming the vegetables were given by the respondents as more energy to the body (80%), improved immunity of the body (75%), improved the skin texture (39%), improved bodyweight in children (45%) and other reasons (12%) such as reducing diabetes symptoms. Other uses of the vegetables within the household other than human consumption included ground amaranth seeds mixed with maize flour for cooking Ugali (a dough-like maize dish) and porridge.

Commercialization of Indigenous Vegetables

Fully fledged commercialization of the indigenous vegetables had not been attained by the respondents at the time of the study. However, many were already engaged in sale of the vegetables. About 66% of the respondents indicated that they sold a surplus of amaranth, African night shade and spider plant from their farms. A majority of them (55%) sold at the local market, while 38% sold to people from their neighborhood. Of the rest, 6% sold to local traders who came to buy the vegetables at the farm and 1% transported to markets in major towns. It had been established during the course of the project that great demand existed in outlets in major towns such as Nairobi and Thika. Farmers were, however, not able to access the markets in these towns due to transport

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logistics. Overall, indigenous vegetables fetched good prices compared to kale (Brassica oleracea) and cabbage, the most common types of vegetable in the local market. On average, a kg of the amaranth and African nightshade sold for Ksh. 45 (US dollars 0.56) compared to Ksh. 10 (US dollars 0.12) per kilo for kale and cabbage. The prices however were lower for those who bought at the farm.

Apart from harvesting the leaves, 51% of respondents reported to have harvested seeds of indigenous vegetables. The seeds were also a source of income for the farmers. About 33% of respondents sold seeds of amaranth, African nightshade and spider plant for an average of Ksh. 1,000 (US dollars 14) per kg. However, the seeds were sold in smaller quantities such as 50 g which sold for Ksh. 50.

DISCUSSION

Production of Traditional Vegetables

Our results show that the production of amaranth, African nightshade and spider plant in Rift valley and Central provinces of Kenya was boosted by the intervention from 2005 to 2007. Modi et al. (2006) concur that education may have an important role in improving wild vegetable knowledge among subsistence farmers. Most of the plant species used as vegetables normally grow wild in most parts of Kenya (Chweya, 1985). In recent years, there have been many efforts by research, non-governmental and farmer organizations to enhance the production of indigenous vegetables in Kenya. Lack of skills for production, post-harvest handling and marketing, rather than lack of awareness has led to low production of indigenous vegetables.

Our results further indicate that farmers from Narok allocated more land to the three species of indigenous vegetables than Maragua, a factor that we attribute to overall small farm sizes due to high population density in Maragua. Statistics from the national population census show that the population density in Maragua District stands at 450 persons per km2 compared to Narok, where it is only 24 persons per km2 (National Coordination Agency for Population and Development, 2005).

The growing of vegetables is predominantly a woman’s job in Kisii District, Kenya (Maundu and Imbumi, 2003). The same observation was made in Narok and Maragua where women allocated more land to cultivation of indigenous vegetables, particularly spider plant and nightshade, compared to men, according to our results. Many authors have associated women with cultivation of ‘minor’ crops such as indigenous vegetables (Achigan-Dako et al., 2008; Chweya and Eyzaguirre, 1999). However, in many instances the size of land allocated to such crops, including indigenous vegetables, was smaller in comparison to men’s allocation due to traditional land tenure systems where women did not inherit or own land (Achigan-Dako et al., 2008).

The major constraints to production of indigenous vegetables in the Narok and Maragua regions, according to the study included shortage of viable seeds, unaffordable inputs such as fertilizer, labor, and market access. This concurred by farmers of Kisii, Chuka and Tharaka Nithi, who cite constraints in vegetables cultivation to be lack of fertilizers, limited cash for labor input, pests and diseases, low yields, lack of good market prices, lack of seeds, management of the plants on the farm (Maundu and Imbumi, 2003).

Consumption of Indigenous Vegetables

African indigenous vegetables are a significant component of the diet of households throughout sub-Saharan Africa (FAO, 1988). This study shows that most of the vegetables were consumed more than once per week. Amaranth was the most often consumed, with 87% respondents reportedly consuming it while spider plant was the least consumed, by 29% of respondents.

Consumption of the traditional vegetables has been popularized for their nutritional and medicinal properties (Smith and Eyzaguirre, 2007). Results of this study provide evidence to the fact that increased knowledge on the benefits of indigenous vegetables can result in increased consumption. A good majority of the respondents had

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been taught about the nutritional benefits of consuming the vegetables. Similarly, people in Kisii were also reported to like the vegetables because of their nutritious value. (Maundu and Imbumi, 2003).

Some authors indicated that many rural community members do not consume indigenous vegetables frequently due to their unavailability. Although indigenous vegetables like African nightshade, spider plant, kale and mushrooms were popular among the Luhya community (Kenya), their availability at the local markets was very low (Ekesa et al., 2009). Our study indicates that consumption of the species promoted had grown to up to four times a week for more than 30% of respondents. This is partly because the vegetables were now available in their farms.

In most African communities, women consumed more indigenous vegetables than men, based on cultural knowledge, taboos and lifestyles. For example, among the pastoralist community of northern Tanzania, men would not eat green leafy vegetables because of their pastoralist lifestyle (Maundu and Imbumi, 2003). Contrary to these studies, there were no differences between men and women for the frequency of consumption of indigenous vegetables in Narok and Maragua Districts of Kenya.

Commercialization of Indigenous Vegetables

In both Narok and Maragua Districts, household food requirements of indigenous vegetables were given priority and only the surplus was sold. Very small quantities were sold despite the fact that great demand existed in outlets in major towns such as Nairobi, Narok, and Thika, due to lack of access to these markets. In contrast, in the neighbouring Kiambu District, Ngugi et al. (2007) showed how farmer groups successfully penetrated the high value segments of markets for leafy indigenous vegetables through collective action and collaboration with a support system. Indigenous vegetables also played a key role in household income generation in other parts of Africa. For example, in south west Nigeria, indigenous vegetables such as Solanecio biafrae were several times more expensive than routinely cultivated vegetables (Adebooye and Opabode, 2004). High market access costs are one of the major contributing factors to this state of affairs in Kenya (Obare et al., 2003).

Smallholder supply chains are confronted with limited economies of scale no matter what sort of value chain they are engaged in. The constraints range from small production quantities and heterogeneous quality of produce to limited access to input supplies, capital, market information and the necessary farm management skills. To overcome at least some of these constraints collective action through collective organization of some kind is an essential first step (Lyatuu et al., 2009). Also, the involvement of farmers in the vending of leafy vegetables tends to reduce their time for the production of the ILVs (Lyatuu et al., 2009). Having in place a value chain system, where the farmer concentrated on production, whilst other players handled the processing, marketing, transportation and sale, would be ideal for such an enterprise.

From the study, it also came out that the farmers required refresher training and follow-ups from time to time, for the impact to be fully achieved. Obel-Lawson (2006) acknowledges that persuasive communication can be used to bring about change in an individual or a group. Some of the issues raised as knowledge gaps had been taught, and for some, application of the knowledge has not been possible due to other factors. For example, although the respondents were taught how to make compost to cater for the fertilizer input, they had a problem in getting sufficient plant material, especially after the recent drought, to make the compost.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We thank Crops for the Future (CFF) for sponsoring our participation to the symposium in Kuala Lumpur. We thank the PROTA Foundation and the DGIS (Netherlands) for the financial support for the intervention and post-intervention studies. We are grateful to Dr. Elizabeth Omino, Mrs Dinah Borus, and the project implementing staff from KARI-Thika for their valuable contribution. Contributions of the Ministry of

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Agriculture and communities in Narok and Maragua Districts are acknowledged.

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for qualitative studies. Qualitative Sociology 9(1):54-57. Figures

Fig. 1. Cumulative percentage of respondents who grow vegetables in Narok and

Maragua. Continues lines indicate participants and broken lines non participants. ( for nightshade, for amaranth, for spider plant).

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Fig. 2. Area allocation (ha) per region (top right), participation (top left), and gender

(below) for three indigenous vegetable species.

Fig. 3. Frequency of consumption of three indigenous vegetables (nightshade, spider plant

and amaranth) in regions of Kenya. Values on y-axis indicate percentage out of 101 respondents.