Can African Indigenous Vegetables Contribute To Nutrition Security? A Policy Perspective

Kenya is classified as a food-deficit country. Approximately 20 percent of the population does not attain the minimum dietary requirements to sustain a healthy and productive life, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. African Indigenous Vegetables (AIVs) contain beneficial micro-nutrients and are critical for achieving nutrition security. This study used cross-sectional household survey data to test the plausibility of enhancing food access in the context of nutrition security, on the one hand, and the contribution of the AIVs to nutrition security, on the other hand. The results show that, the consumption of AIVs is not widely acknowledged or documented. Hhouseholds spend up to 15 times less money on AIVs when compared with exotic vegetables this is partly attributed to the perceptions that shape their tastes and preference. At a macro-level, the lack of consistent data makes the promotion of the importance of these vegetables to the policy makers a mundane task since it is difficult to demonstrate and authenticate the nutritional benefits that have been accrued by the consumption of these vegetables.