Are people in Kenya worried about climate change – and its impact on food security?
Gathuru Mburu: Yes, they are worried. In Kenya people have experienced it in a big, big way. If you take people back to their earliest memories they’ll give you a timeline of events of how the climate’s changing. Some talk of crops like bananas that don’t do well in certain places – or if they do they’re short. Now you can grow a variety of species that only used to grow in warmer places – the area has become warmer. People here don’t relate to scientific facts but if you make them bring out their life experience of climate change, that’s what makes them take action. LS: What can people do? What do you see as the solutions? GM: The solutions exist. People need to realise that indigenous crops do well in times of extended drought. Storage is not as demanding (with root crops like yams there is storage underground – when you want to eat you just dig them up). With maize you can’t do that. Whenever there’s no food the government talks of importing maize. Indigenous crops don’t contribute
