Living Lab Kenya: Nakuru

Nakuru is a very dynamic agricultural region, with fishermen, smallholders, cattle farmers and many others producing food for people within the county and beyond. Being close to Nairobi, the county is in an excellent position to attract entrepreneurs to process this food into new, high-quality products for different market segments. Nakuru therefore has huge potential to improve its agricultural productivity and to develop cross-sectoral collaboration with the tourism, energy, water, forestry and transport sectors. Young people and migrants are a growing demographic here and there are opportunities to better integrate them, and women, into food systems. The strategic location of Egerton University in the region, with its expertise in sustainable solutions for farm productivity, is a valuable asset.

The Nakuru Living Lab is exploring pathways to transform the food system to make it more inclusive and harmonised with its environment. Some very interesting regenerative and inclusive farming practices are already operating in the region. There is much to learn from these, and we are engaged in dialogues to explore how the Nakuru Living Lab can be positioned to enable existing and new practices to play a role in food system transformation.

In collaboration with local entrepreneurs, community organisations and youth groups, we have identified eight case studies of innovations that are expected to contribute to regenerative, inclusive food systems. The Nakuru Living Lab website provides updates on recent outcomes from these innovation case studies, and on the Nakuru region as a whole.

In November 2021, researchers from Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands made a virtual trip to Kenya, together with partners from Ethiopia and Uganda. They visited Grincomm, a group made up mostly of women making organic compost from crop residues and manure. The recording can be found below.

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