The Kenyan county of Murang’a has taken an encouraging first step using a policy framework that can strengthen agroecology at the subnational level. Its three key success factors – coalition-building, alignment with government priorities, and leveraging synergies with other sectors – can serve as inspiration for peer agroecological movements in Kenya, the East African region, and beyond.
The Murang'a Agroecological Policy and Act emerged from a process of coalition building, alignment with government priorities, and the leveraging of synergies with other sectors
Have you ever eaten an avocado from Africa? If so, you might have consumed one of Murang’a’s top agricultural export products. One of Kenya’s 47 counties, Murang’a is located near Nairobi and is considered the capital’s food basket. Agriculture is the primary economic activity, employing 57% of the county’s population, and avocados are one of the major cash crops. But Murang’a is not only known for its avocados – the county is also a pioneer in agroecology policymaking.
In March 2023, the landmark Murang’a Agroecology Policy and Act was officially approved for the period 2022-2032. This policy framework aims to provide strong and long-lasting political support to agroecological farmers, value chains and markets through a series of measures aligned with the 13 principles of agroecology. It notably uses economic diversification, social values & diets, and soil health as entry points to change farming practices and increase the production of agroecological products.
Food system in crisis
How did we reach this point? For decades, Murang’a farmers had been struggling with low agricultural production and productivity. Erratic weather patterns, pest and disease pressure, high post-harvest losses, soil degradation and diminishing available land pressed many smallholders into unsustainable practices, including a heavy reliance on chemical fertilisers and pesticides. Rising input prices caused additional financial stress, and a focus on cash crops meant that the cultivation of crops for household consumption was neglected.
The situation was further complicated by structural problems, including inadequate transportation infrastructure, poor marketing, little value addition to agricultural products (e.g. no processing at the county level before export), uncertain markets and unfavourable tax regimes. As a result, despite the county’s robust agricultural activities, poverty pervades. Today, an estimated 23% of the county’s total population suffers from food poverty, and 19% of the county’s children under five exhibit stunted growth.
Urgent measures were needed, and in 2021 a group of farmers, civil society organisations and representatives of the county government came together to seek joint solutions. This process was catalysed by the Institute for Culture and Ecology (ICE), a national NGO promoting environmental conservation and natural resource management through community-based initiatives, in partnership with Biovision, which advocates for healthier and more sustainable alternatives to local food systems in crisis.
Following a dialogue process based on coalition building, alignment with government priorities, and the leveraging of synergies with other sectors, agroecology quickly emerged as a promising alternative. Thanks to this strategically laid groundwork, the Murang’a government was keen to take the recommendations on board and follow the agroecological path.
Alignment with county objectives
Under the initiative of ICE, a coalition was formed between the county government and multiple stakeholder groups along the food system value chain to champion the development of the agroecology policy framework.
This collaboration was institutionalised through the creation of the Murang’a Agroecology Multi-Stakeholder Platform (MSP), which comprises 43 institutions including the county government, civil society organisations, higher education institutions, farmers’ organisations and the private sector. The Multi-Stakeholder Platform is intentionally designed so that each stakeholder complements the others’ efforts. If one is supporting farmers in the diversification of their agroecological produce, another will provide marketing support measures.
At the start of the process, stakeholders identified contextual ‘pain points’ to encourage the county government’s support of agroecology. These included:
- climate-related impacts on local food systems,
- international market trends affecting the food export sector, and
- public health concerns.
Climate challenges for local food systems
In recent years, Murang’a farmers have reported reduced yields, erratic rainfall patterns and increased pests and diseases. Building on scientific evidence about the effects of climate change on weather patterns, habitat ranges and crop planting dates, civil society actors in the coalition advocated for the widespread adoption of agroecological practices to address these impacts.
This call resonated strongly with the government’s efforts to fight climate change. Concretely, the Murang’a Agroecology Policy recognises the risk that climate change brings for the county’s agricultural sector in “reducing productivity in crops, livestock yields and fisheries production”, and concludes that the agroecology policy framework “should therefore be able to address some of these shortcomings”.
Riding on market trends
A focus on export markets for cash crops grown in an agroecological way was another key advocacy lever towards the county government. Thanks to the multi-stakeholder coalition’s efforts, Murang’a’s authorities formally recognised the value of exporting agroecological products to foreign, mainly European, markets.
Let’s look again at the emblematic example of avocados: according to official figures, Kenyan avocado exports grew steadily between 2015 and 2019, resulting in a 96.9% overall increase. The EU and the UK together accounted for 42% of Kenya’s total organic avocado exports in 2019. There is great potential for further export growth of organic avocados targeting the EU market, while contributing to local sustainability.
There is no doubt that this economic argument helped to guarantee government support. The county government recognised the potential for better positioning Murang’a’s avocados on the international market through the adoption of recognised certification schemes and standards for agroecological products. It linked avocado production with “national and internationally set market standards” in the policy. The goal is that an increased export market share will guarantee appropriate incomes to smallholder farmers in the county.
It remains to be seen whether farmers will sustain mixed farming rather than focusing solely on export crops
With the opening of these new markets, it remains to be seen whether farmers will sustain mixed farming rather than focusing solely on producing crops for export. Measures have been taken to incentivise local and subsistence production adjacent to the avocado orchards in order to spread risks and encourage diversification. An oversight board has also been created to monitor the environmental and social impacts of the expansion of export markets.
‘Food Farmacies’ for healthier diets
Agroecology can benefit another sector: public health. The healthcare sector in low and middle-income countries is facing tremendous challenges, including rising expenditures and the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs, which include cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases and cancer).
According to the World Health Organisation, one of the five major risk factors for NCDs is unhealthy diets. In Kenya, Murang’a is among the counties with the highest proportion of deaths linked to NCDs (up to 55%). The county government has recognised public health as one of its highest priorities and plans to provide universal healthcare and health insurance coverage to all residents.
This context paved the way for the stakeholder coalition to promote agroecological practices as a means for producing and consuming healthier, more nutritious food and thereby reducing health expenditures. The coalition kickstarted a fruitful and ongoing dialogue with the county’s health and nutrition departments, resulting in an innovative idea for ‘food farmacies’ that allow healthcare practitioners to prescribe agroecological food to treat existing lifestyle diseases and prevent future ones.
This initiative has triggered interest beyond Murang’a, and in the future residents of Nairobi will also receive local and indigenous agroecological food from Murang’a via these ‘farmacies’.
Successes and learnings
Murang’a’s agroecology framework contains a variety of concrete policy interventions – ranging from the promotion of conservation agriculture to capacity building for farmers on manure composting, and from the establishment of an Agroecology Development and Marketing Board to the creation of a dedicated organic farming unit within the county’s Agriculture Department.
Farmers must form the backbone of any agroecology policymaking process
Importantly, the framework tasks the multi-stakeholder platform to follow the implementation phase, which actively ensures ownership in the process. In addition, a new agroecology-tailored curriculum for extension service providers will bring government officials up to speed on the county’s new approach.
The key learnings from the Murang’a process can serve as a blueprint for peer agroecology practitioners and experts advocating for policy support in their own countries, whether at the national or subnational level. First, farmers must form the backbone of any agroecology policymaking process. Second, a leading local institution (such as ICE in the Murgang’a example) can be instrumental for defining and navigating a clear roadmap and thereby simplifying interactions with government authorities.
Third, multi-stakeholder partnerships, given that they bring together a sufficient breadth of actors and expertise, are a powerful tool for driving change. Finally, a participatory approach before, during and after the adoption of an agroecology policy is key to guaranteeing continuous ownership, implementation and concrete outcomes along the food system value chain from farm to plate.
There were also challenges, mostly financial. As the Murang’a Agroecology Policy process was a first of its kind, there have been various unforeseen developments during its development and the current implementation, requiring many more resources than foreseen. The stakeholders were key in addressing the financial gaps by funding bits of the activities.
For example, funding was not available for the planned multi-stakeholder meetings, the creation of an agroecology curriculum, or experiential learning visits for stakeholders. Instead of waiting for the government to finance these interventions, coalition members agreed to fund and organise these activities to set Murang’a’s agroecology transition into motion. It is hoped that additional financial support for finalising some critical aspects of the policy – including the development of a transparent monitoring, evaluation, reporting and learning tool – will soon materialise.
We believe the Murang’a case offers a strong model for agroecology advocates and researchers worldwide on how to position agroecology as a sustainable alternative to industrial food systems, while simultaneously guaranteeing economic development and supporting public health. We hope that it can inspire and guide agroecological movements around the world.
Authors: Martin Muriuki is the director of the Institute for Culture and Ecology (ICE). Faith Gikunda is the advocacy, gender and communications officer at ICE. Moritz Fegert is a project officer at Biovision. Contact: info@icekenya.org
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This article is part of Issue 1-2024: Policies for Agroecology
