Role of kale in Kenya Food Security
What comes to your mind when people talk about food security?
To most people, food security is country’s productivity on cereals like:
- Maize,
- Beans,
- Rice,
- Sorghum,
- Rice
- And millet.
Other ‘fringe’ food crops like potato, cassava, taro, tomatoes, sunflower, cabbages, kale, and various fruits and vegetables are rarely mentioned.
That’s quite unfortunate as they are equally important to food security.
Why? You may ask.
The ‘fringe’ crops super important making a diet balanced.
Without them, a diet containing maize, rice, sorghum, millet or beans will be deficient.
It will lack the vital minerals the body needs to fight diseases and viruses.
Consequently, a population consuming such a diet will be unhealthy.
That’s why today I want to focus on the role of Kale on Kenya’s food security.
Without Kale Thousands of City Dwellers Would Find Life Unbearable
Here’s why:
Kale is highly affordable.
With less than $1, you can buy sufficient kale to feed a family of 5 people.
On the other hand, $1 is insufficient to buy other vegetables like cauliflower, Broccoli, Brussel sprouts, managu etc.
The affordability of kale makes it a highly popular crop in low income communities.
Kale is so easy to prepare—in 5 minutes or less, you’re done cooking it
Once you are done chopping the vegetable, the next step in cooking kale is frying it.
This process takes 5 minutes or less.
The short preparation period means consumers save time and energy.
Conversely, that cannot be said about other vegetables like managu, saga, Kunde that requires over 20 minutes of boiling to make them palatable.
You Can Grow Sukuma wiki in Almost All Agro-ecological Zones in Kenya and at all attitudes
This adaptability of kale makes it the most widespread green leafy vegetable in Kenya.
The vegetable can grow at Kisii, Kitale, Bungoma, Mumias, Machakos, Kilifi, Mpeketoni, Taita, Limuru, Nyandarua, Mumias, Kapenguria, Nyandarua and many more regions of Kenya.
That’s not all about the adaptability of Kale.
Kale Grows Throughout the Year in Most Parts of Kenya.
This makes it a highly reliable vegetable when it comes to food security.
The ability to grow throughout the year is not present in other vegetables.
You can grow it in the rainy seasons under rain fed agriculture.
In The dry season, it grows under irrigation.
For this reason, Kale is the most popular green leafy vegetable in Kenya.
What are your thoughts on the role of Kale in Kenya Food Security?
Share them in the comment section below
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