Indigenous vegetables in Kenya.

Abstract

The decline in the production and knowledge of indigenous vegetables in Kenya is discussed. Traditionally, the cultivation and marketing of indigenous food plants had been carried out mostly by women on a nationwide basis, until the colonial administration insisted that local farmers grow cash crops of mostly exotic species, rather than subsistence crops. The currently low status of indigenous food plants is considered, and the work of NGOs and the Indigenous Food Plant Programme (IFPP) to reverse this trend is discussed. Women are playing a major role in combining indigenous and modern practices, and some of these are briefly considered. The role of the IFPP in information dissemination is described.