Members of the Nairobi City County Assembly Agriculture Committee were informed about the Safer Urban Food Systems pilot component being implemented in Nairobi as part of the National Agricultural Value Chain Development Project (NAVCDP). This initiative seeks to improve their understanding of their roles in the project’s implementation.
The National Agricultural Value Chain Development Project (NAVCDP) is a five-year project funded by the Government of Kenya and the World Bank, with the objective of increasing market participation and value chain addition for targeted farmers in selected value chains in Nairobi City County.
“The project will be carried out at the ward level, with the objective of increasing market participation and value addition for targeted small-scale farmers,” said Ms. Maureen Njeri, the County Executive Member for Green Nairobi.
The CECM also pointed out that the initiative will address food safety across the supply chain, including interventions at the producer level, as well as during transportation, storage, and marketing stages. It focuses on improving food quality, ensuring traceability, strengthening regulations, and raising consumer awareness.
Ms. Njeri assured attendees of her commitment to working harmoniously with the legislative arm of the County Government to ensure that the Food, Agriculture, and Natural Resources Subsector delivers on its mandate.
Ms. Gladwell Cheruiyot, the County Chief Officer in charge of the Food, Agriculture, and Natural Resources Subsector, emphasized the importance of sensitizing the Agriculture Committee members who will play an oversight role in the NAVCDP program. This is key to the project’s success, which aims to ensure that Nairobi residents have access to safe, nutritious, and affordable food. “We urge the assembly to support the department in ensuring that we have the right regulations that safeguard food sold in Nairobi,” she added.
The meeting also addressed the committee’s role in ensuring that food safety and food waste issues are well articulated within the County. Ms. Cheruiyot mentioned that the department is looking into engaging youth in addressing food waste by turning organic waste into fertilizer.
Mr. Joseph Kinyanjui, Nairobi County Coordinator of the National Agricultural Value Chain Development Project, stated that the Climate Smart Safer Urban Food Systems pilot is one of the NAVCDP project components. It intends to support the rollout of urban food system pilots in Nairobi, the major urban cluster in the country, as well as parts of Kiambu, Kajiado, and Machakos Counties, which border the city as peri-urban areas. The project will collaborate with private sector actors and youth groups to reduce food waste in the markets.
The pilot project will support urban and peri-urban agriculture, as well as the institutional and policy frameworks for safer urban food systems and food market infrastructure.
Food systems play a crucial role in addressing climate change; the way food is produced, processed, distributed, and consumed has significant impacts on the environment and climate overall.
