Nairobi County is registering urban farmers to supply the county’s markets with safe clean foods.

Under the Safer Urban Food Systems program, 20,000 urban and peri-urban farmers will get training on safe food production before getting access to new markets selling directly to consumers.

The program will cover Nairobi as well as Machakos, Kiambu, and Kajiado Counties.

Foodborne diseases are responsible for a large number of illnesses and deaths in Nairobi. The amount of fecal contamination in sukumawiki farmed in urban and peri-urban farms serving the country’s capital is up to four times the acceptable international standards for irrigation water.

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This causes cholera, typhoid, polio, hepatitis, and other infections, especially ones that cause diarrhea. Diarrhea is the second leading cause of disease in children and causes 21 per cent of deaths of children under five.

The programme will also make it easier for farmers to access urban markets which they are often locked out of by developing farmers’ and wholesale markets and upgrading existing market structures in Nairobi.

The Nairobi City County through its Business and Hustler Opportunities Sub-sector is mapping out participants for the project who will be drawn from 52 Farmer Producer Organizations.