- Aha! Moment
Can highly nutritious semi-processed products help reduce food waste in Kenya?
Wanjiku Kiarie, Edel Koki, Nengapate Kuria, Daniel Mogere, Mugambi Murithi, Wairimu Muthiki, Robert Nyaga, Zeena Oberoi, Ruth Wambua
- October 5, 2024
- 10:12 am
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BEHAVIORAL THEME
OVERVIEW
Understanding consumer behaviors and habits to ensure low -income consumers have improved access to safe, affordable and nutritious fruits and vegetables in Kenya. The UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2021, indicated that every Kenyan throws away an average of 99 kilograms of food every year, with the country wasting a total of 5.2 tonnes of food every 12 months. Most of this food loss happens post harvest when there is oversupply as well as due to preference of high visually appealing produce. TechnoServe, through the NutriSave project, aims to reduce food loss by increasing consumption of highly nutritious semi-processed products specifically focusing on mango juice, tomato paste, and porridge fortified with african leafy vegetables, which would increase demand for low visually appealing vegetables. The project targets low-income consumers in urban and peri-urban areas in Nairobi.
THEMATIC AREAS
We conducted surveys with 150 households and in-depth interviews with 15 consumers and 15 retailers over the age of 18 in Nairobi Kenya. The objective was to uncover purchasing and consumption behaviors of fruits and vegetables among low-income consumers (LIC) in urban and periurban areas in Nairobi, segmented across different demographics & value chains (mango, tomato and African leafy vegetables).