Kenya’s food systems in the time of Coronavirus
16 April 2020
Friday the 13th is a date generally associated with bad omens, and even lends its name to a widely successful American horror franchise. In Kenya, it lived up to its morbid reputation when in March, the Ministry of Health confirmed the first case of COVID-19 in the country. It has now been four weeks since that announcement, with the confirmed cases quickly closing in on 200.
When reports of the virus ravaging through China’s Wuhan region started streaming in, it seemed like a foreign problem whose direct impact was unlikely to be felt in Kenya. Many people, myself included, thought it could not reach our shores. I thought that the situation would be easily contained within China, and normalcy would soon return.
Unfortunately, I was wrong.
In ‘Homo Deus: A Brief History of tomorrow’, Yuval Noah Harari writes that:
“Humankind has become more vulnerable to epidemics, due to a combination of growing populations and better transport…A modern metropolis such as Tokyo or Kinsasha offers pathogens far richer hunting grounds than medieval Florence or 1520 Tenochtitlan, and the global transport network is today even more efficient than in 1918…A Spanish virus can make its way to Congo or Tahiti (or Kenya) in less than 24 hours”.
Unfortunately, he was right.
Globalization is a double-edged sword which has sliced the world into a village. Opportunities, as well problems in one part of the globe are just one flight away. Those problems, as Dr. Harari puts it, include viruses. Patient Zero in Kenya was travelling back home from the USA via London. Along the way, she probably came into contact with someone infected with the COVID-19, after it was carried out of Wuhan, likely on an aero plane too. In less than 24 hours, the virus had reached our shores.
The situation has evolved quite fast over the past month, as the Ministry of Health and other government agencies work tirelessly to contain the situation. In the meantime, reports from Italy, Spain and other severely impacted countries indicate how severe the situation could become. To prevent such a manifestation, the government has been progressively shutting down social and commercial activities to minimize crowding and hence spread of the virus.
Flights have been grounded. A 7PM to 5 AM nationwide curfew started being enforced on 27th March, albeit marred by police brutality. The often crowded food markets have either been closed or relocated, while all places of worship and entertainment spots have been forced to shut their doors. Large gatherings, including at funerals and weddings, have been outlawed. One of the most recent directives has restricted movement in and out of certain counties, including the commercial hubs of Nairobi and Mombasa.
Being an agriculturalist, I have been keenly following how these closures, relocations, curfews and restriction of movement are impacting food systems. So far, there have been significant disruptions in food production, processing, distribution, retail, and consumption. As the number of COVID-19 cases continue to rise, which will likely be the case, its effects on food systems will be even greater.
Through a series of articles, starting with this one, I will detail how the food systems react to the disruptions brought about by COVID-19. These include how farmers, food processors, distributors, and consumers adapt to the crisis. Furthermore, the government’s food system interventions will also be delved into. I hope to keep you updated in the next couple of months, and I hope you will be in perfect health. Do keep safe. Maintain hygiene and social distancing.
This cloud shall pass, and grass will grow.
Written by Atula Owade.
This article is part of Covid-19 Food/Future, an initiative under TMG ThinkTank for Sustainability’s SEWOH Lab project (https://www.tmg-thinktank.com/sewoh-lab). It aims at providing a unique and direct insight into the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on national and local food systems. Also follow @CovidFoodFuture, our Video Diaries From Nairobi, and @TMG_think on Twitter. Funding for this initiative is provided by BMZ, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.
