In Kenya, there is a popular Swahili saying, “Samaki mkunje angali mbichi,” which means to bend the fish while it’s still fresh. This saying emphasizes the importance of teaching and nurturing children in the early stages of their development. It is a sentiment that aligns with the revitalized 4K club program in Kenya. The 4Ks stand for Kuungana, Kufanya, Kusaidia Kenya, which translates to “unite, act, and support Kenya.” The program encourages children to embrace agriculture by equipping them with necessary skills to venture into the field. The clubs provide enriching opportunities to establish and manage agriculture projects at home and school. By promoting their interest in learning and practicing agriculture, youth will be able to tap into innovations and technologies to improve production and contribute towards food and nutrition security.

The 4K club program was a vibrant primary school program for those who went to school in the 1980s and 1990s, where pupils were taught basic skills in crop production, animal management, agribusiness, and other life skills. Although the program became defunct in the late 1990s, in 2021, the Kenyan government through the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MoALD) revived it.

The 4K club program aligns with the Veggies for Planet and People (V4P&P) Initiative funded by IKEA foundation, implemented by World Vegetable Center and SNV Netherlands. This initiative works with youth to improve food, nutrition and income through vegetable production. With the MoALD, it provides technical support to 4K clubs in 48 schools in Kisumu, Kakamega, Vihiga, Machakos, Kiambu, and Muranga counties. This partnership was cemented by a recent flagging off of the seed kit distribution that brought together stakeholders from schools, the MoALD, SNV and WorldVeg among others. The Chief Guest Ms Anne Nyaga, Chief Administrative Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperatives officially launched the distribution of traditional African vegetables seed kits at the Ministry of Agriculture Headquarters in Nairobi, accompanied by Dr Ralph Roothaert the Principal Investigator for V4P&P and WorldVeg Country Director for Kenya.

Each of the schools received a vegetable kit containing seeds of six different types of traditional African vegetables, a bag of organic fertilizer, insect sticky traps, and production manuals. The initiative has trained patrons of the 4K clubs in vegetable production using regenerative technologies. The patrons will help school children establish and manage vegetable gardens both in school and at home. The initial seed provided will be multiplied in school, and thereafter, pupils will have enough seeds to take home and plant. Vegetables produced in school will be consumed to improve diets, and sold to generate income for club activities.

WorldVeg will continue to work closely with the schools to monitor the progress of the vegetable projects and offer necessary technical assistance.