No matter where you call home, access to nutritious food is essential for good health and well-being. For many people, however, access to fresh fruits, vegetables and meat is limited either by proximity or production. That is especially true in Kenya, where everything from weather to marketplace challenges can make it difficult for farmers’ crops to reach people’s tables.
This summer Basheerah Enahora, an assistant professor and Extension specialist in the Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences, traveled with five other faculty members from NC State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to learn more about agriculture and nutrition in Kenya in the hopes of building on partnerships between CALS International Programs and several East African organizations.
This experience was a fulfillment of Enahora’s long-held aspiration to engage in international work, allowing her to develop her international research agenda.
“As an applied human nutrition researcher and community-engaged scholar, I’ve always been intrigued about how food shapes our traditions, values, and behaviors,” says Enahora. “The trip to Kenya provided an opportunity to see the cultural-based food practices firsthand and better understand how we might develop community programs to increase diet diversity.”
Enahora’s week-long visit to Kenya included stops in Nairobi and four rural counties — Siaya, Kisumu, Kisii and Kakamega. She met with colleagues at the University of Nairobi, including the Vice-Chancellor, Stephen Kiama, and Sophia Ngala, a professor in the Department of Food Science, Nutrition, and Technology, whose research closely aligns with Enahora’s focus on applied human nutrition.
Their discussions delved into critical nutrition issues affecting both urban and rural Kenyan communities, sparking ideas for future collaboration. Together, they explored potential interventions to address food security, school lunch programs, and nutrition education, particularly in rural areas. The exchange also provided insights into the dietary guidelines of the United States and Kenya, offering a valuable perspective on how different cultures approach nutrition.
Enahora’s visit to the University of Nairobi’s post-harvest management center and the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization further deepened her understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing smallholder farmers in Kenya. She observed the cultivation of African Indigenous Vegetables, such as managu, spider plants and amaranth leaves, and learned about efforts to reduce post-harvest losses and improve market access for these vital crops.
The journey into Kenya’s rural counties offered an eye-opening glimpse into the lives of rural families and the agricultural challenges they face. Engaging with local government officials, including the ministers of agriculture and health, Enahora explored the priority crops of each county and discussed strategies to enhance community food security. The interest expressed by the governors of Kisii and Siaya Counties in partnering with NC State on agricultural and nutrition projects underscored the potential for impactful collaborations. Beyond the professional engagements, Enahora enjoyed experiencing Kenyan culture, from sampling indigenous vegetables and teas to touring the breathtaking Kenyan National Park.
“What intrigued me most during my time in Kenya, is that North Carolina and Kenya share many of the same nutrition security challenges,” she says. “Although rural Kenya faces more infrastructure challenges than rural North Carolina, consistent access to healthy food is equally concerning in both countries. How we solve those challenges may differ, but this trip highlighted that we have more similarities than I assumed before visiting.”
Since returning to NC State, Enahora has been proactive in turning the insights gained from her trip into actionable projects. In July, she collaborated with fellow CALS faculty, including Chadi Sayde and Emmanuel Torres Quezeda, on a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) – Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) grant proposal aimed at improving nutrition security and promoting climate-smart agriculture in rural eastern North Carolina. She is also working on a USDA Foreign Agricultural Service grant proposal focused on empowering Kenyan women farmers to participate in school meal value chains.
Enahora’s journey to Kenya has laid the foundation for promising future research and collaborations that have the potential to significantly impact the diet and health of communities both in Kenya and beyond.
“I am assessing the feasibility of conducting dietary assessments among families with school-aged children and exploring the dietary differences between various rural Kenyan communities in collaboration with faculty at the University of Nairobi,” she says. “This assessment will help guide the development of community nutrition programs and expanding the CALS International Programs African Indigenous Vegetables project. I also hope to provide an opportunity for NC State students to travel to Kenya and engage in this research.”
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