Reviving Indigenous Crops in Kenya: The Haller Farmers App
To learn more about Haller’s work to encourage the adoption of indigenous plant species, download the Haller Farmers App →
The award-winning Haller Farmers App is designed to help smallholder farmers navigate changing climatic conditions, improving food security and biodiversity. One of the app’s core areas of focus is the cultivation and usage of indigenous plants for cooking and medicinal purposes.
More than 50% of the world’s daily calorific requirements now come from three main staples – wheat, maize, and rice. With 80-90% of total dietary intake coming from just 12-20 species. This was not always the case.
In the 1960s, colonial powers pushed for the adoption of high-yield, commercially viable crops across the developing world. This ‘Green Revolution’ implemented policy frameworks and subsidy systems to encourage the development of cereal and horticultural crops, at the expense of local, indigenous species.
Increasingly sidelined, indigenous crops were described as ‘weeds’ (amaranth, for example, was known as ‘pig weed’) and fell out of fashion for farmers and consumers alike.
This shift had catastrophic impacts on communities and ecosystems. Indigenous crops are critical to the health and long-term viability of agricultural systems. Requiring less water, and fewer fertilisers and pesticides, they can withstand climate shocks as well as changes in soil water content and pH.
Indigenous crops also restore soil health. Native to East Africa, cowpeas fix atmospheric nitrogen into the soil, a critical nutrient for plant growth. Cowpeas’ dense foliage also provides excellent ground coverage, naturally suppressing the emergence of weeds.
Not only beneficial to the environment, cowpeas are also a source of folate, vitamin B complex, and protein.
Indigenous species provide key nutrients not found in commercial crops, fundamental to the health and well-being of smallholder communities. And the diversity provided by eating indigenous vegetables contributes to overall food security.
Jews Mallow: Is rich in iron, calcium, and dietary fibre
Mito: Contains high levels of iron and vitamins
Spider plants: Have high levels of protein, calcium, magnesium, and iron
Amaranth: Packed with vitamin A, vitamin C, and dietary fibre
Sorghum: 10% protein, with calcium, iron, and vitamin B
Besides their immediate health benefits, investing in indigenous species ensures that agricultural knowledge isn’t lost from one generation to the next. Reviving these vegetables reignites truly local food systems and encourages younger generations to participate in traditional agriculture.
The Haller Farmers App focuses on 1. How to grow a wide variety of crops indigenous to Kenya, and 2. The various benefits that these crops can provide, when used in cooking or for medicinal purposes. The app is designed with accessibility in mind, with notes in English and Swahili, as well as an audio guide and detailed visuals to ensure knowledge transfer to all farmers.
These benefits are also taught through our farmer training program, carried out in sessions at our demonstration farm in Nguuni, and weekly outreach sessions with local smallholder communities.
In 2022, UNESCO added some of Kenya’s indigenous species to its list of protected vegetables, including cowpeas and jews mallow. This decision acknowledged the critical role indigenous vegetables play in food security, public health, climate resilience, and cultural preservation.
To learn more about Haller’s work to encourage the adoption of indigenous plant species, download the Haller Farmers App →
