What Will It Take to Scale Healthy School Meals in Kenya?

by Felistus Mwalia/

What Will It Take to Scale Healthy School Meals in Kenya?

Felistus Mwalia

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Earlier this year, in an opinion piece published in The Standard, Dr. Jacqueline Kung’u, Nutrition Scientist at the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC), argued that Kenya’s school meals must deliver more than full stomachs.

While expanding feeding to more learners is a significant achievement, success should ultimately be measured by the nutritional quality of the meals children receive. As she noted, providing any meal is not enough; school meals must deliver the nutrients children need to grow, learn, and thrive.

Beyond improving attendance and retention, nutritious school meals contribute to better dietary quality, learning outcomes, and long-term health.

Dr. Kung’u highlighted local sourcing as one practical way of improving the nutritional quality of school meals, drawing on evidence from a study by Mwanthi et al. in Makueni County, which found that engaging smallholder farmers in school feeding programmes increased children’s access to fresh, locally produced foods.

She also noted that Brazil provides another compelling example. Its National School Feeding Programme requires that at least 30 percent of food served in schools be procured directly from local farmers, helping diversify school menus while creating stable markets for local producers.

In this context, APHRC and its partners have spent the past two years generating evidence on how locally sourced school meals can improve children’s nutrition while creating opportunities for local food producers.

Through the International Development Research Council (IDRC)-funded project Leveraging School Feeding and Micro and Small Enterprises to Promote Access to Healthy and Sustainable Food among the Urban Poor in Kenya and Rwanda, APHRC, Wasafiri, Imperial College London and the University of Rwanda worked with governments, schools, communities, micro and small enterprises (MSEs), and smallholder farmers (SHFs) to strengthen local procurement systems, support policy reform, build the capacity of local suppliers, and increase demand for healthy, locally produced foods.

The project organized 105 MSEs and SHFs into three formally registered Local Business Associations (LBAs) across Kibra, Korogocho, and Mukuru, strengthened policy dialogue at national and county levels, established a multi-stakeholder Technical Working Group, and demonstrated that locally sourced school feeding can simultaneously improve children’s nutrition, strengthen local livelihoods, and create more resilient food systems.

These achievements laid the foundation for the next phase of the work. With support from the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) Scaling for Impact (S4I) programme, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), APHRC and Wasafiri are now building on these lessons to strengthen locally sourced, healthy and sustainable school meal systems in Nairobi’s informal settlements.

The focus has shifted from demonstrating what works to identifying how successful approaches can be scaled through stronger local procurement systems, greater participation of MSEs and SHFs, community demand creation, and supportive policy environments.

This work comes at a critical time as Kenya seeks to expand access to school meals nationwide by 2030.

As part of this process, the partners convened the Scaling the Integration of Micro and Small Enterprises and Smallholder Farmers into School Meals Programmes in Urban Informal Settlements in Kenya Mid-Year Scaling Reflection Workshop.

More than a progress meeting, the two-day workshop was designed as a collaborative problem-solving forum. It brought together representatives from national and Nairobi County government, schools, researchers, development partners, Local Business Associations (LBAs), MSEs, and SHFs to review progress, identify the key barriers limiting scale-up, prioritise the conditions needed for success, co-develop practical solutions, and agree on priority actions for the next phase of implementation.

What emerged from the workshop was that scaling healthy school meals is not primarily a nutrition challenge; it is a systems challenge. Kenya already has nutrition guidelines and a growing policy commitment to school feeding. The remaining challenge is ensuring that schools can consistently access nutritious, locally produced foods through reliable supply chains.

Participants repeatedly identified LBAs as the missing link. Organised local businesses can aggregate produce from smallholder farmers, improve food safety, stabilise supply and prices, and create stronger market opportunities. However, this requires investment in governance, procurement readiness, financial management, food safety, business formalisation and stronger partnerships.

Participants proposed practical actions including developing aggregation models, reviewing school menus alongside costs, strengthening payment systems between schools and suppliers, and improving the business capacity of LBAs.

Another important discussion challenged the assumption that awareness is the main barrier. Participants argued that schools already know healthy meals matter. The bigger challenge is behaviour.

Financial constraints, entrenched routines, and competing priorities often mean menus prioritise filling stomachs rather than meeting nutrition guidelines.

Instead of awareness campaigns alone, participants recommended practical behaviour-change approaches including cooking demonstrations, showcasing successful school gardens, reviewing menus against national guidelines, engaging parents and school management, and strengthening food safety throughout the value chain. This is exactly what this project aims to do under “demand-creation” activities that Community Organized Groups (COGs) will lead.

Governance also emerged as a critical issue. Many low-cost private schools struggle to navigate Ministry of Education registration requirements and procurement processes, while menu decisions are often concentrated in the hands of school directors and the board of management. Participants agreed that supporting schools to implement existing policies may be just as important as developing new ones.

Moving beyond full stomachs to healthy, nutritious school meals is no longer just an aspiration; it is an achievable policy and development agenda. The workshop underscored that success will depend on coordinated action across government, research institutions, the private sector and communities to strengthen local procurement, empower LBAs, support smallholder farmers, and improve implementation of existing policies.

By investing in these interconnected systems, Kenya has an opportunity to build a school meals programme that delivers multiple dividends: better nutrition and learning outcomes for children, sustainable livelihoods for local producers and enterprises, and more resilient, inclusive food systems. That is the true promise of scaling healthy school meals.

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Local enterprises are the future of school feeding initiatives

by Rikki Agudah/

Local enterprises are the future of school feeding initiatives

Rikki Agudah
Rikki Agudah

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In our earlier article, Making School Feeding work through MSEs and Smallholder Farmers, we drew on our work in Kibera, Korogocho and Mukuru informal settlements in Nairobi to show how micro and small enterprises support school feeding supply chains in low-income urban communities. In the article below, originally published in Business Daily, Rikki Agudah makes the broader case for why local enterprises should be central to school feeding systems.

Kenya’s ambition to provide nutritious, locally sourced meals to millions of learners through the National Home Grown School Meals Programme is bold and necessary. With close to three million children reached in 2025 and a longer-term goal of ten million by 2030, the scale of the promise is clear. National targets, however, tell only part of the story. The more difficult question is delivery, particularly in low-income urban settlements where the need is acute, and systems are fragile.

The Urban Informal Schools Gap

Nairobi’s informal, low-income settlements are dominated by informal schools, which account for 70% of school-going children in the city and still remain beyond the reach of initiatives such as Nairobi City County’s Dishi na County program, which currently serves public schools.

Charitable and donor-funded interventions have attempted to fill this gap, but these are often short-term and focused on specific nutrition or education outcomes, rather than long-term delivery systems. Mainstream models tend to default to outsourcing: large caterers, centralized procurement and external logistics. While on paper this appears efficient, in practice it can weaken local ownership and detach feeding programmes from the communities they are meant to serve.

A Community-Rooted Alternative

Another approach is taking shape, quieter, less visible in policy headlines, yet firmly rooted in local communities. In this model, delivery is anchored in organised local enterprises accountable to the very families whose children rely on the meals. Schools do not just purchase food; they anchor local food economies.

The distinction matters. In informal settlements, markets operate as much on reputation as on paperwork. A vegetable trader, miller, transporter or cook survives because her neighbours trust her. When school feeding is delivered by enterprises owned and operated within the settlement, programmes earn something more durable than a contract: they earn trust.

Here, parents are not only recipients. They are also farmers, traders and suppliers. If food quality drops, feedback is immediate. If delivery falters, accountability is close at hand. Trust becomes the underlying guarantee for food safety and quality long before formal inspection systems intervene.

But trust alone is not enough. Organisation strengthens it.

Across Kibra, Korogocho and Mukuru, agrifood traders and smallholder farmers have begun forming legally registered Local Business Associations. These associations help coordinate supply, improve post-harvest handling, and collectively engage with schools. Instead of dozens of fragmented suppliers competing informally, organized networks are able to meet agreed standards and deliver with greater reliability.

In practice, this coordination has changed how supply flows. In Mukuru kwa Reuben, agrifood traders, who previously operated in isolation, are now pooling resources under the banner of Mukuru Agribusiness Association to provide hot meals to informal schools in their vicinity. Through their recently established community kitchen, the association is introducing menus using diverse and nutritious foods sourced from local producers. The initiative is moving towards aligning school demand with farmer production cycles, while incorporating basic handling standards to ensure quality and accountability. For informal schools, this redirects their focus on education outcomes and minimizes children’s exposure to highly processed, unhealthy snack meals.

This reflects a growing recognition in School Feeding Program policy conversations: that strengthening farmer organizations and linking them with urban micro and small enterprises is not peripheral to school feeding, but central to making it work at scale.

Beyond the Meal: Economic Multipliers

When delivery is embedded in organized local enterprises, the benefits extend beyond the meal itself. Money circulates locally. A school pays a trader, who pays a miller, who sources from a farmer, and income returns to households through rent, school fees and everyday purchases. Feeding budgets begin to function as economic multipliers rather than isolated expenditures.

At a time when Kenya is grappling with youth unemployment, urban poverty and food price volatility, it is worth asking whether the success of school feeding should be measured only in cost per plate, or also in the resilience it builds within our communities.

Of course, questions remain about standards and scale. Can locally-rooted enterprises consistently meet nutrition and food safety requirements?

The experience of Kenya’s small-holder farmers in horticulture export supply chains suggests they can, particularly when supported by shared systems where localized initiatives such as the community kitchens and supplier groups operate under established regulatory guidelines for hygiene, nutrition and operations. Training and quality assurance are structured; ownership and relationships remain local.

While still in its infancy, the approach taken by Mukuru Agribusiness Association is already growing business capacity and creating learning opportunities for its members in food safety, procurement and basic enterprise management, which are skills that will serve them beyond the school gates.

None of these demands sweeping reform. It requires thoughtful choices about who is invited into delivery systems and how those systems are structured within local government planning processes and programs, such as county integrated development plans and through inclusive multi-stakeholder platforms such as Nairobi City County’s Food Liaison Advisory Group (FLAG) committee. Mapping local enterprises, strengthening their associations and embedding them into county procurement processes are not radical shifts and, over time, they may prove to be transformative.

School Feeding Is About Systems

School feeding will always be about children. But it is also about systems: who supplies food, who earns income, who develops skills, and who is trusted to deliver when shocks come. If Kenya’s school feeding ambitions are to endure, expanding not only in reach but also in impact, the future may lie less in distant suppliers and more in organized enterprises rooted in the communities they serve. School feeding works best when the people who cook the food are also the people who care most about its impact.

Photo by Soft__Work__

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Making school feeding work through MSEs and smallholder farmers

by Rikki Agudah/

Making school feeding work through MSEs and smallholder farmers

Rikki Agudah

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In the grand scheme of food systems, micro and small micro enterprises (MSEs) are often overlooked as a contributor to sustainable change and seen more as a benefactor of actions of other stakeholders in the food supply chain.

Policymakers and large institutions focus on industrial-scale suppliers, favoring efficiency over inclusivity. But in Africa’s school feeding programs, MSEs are not just a convenience – they are indispensable.

Every day across the Kenyan landscape, millions of children rely on school meals to get the nutrition they need to learn and grow. The success of these programs is tied to their ability to source food sustainably, affordably, and reliably. That is where MSEs come in.

Embedded in local economies, these businesses provide a variety of food products at the right pricing point and accessible for consumers. These MSEs will increasingly be an essential link between smallholder farmers and schools, ensuring that food is not just available, but that it is also healthy, culturally relevant and nutritionally appropriate.

The formal inclusion of MSEs in School Feeding is therefore essential for a complete school feeding cycle.

MSEs: The lifeline of local food systems

Within the communities in Kibera, Korogocho and Mukuru kwa Reuben, MSEs that we have interacted with are integral, easily dominating the food supply landscape in these urban areas, be they selling food products in formal stalls and eateries, hawking, or roadside selling.

While many sell a variety of processed and cooked food products, they also supply households with fresh produce, grains, and staples, exactly the same commodities required for school meals.

What we are learning is that when school feeding programs integrate these businesses into their supply chains, they create a ripple effect that strengthens local economies.

The benefits are tangible: finance circulates within communities, household incomes improve, and economic stability increases. School feeding then ceases to be a standalone intervention; it becomes an economic driver.

Sylvia and Steve Muthi
Sylvia and Steve Muthi

Take Sylvia Kuria, an organic farmer and activist working with Fellows from the African Food Fellowship. Together, they have collaborated with the Mukuru Agribusiness Association to connect smallholder organic farmers to schools in informal settlements.

Through this collaboration, they identified a local school where children were undernourished and organised a reliable supply of organic, healthy produce from nearby farmers. As a result, the school now provides two nutritious meals a day, improving children’s diets while creating a stable market for local producers.

Sylvia with Dorice Bosibori, chair of the Mukuru Agribusiness Association
Sylvia with Dorice Bosibori, chair of the Mukuru Agribusiness Association, and Becca Katz from Quest Nutrition

In turn, the steady demand is allowing Sylvia to train local farmers to better supply these schools, including using space-efficient approaches such as vertical farming, sack gardening, and container-based growing.

Sylvia is now looking for partners who share the view that working through MSEs can strengthen local economies, and who can support the scaling of this approach to reach more schools.

School meal
School meal

But the impact goes beyond economics. Unlike large-scale suppliers, MSEs are highly adaptable. They can respond quickly to changes in food availability caused by climate shocks or logistical challenges, shifting between supply sources and food types as needed.

This flexibility helps schools continue feeding children even when supply chains are under strain. Over time, this local resilience also supports the wider acceptance of healthy, sustainable foods by expanding the range of foods children eat at school and, in turn, what becomes familiar and accepted within their communities.

The procurement paradox: Why MSEs struggle to compete

Despite their importance, MSEs face significant hurdles when trying to participate in school feeding programs. Procurement policies remain a major roadblock to MSE entry.

Large suppliers have the financial muscle to endure long payment cycles: 30, 60, or even 90 days, whereas MSEs, which operate on cash-based transactions, cannot afford to wait. Schools, constrained by rigid procurement regulations, find it easier to work with established distributors rather than smaller, locally embedded suppliers.

Then there’s the issue of scale. MSEs typically supply small quantities daily, whereas school feeding requires bulk deliveries over an entire term. Bridging this gap requires innovative solutions.

The IDRC funded CCHeFS project, has been instrumental in organising MSEs in Kibra, Korogocho and Mukuru into registered Local Business Associations (LBAs), allowing them to pool resources, aggregate supply, and compete more effectively for school feeding contracts. But more needs to be done.

A blueprint for change

If school feeding is to become a true game changer for the adoption of healthy diets in low-income urban settlements, MSEs must be recognised as the economic driver and supported through procurement and financing models that reflect how these businesses actually operate. Governments and the private sector should develop financing mechanisms that ease cash-flow constraints, allowing smaller suppliers to participate without long payment delays.

Investment in local storage and aggregation facilities would also improve supply chain efficiency, making it easier for MSEs to supply schools and increase the availability of healthy foods in these settlements.

Collaboration with smallholder farmers in rural production areas is another critical piece of the puzzle. Intermediaries like the Kenya National Farmers Federation (KENAFF), which is the umbrella organisation for farmers in Kenya, have shown that when MSEs can work directly with farmers, the result is a safer, more reliable supply chain, one that prioritises both quality and nutrition.

Strengthening these linkages would not only assure the safety and quality of school meals but also drive demand for locally grown food, reinforcing the entire agricultural ecosystem.

The road ahead

Local Business Associations

Through the CCHeFS project, these LBAs have taken major strides to participate in policy influencing through participation in the Food Liaison Advisory Group (FLAG) committee of Nairobi County Government. This platform is critical to their continued advocacy for favourable business terms.

As policymakers debate the future of school feeding, they must recognise a fundamental truth: without MSEs, the system is weaker. These businesses are not just suppliers; they are enablers of food security, economic empowerment, and community resilience. Strengthening their role in school feeding programs is a strategic move that benefits everyone.

The next step is clear. We level the playing field. We remove financial barriers. We create policies that recognise MSEs as essential partners in feeding Africa’s children. Because when small businesses thrive, so do school feeding programs, and so do the millions of children who depend on them.

For more information on Wasafiri’s work with school feeding initiatives, smallholder farmers and MSEs, or the CCHeFS project, please reach out directly to george@wasafirihub.com.

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Visioning Zambia’s food systems, a homecoming through Collective Action

by Martin Kalungu-Banda/

Visioning Zambia’s food systems, a homecoming through Collective Action

Martin Kalungu-Banda

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Supporting non-state actors in Zambia to co-create a shared vision for their food systems has been both a homecoming and a deep learning journey for me. Working with civil society, young farmers, business, and government, through a nationally convened process led by the National Food and Nutrition Commission (NFNC) and supported by GIZ, we set out to see the whole system together and ignite long-term, inclusive change.

Why this work matters to me

Zambia is my home country. I grew up and was educated there, supported by public resources, before life and work took me elsewhere. Living far from home comes with a certain guilt: the knowledge that the opportunities and security enjoyed abroad impose a subtle burden, acting as a constant reminder of the contribution one owes to the community back home.

When the opportunity came to support non-state actors to develop a compelling vision for Zambia’s food systems, it immediately resonated with both my professional practice in systems transformation and my personal responsibility. The task was to help civil society, private sector and other non-state actors clarify where they want Zambia’s food systems to go, in a way that speaks to everyone who cares about food as the foundation of well-being, livelihoods, and the environment.

Food is a powerful lens. If you want to understand an economy, a community, or a country’s possible future, you can follow the life of food. From preparing the soil, to planting, harvesting, transporting, processing, and consuming. When you look closely in Zambia, you see that a huge proportion of people’s income and survival is tied to the soil and to food-related activities, especially for women and, more recently, young people.

Martin Kalungu Banda
Martin Kalungu-Banda

Seeing the whole food system

One of the first things that struck me in this work was how much knowledge already exists in Zambia. The people gathered, from civil society organisations, local authorities, small and medium businesses, transporters, academics, and others. They held rich insights about food, the environment, and collaboration. In many ways, they were living libraries of experience.

Yet their perspectives were often fragmented, each focusing on a specific part of the system. Farmers may focus on inputs, yields, and markets without always connecting this to policy or to the health of the soil. Processors may focus on the raw materials coming through the gate, not on how the soil was treated or what kinds of seeds were used. Policymakers may work on regulations and subsidies without fully hearing how these land in the daily lives of smallholders or transporters. This kind of siloed thinking is common in many sectors and countries, but in food systems, it can be particularly costly.

Our work, therefore, needed to help people see the whole. Wasafiri’s Systemcraft approach and Ubuntu philosophy became a practical way of widening awareness and connecting the dots. The aim was to enable participants see how their individual actions sit within a wider web of relationships that include soil health, climate, livelihoods, gender dynamics, and cultural attitudes to food.

Group work, 3D modelling exercise
Group work, 3D modelling exercise

Why gender and youth sit at the centre

Any serious conversation about Africa’s food systems must put gender and youth at the centre.

Most Zambians who derive their livelihoods from the land and from food-related activities are women. Much of this labour does not show up as formal “employment”, yet it is the backbone of household survival. Women till the land, plant, weed, harvest, process, cook, sell, and feed families. When we talk about food systems, we are therefore talking about women’s economic agency and gender equality in very concrete terms.

If we care about the economic emancipation of women and girls, we must look closely at the food system cycle: who controls land, who decides what is planted, who has access to finance and other inputs, whose labour is recognised, and who benefits from value addition. These are not abstract questions; they shape daily life.

The same is true for young people. It has been inspiring to see the passion of young farmers who are imagining a future different from that of older generations and who are taking up farming as a deliberate choice.

At the same time, urban youth can face stigma when they stay connected to traditional foods. For a child, eating imported fast food can be seen as “modern” while bringing sweet potatoes or pumpkin to school for lunch can mark you as “from the village”. This reveals how culture and identity intersect with food choices and health.

By placing gender and youth at the heart of the visioning process, the work in Zambia has tried to surface these dynamics rather than treat them as side issues. Food connects directly to health, education, and opportunity.

What children eat affects whether they are alert in class or weighed down and sleepy. What women can earn from food-related activities affects whether girls stay in school.

Group work, 3D modelling exercise
Group work, 3D modelling exercise

Making collaboration real

From the outset, we knew that complex issues such as food systems do not respond to heroic individuals, no matter how knowledgeable they might be.

These issues respond to collective action. So, the design of the process—which involved all key stakeholders–was itself an expression of the kind of collaboration we wanted to see in the system.

Rather than a typical “expert at the front, audience listening” workshop, everyone present was treated as an expert. The condition for being invited was not a job title, but a real stake and experience in food systems.

We explicitly distinguished between debate and dialogue. In debate, each person defends their position. In dialogue, we listen in ways that allow our own views to shift because we are open to new information or perspectives emerging.

To make this real, we used methods that went beyond talking. When participants mapped Zambia’s food systems, we did not only hand out flipcharts and markers. We brought out what you might normally find in a kindergarten: coloured clay, pipe cleaners, and other simple materials.

People built three-dimensional models of the system as they saw it, moving pieces around, adding connections, and making the invisible visible. It was playful on the surface, but very serious underneath.

Seeing food systems in 3D helped participants notice relationships, feedback loops, and the gaps that would have remained hidden on a flat page.

Modelling exercise examples
Modelling exercise examples

We also recognised that the people in the room could not fully represent the diversity of stakeholders. So, we embedded “sensing journeys” into the process. Over a period of weeks, participants went out to listen to others: traditional leaders who are custodians of land, young people, businesses of different sizes, government officials, and community members. These were not extractive interviews. They were an intentional widening of the circle of voices shaping the emerging vision.

Part of the process included engaging with the participants online. Connectivity and cost of data were real challenges. Not everyone could join every online session, and sometimes voices dropped mid-sentence.

Meeting in nature, close to soil and crops, was far more inspiring than meeting in a high-rise in the capital city, but budget constraints meant we could not always choose the ideal environment. Still, people found ways to keep learning together, including through informal channels to share what they were sensing on the ground.

From shared vision to long-term transformation

The culmination of this journey was the co-creation of a shared vision for Zambia’s food systems: Happy earth. Healthy food. Thriving Zambia — across generations.

Participants were proud of what they produced. “The visioning process was a game-changer for us! We are now using the visioning methodology when working with our youth and other stakeholders. The approach has really helped improve generative listening and how we are implementing food systems transformation as an organisation”, said a participant from a youth-focused organisation.

In small, diverse groups made up of farmers, programme implementers, processors, advocates, and others, they drafted different versions of the vision. These drafts were then displayed and reviewed in silence, allowing everyone to absorb and reflect before speaking.

We then invited a small group of “self-appointed adults” from among the participants to take on the responsibility of synthesising these drafts into a single vision.

The group worked iteratively: crafting, sharing back to the wider group, receiving feedback, and refining. Even at the “graduation” meeting, they remained open to further adjustment. This was what we had envisioned.

This process built two critical capacities. First, the capacity to work with others across differences in power, sectors, and perspectives. Participants experienced directly that transforming a system requires collaboration between government, business, civil society, young farmers, and many others.

Second, the capacity to experiment with practical tools and methods such as stakeholder dialogues, sensing journeys, silence, 3D mapping, and coaching circles to generate new thinking and, more importantly, action.

Final group check out
Final group check out

A vision, however, is only a starting point. Real change will come through cycles of experimentation… what engineers call prototyping.

The next phase, in my view, is for different actors to run concrete experiments at various points in the food system: from regenerative soil practices, to reducing post-harvest losses, to rethinking transport, to reviving traditional crops and seeds, to innovative ways of handling so-called “waste” so it enriches rather than depletes ecosystems.

These prototypes, tested, refined, and scaled over time, are what will gradually align Zambia’s food systems with the vision that has been collectively crafted.

Transformation happens through trial and error, through learning by doing, not through ideas alone.

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Why COP30 must centre food systems

by Ledama Masidza/

Why COP30 must centre food systems

Ledama Masidza
Ledama Masidza

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As COP30 unfolds in Belém, Brazil, the world gathers at a pivotal moment for climate action. This year, as I join governments, civil society, Indigenous peoples, and youth gathering to shape our shared future, it is clear that food systems are finally taking their rightful place at the heart of climate discussions.

At Wasafiri, we believe that food connects climate, nature and livelihoods. If we are serious about building a just and resilient world, then transforming food systems must be central to how we act on climate.

It has taken decades for food systems to move from the sidelines of climate diplomacy to the main agenda. This shift reflects a growing understanding that agriculture, nutrition, and land use are inseparable from climate resilience, biodiversity, and equity.

At COP28, food systems were formally acknowledged in the Global Stocktake and the Emirates Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems, and Climate Action, endorsed by over 150 countries. COP29 maintained momentum, but lacked coherence. Now, attending COP30 in person, I see a strategic opportunity to embed food systems into climate action.

How food systems fit into COP30

Under Brazil’s Action Agenda, food systems feature as one of six thematic axes, specifically Axis 3: Transforming Agriculture and Food Systems. This is a major breakthrough, recognising that food systems are also cultural, and political.

Axis 3 focuses on three pillars:

  1. Restoring land and promoting sustainable agriculture through agroecology and Indigenous stewardship.
  2. Building resilient and adaptive food systems that can withstand climate shocks while reducing waste and improving supply chains.
  3. Ensuring equitable access to food and nutrition for all, especially the most vulnerable.

What’s shifting at COP30

Several developments at COP30 are set to shape how food systems are integrated into climate action:

  • Unlocking climate finance for sustainable agriculture and agroecology, especially for smallholders and Indigenous communities.
  • Integrating food systems into national climate plans (NDCs and NAPs) to align mitigation, adaptation, and biodiversity goals.
  • Bridging the Rio Conventions, on climate, biodiversity, and desertification, to create a more coherent and impactful approach to food systems transformation.
  • Advancing the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) to strengthen resilience and ensure that adaptation strategies are inclusive, nutrition-sensitive, and grounded in local realities.
  • Linking agriculture, forests, and the blue economy, recognising that food systems are connected to both land and sea.

Kenya’s priorities: Global ambition, local realities

Kenya enters COP30 from a position of both urgency and opportunity. Climate impacts are already reshaping agriculture and livelihoods, but communities are actively innovating in response. The food systems agenda at COP30 offers a chance to elevate Kenya’s models of resilience, regeneration, and justice.

Key priorities include:

  • Carbon markets and land use that protect community rights and ensure benefits reach smallholders.
  • Scaling agroecology and regenerative practices, building on Indigenous knowledge as climate intelligence.
  • Integrated land and water governance that prioritises community stewardship and water justice.
  • Inclusion of Indigenous peoples in decision-making and finance mechanisms.
  • Youth-led innovation in digital agriculture and market systems, showing what a resilient, climate-smart future can look like.

COP30 represent an opportunity to redefine what climate ambition looks like. Food systems sit at the intersection of the biggest global challenges we face: hunger, biodiversity loss, and the climate crisis.

By centring food systems, COP30 can turn climate commitments into concrete, equitable action. The task now is to ensure that the promises made in Belém translate into resilience for farmers, nourishment for communities, and regeneration for the planet. “The transformation we need won’t come from any single policy or actor. It will come from how governments, farmers, financiers, and communities work together to reimagine food systems as engines of resilience and regeneration” adds Ian Randall, Wasafiri’s Director.

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Kenya Transform Food Festival 2025: Leading differently to transform food systems

by Jacqui Kubania/

Kenya Transform Food Festival 2025: Leading differently to transform food systems

Jacqui Kubania

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The African Food Fellowship on October 24 2025 hosted the annual Kenya Transform Food Festival in Nairobi, Kenya. The gala event brought together food systems leaders working in governments, private sector, research and academia, financing, civil society, and community groups to celebrate leadership as an essential catalyst for transforming food systems in Kenya.

Through a series of well curated sessions and inspiring speakers, the festival showcased food systems leadership in action, and celebrated those who have made great strides to build collaborations and work towards a common goal.

Food 4 Education senior policy manager Stella Kimani delivers a keynote speech at the festival.
Food 4 Education senior policy manager Stella Kimani delivers a keynote speech at the festival.

“Food systems transformation is not just theory but applied courage. It’s adaptive, collaborative, and grounded in the belief that Africans can design and scale solutions to Africa’s problems,” said Food 4 Education senior policy manager Stella Kimani, who delivered the keynote speech.

Stella, who is also an African Food Fellow, challenged the audience to lead with courage.

“We start at the intersection of possibility and responsibility. Your leadership matters. Our continent does not need heroes but architects of systems who build bridges between generations and ideas. Let’s keep experimenting, collaborating and leading with courage,” she said.

Africa’s food systems are at a pivotal moment and provide big opportunities for change and transformation. With the CAADP Kampala Declaration signed in January this year, Africa reaffirmed its commitment to end hunger by 2035 by increasing sustainable agricultural production, tripling inter-Africa trade in agro-food items, and reducing post-harvest losses.

Africa’s food systems are intricately entwined in a complex web of factors, including climate volatility, governance, trade, technology, cultural norms, and economic inequities. By design, these challenges defy one-size-fits-all solutions. Food systems leadership becomes indispensable in diagnosing these intertwined issues and orchestrating collective action.

The Kampala Declaration recognises this and notably differs from previous agreements by moving away from focusing on technical interventions and quantitative metrics to enhancing food system approaches and embracing inclusive design and implementation processes. Simply put, it signals a strong intention to put people at the centre of food systems transformation.

Happy smiles! Guests enjoy conversations and finger foods during the festival.
Happy smiles! Guests enjoy conversations and finger foods during the festival.

The festival honoured this intention by offering an opportunity for Fellows to showcase their food systems actions, which are initiatives that they are working on to secure real impact on the ground. They demonstrated how they have used collective leadership to unlock public private partnerships for healthy school meals and inclusive value chains, bridge the data gap in the aquaculture sector, and merge aquaculture and horticulture systems in the arid lands.

African Food Fellowship Kenya FSA Lead Ledama Masidza (far left) leads Fellows Stephen Muthui, Proscovia Alando and Salash Leshornai in a panel discussion on their Food System Actions.
African Food Fellowship Kenya FSA Lead Ledama Masidza (far left) leads Fellows Stephen Muthui, Proscovia Alando and Salash Leshornai in a panel discussion on their Food System Actions.

“Where I come from, the climate is changing faster than culture. Pastoralism on its own is not a viable source of income for communities in ASAL regions. This is why we are setting up a learning hub to teach communities a new way of securing their livelihoods and nutritious diets for everyone,” said Salash Leshornai, who is working with Kelvin Muli and Robert Shumari to introduce integrated Aquaculture–Horticulture Systems (Aquaponics) in Kajiado and Samburu counties. This is a climate-resilient alternative which demonstrates that a nutritious plate can be locally secured—fish for protein and vegetables from the kitchen garden—even in the dry season.

Fellow Robert Shumari elaborates on the Aquaculture Learning Hub model and its intended impact.
Fellow Robert Shumari elaborates on the Aquaculture Learning Hub model and its intended impact.

On their part, Fellows Proscovia Alando, Mary Opiyo, Alice Hamisi and Ruth Lewo demonstrated how they are bridging the date gap in the aquaculture industry to ensure that women’s contributions are more visible and can therefore attract more support.

“Through data, we are connecting farmers with the necessary support so that the information we collect can give actionable insight to not only improve farmers’ business but strengthen food security. We involve a diverse set of actors. We connect the farmers to financiers, insurance providers, input providers, and markets,” they said.

Fellows Alice Hamisi and Proscovia Alando (right) interact with guests curious to learn more about their work in making women in aquaculture more visible.
Fellows Alice Hamisi and Proscovia Alando (right) interact with guests curious to learn more about their work in making women in aquaculture more visible.

The evening culminated in the awarding of the Food System Action prize, which went to Feeding Futures, and initiative designed by Fellows Julia Kamau, Sylvia Kuria and Stephen Muthui to deliver nutritious indigenous meals to school children in Kenya’s informal settlements. Due to limited space in government-sponsored schools, these children attend alternative private schools which receive no formal support from the government, including the school feeding programme.

“We envision a country where all children have access to organic and healthy food. This is a right in our constitution, so we’re not coming. to do a favour for these children but ensuring their rights are protected,” said Stephen, who represented the group at the award ceremony.

Food System Action award winner Stephen Muthui (third from left) poses for a picture with Fellows and members of the AFF secretariat.
Food System Action award winner Stephen Muthui (third from left) poses for a picture with Fellows and members of the AFF secretariat.

Guests also had a n opportunity to interact with the latest research by the African Food Fellowship which provides evidence that leadership is a catalytic force that turns good ideas into a systems-changing interventions. Food systems leadership enables collective action and brings multiple stakeholders to the table, including the people most marginalised by the existing system, to become co-designers, implementors, and advocates of the solution.

“At the African Food Fellowship, we curate the conditions for people to collaborate and act. We need to change behaviour, shift power dynamics, secure investments and incentives, and influence policy. That’s a human-centered approach,” said the African Food Fellowship head of networks and delivery Claudia Piacenzia.

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School feeding initiatives, a game-changer for East Africa

by Stella Odhiambo/

School feeding initiatives, a game-changer for East Africa

Stella Odhiambo

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School feeding programs are more than just meals on a plate. When designed well, they create jobs, strengthen local food systems, and support children’s health and education. Yet, despite their potential, investment remains alarmingly low across Africa.

The reality is stark: while governments, NGOs, and development partners have made strides, the scale of the challenge far outweighs current efforts. With school feeding at the intersection of nutrition, local economies, and food security, it is clear that no single organisation can solve this alone.

Wasafiri works with a broad network of partners to convene, coordinate, and unlock solutions that drive systemic change. But time is running out. If we want to make school meals a truly sustainable solution, the world needs to act – and invest – now.

A missed opportunity for food systems actors?

Across East Africa, school meals are often the only reliable source of daily nutrition for millions of children. In Kenya, for example, nearly 4 million children benefit from school feeding programs. Yet these initiatives remain largely dependent on donor funding and food imports, failing to harness the full potential of local economies.

Home Grown School Feeding (HGSF) presents an opportunity to shift this paradigm. By sourcing food from local smallholder farmers and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), school feeding programs can:

  • Boost rural economies by creating predictable demand for local produce.
  • Improve food security by strengthening regional food systems.
  • Enhance nutrition by prioritizing diverse, locally available foods.
  • Increase resilience by reducing dependence on external food aid.

Despite these benefits, only a fraction of Africa’s school feeding programs are meaningfully linked to local food systems. A scoping review conducted by Wasafiri found that while 76% of school feeding initiatives claim to support small-scale farmers, only 43% have preferential contracting for them, and a mere 7% have legal frameworks to ensure their inclusion. In other words, the potential of HGSF remains largely untapped.

The question is not whether HGSF works; it does. The question is, why is Africa still struggling to make it the norm rather than the exception?

Unlocking the potential of local farmers and MSMEs

While school feeding should be a win-win for both children and local food producers, smallholder farmers and MSMEs face significant barriers to entry. Wasafiri is involved in CCHeFS, a project funded by IDRC aimed at integrating MSMEs and smallholder farmers into school feeding initiatives. Our research reveals some of their challenges:

  • Market access: Many smallholder farmers lack the scale and consistency required to meet the demands of school feeding programs.
  • Financing constraints: MSMEs and farmer cooperatives struggle to access the credit needed to expand production or invest in better infrastructure.
  • Procurement barriers: Government procurement processes often favour large suppliers, sidelining small-scale producers.
  • Logistical hurdles: Weak supply chain networks mean that even when smallholder farmers can produce sufficient food, getting it to schools efficiently is a challenge.

Wasafiri, alongside its partners, is working to identify practical ways to integrate MSMEs and smallholder farmers into school feeding supply chains. We are exploring financing models, capacity-building programs, and policy shifts that could make HGSF scalable. However, the reality is that these efforts, while necessary, are just a drop in the ocean. What is needed is serious, long-term investment.

Where will the investment come from?

The need for financing in HGSF cannot be overstated. While national governments have made commitments, budget constraints mean that school feeding programs often remain underfunded and inconsistent.

Private-sector engagement is almost non-existent in many cases. Yet, major global players such as impact investors, philanthropic foundations, and large agribusinesses have the resources to fill this gap. Organisations such as the Rockefeller Foundation, Novo Nordisk Foundation, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have invested heavily in food systems transformation. But school feeding has yet to receive the level of attention (and funding) it deserves.

We believe this must change. The case for investment is clear:

  • Return on investment: Studies show that for every $1 invested in school feeding, there is a $9 return in improved health, education, and productivity.
  • Impact on local economies: Research from the CCHeFS project demonstrates that integrating MSMEs into school feeding programs can create thousands of jobs and increase farmers’ incomes by 30-50%.
  • Climate resilience: Sourcing food locally can reduce the carbon footprint of school meals while promoting climate-smart agriculture.

The question is: who will step up?

A call to action: We must act now

Wasafiri has spent years working to understand the complexities of school feeding in Africa. We have conducted research, convened stakeholders, and supported policy discussions. But we cannot do this alone.

If we are serious about transforming school meals into a tool for systemic change, we must move beyond pilots and fragmented projects. We need:

  • Large-scale investments to support smallholder farmers and MSMEs in becoming viable suppliers.
  • Policy shifts that prioritise local procurement and reduce barriers for small businesses.
  • Multi-stakeholder collaboration, bringing together governments, donors, and the private sector.

If you are a funder, policymaker, or organisation that cares about the future of school feeding, now is the time to engage. The solutions exist. The question is whether we have the will to implement them at scale.

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African Food Fellowship opens applications for cohort 5, introduces new impact area

by Jacqueline Kubania/

African Food Fellowship opens applications for cohort 5, introduces new impact area

Jacqueline Kubania

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The African Food Fellowship is delighted to announce that applications are now open for its fifth cohort. The Fellowship is recruiting 80 new Fellows in Rwanda and Kenya, 40 for each country. These are food systems leaders who are passionate about working together to create healthy, inclusive, and sustainable food systems.

Interested candidates can submit their applications before the deadline closes on April 25, 2025.

The Fellowship has also updated its impact areas for this round of applications to better reflect a shift in continental priorities. In Rwanda, we are now targeting applicants working in the impact areas of Healthy and Nutritious Foods, Climate Smart Agriculture, or Inclusive Markets and Trade, while in Kenya, we shall be accepting applications from people working in Horticulture for Inclusive Markets, Blue Economy for Food or Agri-finance.

The impact areas are informed by the new Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Strategy and Action Plan 2026-2035 endorsed in January 2025 by 55 African Union member states. The agreement introduced ambitious new targets, including Increasing agricultural productivity by 50%, reducing undernourishment to less than 5%, reducing negative environmental impacts of agriculture by 40%, and increasing the value of processed food exports by 30%. It also aims to integrate over 10 million small-scale farmers into agricultural value chains. These changes show a more holistic approach in how food is produced, processed, and distributed.

Applications now open

“The new Kampala Declaration signed in January this year has inspired us to revise our impact areas to better align with the targets outlined in the agreement. We now have a sharper focus on trade in both countries, as well as a more deliberate inclusion of climate smart agriculture in Rwanda, and an expansion of aquaculture to encompass the blue economy in Kenya. Targeting leaders working in these areas means that we’re able to better support Africa’s food systems transformation agenda,” said African Food Fellowship Director Joost Guijt.

Currently active in Rwanda and Kenya but with ambitions to expand to all Economic Zones in Africa by 2030, the African Food Fellowship is a dynamic network of leaders working together on bold change to make food systems healthy, sustainable, and inclusive. It is dedicated to building the leadership capacity of food systems actors in Africa so they can better respond to challenges and craft sustainable solutions.

“A lot of investments have been made to end hunger, tackle malnutrition, raise productivity, and generally improve food systems in Africa. However, few have focused on building the capacity of the people tasked with delivering these ambitious targets. Africa needs good leaders to deliver healthy, inclusive, and sustainable food systems the African Food Fellowship is investing in these leaders,” said African Food Fellowship Rwanda Lead Anysie Ishimwe.

The Fellowship has built a thriving ecosystem for food systems actors in Africa to connect with their peers and gain essential leadership skills and knowledge to transform food systems. Fellows are co-creators and co-owners of this ecosystem.

Successful applicants will join an impact network of over 230 Fellows in both countries. They will start their journey with the prestigious Food Systems Leadership Programme (FSLP), a world-class 10-month programme  delivered virtually by faculty from Wageningen University & Research and Wasafiri Consulting. During the programme, Fellows acquire shared language, knowledge and tools to unpack food systems, analyze their complexity, and identify opportunities for systemic interventions.

The Fellowship also supports Fellows as they design, implement, and adapt their food systems actions. Fellows identify common goals and work on new pathways that are healthy, inclusive, and sustainable. They exchange ideas, mentor each other, and work together to achieve shared goals.

Current Fellows include government officials, community leaders, entrepreneurs, farmers, scientists, development workers, financiers, educators and journalists. They contribute different perspectives, practical skills and networks to the Fellowship. Collectively, they can shift the power, policies, investments, and incentives that shape food systems. 

“We especially encourage women, farmers, and people living in marginalised areas to apply because they are often left out of leadership opportunities. The Fellowship is a diverse and inclusive space whose members enrich it with different perspectives, experiences and networks. It reflects the wide spectrum of skills, specialisations, and identities in which food systems in Africa operate,” said African Food Fellowship Kenya Lead Brenda Mareri.

The Fellowship charges a fee of USD 1,000 for the Food Systems Leadership Programme, payable in two instalments. A limited number of scholarships are available for those who can demonstrate they need it. We encourage and support participants to seek organisational scholarships.

Originally posted on the African Food Fellowship website.

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The power and practice of impact networks: Lessons from food systems transformation

by Claudia Piacenza/

The power and practice of impact networks: Lessons from food systems transformation

Claudia Piacenza and

stella odhiambo

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Networks that bring together cross-sector leaders to work on shared problems super charge impact in complex environments.

In Africa, the challenges of hunger and malnutrition remain stark: one in five people – over 282 million – are undernourished (State of Food and Agriculture (FAO 2019)), and 30% of children under five suffer from stunted growth. Despite some progress, these figures highlight how far we are from achieving key nutrition and health targets.

Compounding the issue, Sub-Saharan Africa loses over 30% of its total crop production every year – equivalent to more than USD 4 billion in value. These losses not only strain food security but also undermine efforts to lift millions out of poverty.

Amid these challenges, could the power of networks offer solutions?

Why networks (and not just collaboration) matter

One of the biggest challenges when working on complex problems is adapting to an ever-changing context.

One of the pre-conditions for operating in an adaptive way is dynamic learning. When we approach issues from just one angle, one niche expertise, or one specific or static point of view, we risk falling into the well-known trap of the blind scientist who, touching an elephant’s ear believes that she is touching a fan.

It is only by bringing together diverse perspectives that we can truly see the “big picture” (or in other words, the whole elephant).

Spoiler alert: the “big picture” is not just big – it’s rich and multifaceted.

For example, let’s look at the average age of farmers in Africa. Many organisations are working to engage youth in agriculture, recognising the importance of securing the next generation of farmers.

These efforts rightly focus on making agriculture more attractive for young farmers by lowering barriers to access it, increasing the role of tech and digital tools, and reframing the narrative around entrepreneurial opportunities.

At the recent Kenya Transform Food Festival hosted by the African Food Fellowship, we worked around this very issue – engaging youth in agriculture.

By bringing in different perspectives, the conversation quickly moved beyond traditional business models and the cost of agricultural inputs to collective narratives and educational approaches. Suddenly, we looked at a very familiar problem in an unfamiliar way.

We dived into cultural insight: in many rural areas, schools and families use farm work as punishment for undisciplined children. This shift in focus – from economic barriers to cultural narratives and educational practices – was a revelation to many. Suddenly the problem took on a new dimension, leading us to explore how to reshape perceptions about agriculture and food production, starting with very young children in schools.

While this idea may seem obvious to a sociologist or anthropologist, it was an eye-opener for participants from the private and public sectors.

So why was this breakthrough possible?

It came down to one critical approach that defines how networks work: we placed our shared objective at the centre of our discussion, rather than starting with a particular solution or organisational point of view.

As one of our Fellows once said: “Leave your logos and egos at the door and focus on the common purpose.”

The role of trust in building networks

Of course, for networks to work, we need trust at their core. I’ve heard from many leaders that building trust is the foundation for real collaboration.

Trust allows us to share not just knowledge but resources, shifting from a learning phase to actionable plans. It’s about helping everyone see each other as partners rather than competitors.

In practice, trust takes time and care – it grows as we consistently show up, follow through on commitments, and invite open dialogue. This way, networks become not only strong but safe spaces for everyone involved. We create an environment where funders, local organisations, and practitioners feel comfortable sharing ideas, knowing they’ll be met with respect and openness.

Trust is the foundational pre-condition to move from a competitive approach to a place of collaboration.

When we curate a network that wants to stimulate action (and ultimately deliver impact) we tend to focus on the support provided in the form of grants, technical assistance, facilitation and so on. If we don’t intentionally invest in building trust, our efforts are at high risk of not delivering the expected results.

Systems leadership: The key to lasting impact

Ultimately, networks are a means to an end. The end here is to improve the way people eat, their health and the health of our planet, and their inclusion in economies and societies.

Leading change that transforms our current food systems takes a special kind of leadership. Leadership that drives system transformation requires mastery of complex thinking, adaptive management, and collective action.

A recent study by the African Food Fellowship shows that while technical skills are essential, they are not enough. On top of being agronomists, food safety scientists or nutritionists, food system leaders must embody the qualities of a businessperson, an advocate, a communicator, and an organiser.

Do such leaders exist? And what is the right balance between the skills that we need to develop as individuals versus those we cultivate as part of a collective entity?

How do we know if a network is having an impact?

It’s one thing to build a network, but how do we know it’s truly making a difference? There are two indicators that matter most: network health and impact.

A healthy network is one with active participation, where each member feels valued and connected.

A healthy network provides an opportunity to engage in a variety of ways, based on individual gifts, traits, and life stages.

Impact, on the other hand, is harder to attribute directly to the work of networks. For this reason, we focus more often on contribution and influence.

An invitation to join the journey

Do you want to bring organisations and individuals together around a complex problem? Are you interested in exploring the intersection between network curation and system thinking? Get in touch! Reach out to Claudia on claudia@wasafirihub.com.

The African Food Fellowship recruits new Fellows every year. We will soon be inviting food systems leaders in Rwanda and Kenya to join the Fellowship, which offers a much-needed community of change-makers, learning opportunities about food systems leadership, and chances to collaborate with others working on similar problems.

Visit the African Food Felowship’s website for more information and keep an eye out for calls for application.

Photo by Francesco Rosati

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