What would make a secretary leave her office environment, and exchange her desk and computer for the outdoors and farm tools? Greener opportunities in Traditional African Vegetables farming. Farm Concern International has over time increased the value of Traditional African Vegetables (TAVs) by opening up diverse market opportunities. This has been realized through the rampant nutritional campaigns in both the rural and urban set ups. Reports from various outlets such as Uchumi supermarket, Wangige, Limuru, Gikomba, Kawangware and Korogocho markets indicate that TAVs’ consumption rates have increased by over 200 percent.

The agriculture sector was one of the ‘winners’ during the reading of 2015/16 Kenya budget estimates yesterday. The sector will now benefit from an allocation of a whooping KES 79.2 for rural and urban development of which 13 billion (USD 133.9 million) is set aside for irrigation. The National Irrigation Board is expected to get KES 10.3 billion (USD 106 million) of this allocation in a move aimed at promoting the shift from rain-fed agriculture to irrigation. While presenting these estimates to the national parliament, the Finance Cabinet Secretary, Mr. Henry Rotich noted that “the investment in agriculture is meant to promote food security, bring resilience in the economy, create jobs and reduce poverty.”

Every year, on the 5th day of June, the world gets ready to celebrate ‘The World Environment Day’. This day is used to sensitize masses on environmental issues, how they affect their lives and propose solutions to the resultant problems. The theme for this year’s celebrations is “Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care”.

Did you know that this week, 19th-23rd April 2015, is the Global Soil Week 2015? If you didn’t, now you do! But even as we commemorate the soil week, the invaluable natural resource, that is soil, is highly abused and is continuously degraded. Soil degradation is hampering economic development, costing the continent's farmers billions of dollars in lost income according to a report by Montpellier Panel. The report further adds that "In Africa, the impacts are substantial where 65% of arable land, 30% of grazing land and 20% of forests are already damaged.” These sentiments are again captured by the deliberations of the Soil Governance Conference held in Brasilia, March 25-27th, 2015 that noted that the improper use of soil causes losses of 5 to 7 million hectares annually and that nearly half of the fertile soils of the planet have been lost in the last 150 years.