In Kenya, the cost of production and the price of protein-source animal feeds is very high and sometimes prohibitive to low-income farmers. Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) used as a feed ingredient, could provide a cheaper alternative. BSFL is a sustainable protein source, whose production also contributes to waste management and yields an important organic fertiliser with numerous benefits to the soil, referred to as frass. However, because its use is fairly new in Kenya, information on its acceptability, and adoption bottlenecks is unclear. Characterization of these factors can be used to address interventions that promote its widespread adoption. The main aim of this study is to explore factors influencing awareness and acceptability of using BSFL as a feed ingredient, and also the challenges hindering its use by smallholder farmers in central Kenya. The study employed Principal Component Analysis (PCA), a dimension reduction technique to conduct a needs analysis and the Probit model to analyse factors determining awareness of BSFL as a feed source. The study results show that group membership, having an off-farm income source and education positively and significantly influenced awareness. Moreover, age had a negative significant influence on awareness of BSFL as a feed ingredient, with older people likely to be less aware compared with young people. BSFL acceptability is high, with 76% of farmers willing to produce it. The challenges associated with adoption were related to the low availability of starting materials such as larvae and production kits and the lack of capacity building in the form of training. The study recommends targeting farmers in groups to improve awareness. The provision of technical training on BSFL production should be implemented. Finally, there should be support on acquiring initial production starter kits to encourage uptake and bridge the initial capital requirements.

Fish-farming in Kenya is challenged by the availability and high cost of feed ingredients, especially protein sources. Using black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens) (BSFL) directly or indirectly as a feed ingredient to feed fish is interesting as they efficiently convert organic wastes into high-quality proteins. In addition, the freshwater shrimp (Caridina nilotica) (CN), an important by-catch of the silver cyprinid (Rastrineobola argentea) fisheries in Lake Victoria, could be another alternative protein source. Therefore, this study determined whether dried BSFL or dried CN could partly substitute the commercial diet when growing Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) in a smallholder farm aggregated in an aquapark. The nutritional values and cost-effectiveness of the alternative feeding strategies were compared to commercial diet (CD) only. During an 84-day experimental period, Nile tilapia were fed one of the three feeding strategies, including the use of only the commercial diet, to be compared with diets replacing 20% of the commercial diet with BSFL or CN. The fish were fed to apparent satiation twice a day. At the end of the trial, biomass, the number of fish, growth, survival rate, total fish production, economic feed conversion rate and productivity per pond, were determined. As such, Body Weight (BW) was similar across feeding strategies (P > 0.05), measured 63.2 ± 3.9, 68.0 ± 7.4 and 68.0 ± 7.4 g for fish-fed diets with CD, BSFL and CN, respectively. Hence, nutritionally and from a production point of view, the three feeding strategies used in this study performed equally well. Notably, the use of BSFL led to a significantly higher economic return (P < 0.05) compared to the use of CN and commercial diet alone. The trials in this study demonstrate that BSFL and CN can be used to partly substitute commercial diet. In addition, the trial show that the use of BSFL to partly substitute the commercial diet can boost sustainable fish production in a smallholder farm set-up aggregated in an aquapark.

Hunger affected 278 million people in Africa in 2021, and in Kenya, the proportion of the population unable to afford a healthy diet is 81%. To combat hunger and increase resilience throughout the food system, spirulina (Arthrospira platensis) has been shown to have remarkable properties. The main aim of this study is to investigate whether protein from spirulina is a suitable alternative to protein sourced from fish meal in fish feed for juvenile Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). In a trial investigating the use of spirulina biomass for fish feed on juvenile Nile tilapia, it has been proven that tilapia fingerlings fed diets with spirulina, replacing up to 30% of fish meal protein, were not affected in terms of growth performance compared to the fish fed the commercial diet. This shows that, nutritionally, protein from spirulina can replace fish meal protein fed to juvenile Nile tilapia. This offers promising opportunities for enhanced food and nutrition security. If produced affordably, spirulina can have a significant impact on the income level of low-income fish farmers in Kenya, who often spend more than 50% of their income on commercial fish feed. Affordability can be made possible if small-scale farmers can produce spirulina using animal manure that is available on the farm instead of using highly priced commercial fertilizer. The additional environmental benefits of spirulina include carbon dioxide sequestration and the removal of nitrogenous and phosphorous waste from the wastewater. Spirulina can therefore increase the sustainability of a whole food system.

Challenges of land scarcity, climate change and water shortage are contributing to escalating the shortage of protein rich food in sub-Saharan Africa. In Kenya a total of 27.8

2 Sub-Saharan Africa is confronted with complex interrelated problems of affordability and accessibility to feed and food for aquaculture, livestock, poultry and pig production for the larger share of the population. Moreover, drought, flooding and increasing commodity prices are accelerating the needs for more resilient food systems and strategies supporting trends of transitioning. Making use of locally cultivated insects and microalgae in feed supplied in the markets will not only enhance production potentials for local feed producers and small-scale farmers demanding the feed but will also provide high-quality affordable products for low-income consumers in Kenya and Uganda, if arrangements are implemented that will support such developments. In this Concept note, we introduce a series of trials with black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) and spirulina as replacement of soyabeans and fishmeal in feed that are carried out by KMFRI and WUR 2022, as well as a Footprint Analysis in Uganda and household survey of farmers in Kenya, with the main aim to explore how to operationalise the use of fish feed containing black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) and spirulina for (fish) farmers in Kenya/Uganda, and to address challenges and opportunities for protein transition in the region of Lake Victoria .

Population growth and urbanization increasingly put pressure on our planet’s availability of areas needed for food production. The dependencies on domestically produced food are increasingly judged favourable, following the consequences of the Ukrainian war, with escalating fuel and grain prices and less accessibilities to low-income groups. It is, however, unclear whether land is domestically available. Applying a food system approach, the main aim of this article is to investigate spatial foodsheds and theoretical self-sufficiency for food production needed to supply increasing future populations in a selection of cities, including estimates for Dhaka in Bangladesh, Nairobi in Kenya and Kampala in Uganda. The projected foodshed scenario areas for the years 2020 and 2050 are estimated for the production of three core products currently extensively produced and consumed in the three countries. They show that it is not possible to feed an ever-increasing urban population based on domestic production alone. International trade, new technological developments and new consumer demands for less area-intensive food production systems may give solutions to the immense challenge of feeding the world’s population with nutritious food in 2050. However, to ensure fair and inclusive transition pathways for low-income groups: (1) affordability and accessibility of trade opportunities, technologies and products, (2) a common vision aiming for the SDGs, including SDG2: Zero hunger and SDG11: Sustainable Cities and Communities as well as (3) best practices in co-creation and cooperation with the most vulnerable urban and rural populations, are highly needed.

The aim of this study is to disclose the social factors of sustainable development goals by exploring the links between three types of social capital (bonding, bridging and linking) and food security in Kibera, an informal settlement located in Nairobi, Kenya. Several studies in the literature have addressed links between food security and social capital. However, a lack of theoretical approaches exist in the literature, which concern the sustainable development theory devoted to urban areas taking into account the sustainable development goals. This study applies a linear regression model on data from 385 households in Kibera to analyze the connection between food security and three types of social capital (bonding, bridging and linking). The results demonstrate that there is a positive impact between our proxies for bonding social capital (cultural diversity and the number of visits to area of origin) and food security. Bridging social capital (measured by trust in strangers) demonstrated a negative impact on food security. Finally, one indicator for linking social capital demonstrated a positive impact on food security (trust in community leaders), whereas the statistical analyses did not find any relationship of the two indicators; ‘trust in local politicians’ and ‘membership of social organisations’, with food security. The results demonstrate that insight into social capital can inform the understanding of household food insecurity in vulnerable urban settlements, by illustrating the critical impacts of social drivers in a food system.

The economies of small tropical islands often benefit from large-scale tourism, attracted by the guarantee of beach facilities, sun and warmth, landscape beauty, and cultural and underwater life. While these are highly valued assets, it is unclear how local communities benefit from tourism, or how they perceive their natural environment, which has been the basis for their rich cultural history. Against this background, the main aim of this article is to investigate inhabitants’ perceptions about locals’ inclusiveness in tourism and recreation on a small island called Bonaire. A total of 400 households were interviewed during the period November 2021–February 2022. Inclusiveness in tourism and the welfare it brings are judged as low, based on the findings in this study. With a share of around 40% of the population of Dutch Caribbean islanders living in poverty, the challenge of inequality is urgent. While environmental degradation contributes to inequality, inequality can also contribute to environmental degradation. To reduce inequalities, while ensuring life below water and life on land, the handling of poverty is one of the most critical bottlenecks in this society.

The number and sizes of informal settlements are expected to increase drastically in the future, and dramatically so in Sub-Saharan Africa, where migration from rural to urban areas is increasing, and poverty and food insecurity threaten livelihoods. Data sources explaining livelihood factors in informal settlements are scarce, and often highly disputed. In this study, Kibera is investigated, one of the largest informal settlements in Africa. The main aim is to analyze differences in livelihood factors across the villages in Kibera, and to explain some of the existing discrepancies in food security levels among its population. In particular, livelihood factors such as tribe, welfare and trust can explain some of the variation in food security across 12 of the 13 villages located in Kibera. The analyses inform of significant differences across the villages when it comes to, among others, income, food insecurity, ownership of land in rural areas, tribal background and trust levels in strangers and community leads. To reach the millions of people living in informal settlements now, and increasingly so in the future, it is advised that research and implementation go hand in hand, with enhanced understanding of the complexities within rural–urban food systems to ensure solutions that are affordable and accessible to low-income groups. On this pathway to fight poverty and hunger in the future, today’s policies and programs must take such complexities into account to positively contribute to strengthening the resiliency and sustainability of rural–urban food systems by ensuring an increase in welfare levels with zero climate impact.

In this study we explore what roles informal midstream businesses have in food systems, and the outcomes they influence – such as food safety, food availability affordability and accessibility, various dimensions of livelihoods (including employment and labour conditions), and the environment. Informal businesses operate outside of the formal economy. They are often not officially registered, do not maintain bookkeeping, pay income taxes, or own a bank account, and do not hold official employment relations with their workers. There are multiple perceptions and theories on informality, but recent insights inform us that the informal economy can play a constructive and rational role in complementing the formal economy. Informality is not a stage in development, which will disappear with modernisation of the economy. informality is an intrinsic part of the whole economy and therefore set to stay. Most efforts by governments to formalise the informal economic sectors have failed. Governmental efforts to regulate the informal economy come with significant risks and may have an adverse effect on economic growth and its inclusivity. We conclude from this study that informal midstream businesses contribute in many ways to food system outcomes, such as access by poor consumers to affordable food. But they sometimes also constrain such outcomes by, for example, maintaining poor workers' conditions. As they operate outside regulation policies for food safety and may lack knowledge on hygiene standards, informal food provisioning may also come with higher health risks compared to formal food suppliers, such as supermarkets. Social capital and trust have significant effects on the performance of informal businesses. This is related to the observation that informal entrepreneurs are often not only driven by economic rationale but also by social goals. Governments can support informal midstream businesses by improving infrastructure, but also including them in policy dialogue. However, the repertoire by governments of incentives that trigger informal midstream businesses to contribute to public goals is limited. Other actors in the food system, such as retailers, consumer (movements) and investors are better positioned to reach out to the informal midstream businesses. Informal midstream businesses can have both positive and negative impacts on food system outcomes. We conclude that private sector-led innovation, in which informal businesses define their priorities, co-operate in networks, take the lead, and contribute to enhanced food system outcomes, is an important yet highly unknown area. If informal businesses are to contribute to enhanced food system outcomes, we must unpack that black box allowing better understanding of their roles, processes to involve them, and what can be done to stimulate them to contribute to enhanced food system outcomes.

ABSTRACT This study examines the drivers for and consequences of internal migration to household food security in Uganda. Based on the Ugandan National Panel Surveys conducted between 2010/11 and 2015/16, we estimate differences in food energy adequacy of households receiving internal migrants from elsewhere. Besides food energy consumption, this study applies household food consumption score (FCS) and looks at vulnerability in terms of household’s expenditures on food. This enables to explore (a) the extent to which food insecurity is driving internal migration, and (b) whether remittances can reduce food security of the remitter. We find that households are usually worse-off when migrants join the receiving family. This seems a departure from previous studies that tend to find welfare gains to internal migration, mostly due to changes in expenditures or dietary consumption without considering any thresholds for achieving food security. Based on these findings and responding to rising youth employment challenges associated with rapidly growing urban slums in Uganda, policies that simultaneously support employment creation in both urban and rural areas are urgently needed to enable better steering of the flow of voluntary migration and to help ensuring food security.

Kibera, the largest slum in Nairobi, Kenya, is increasing in size and complexity due to migration from rural areas. Reaching the objectives of zero hunger and sustainable cities and communities (SDGs2 and 11) are urgent and complex challenges to future development. In this survey a new fish value-chain has been set up between a rural area called Nyeri district and the inhabitants of Kibera, to supply small-sized affordable and accessible fish. The main aim of this article is to investigate this best practice example to assist future initiatives to overcome the complex challenges and discuss reasons why it was successful. The methods applied to obtain information to conduct this survey include a literature review, two workshops, and five preparatory interviews of Kibera inhabitants. The contributions by two community leaders, one in Kibera and one in Nyeri, are central to understand why this project was successful. The community leaders were trusted in their local networks. To ensure a resilient rural-urban food system in the future, it is critically important to understand context-specific institutional mechanisms, which in Kenya are based in communities run by strong community leads with capacities to motivate and influence other actors in the network to improve and make changes.

In an effort to contribute to resilient food and nutritional security in urban slums, a food system approach was applied to understand the key socio-economic factors driving fish species consumption in Kibera, the largest informal settlement in Africa located in Nairobi, Kenya. Data were collected from 385 randomly selected households using a structured questionnaire. A multivariate probit model was applied to estimate the relationship between the variables in order to determine the socio-economic drivers of preferences for different fish species. The results indicated that Lake Victoria sardine (Rastrineobola argentea) had the highest preference (73%) among the respondents, followed by Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) (70%) and Nile perch (Lates niloticus) (23%), respectively, with other fish species at 12%, including African catfish, marbled lungfish, common carp, fulu and tuna (Clarias gariepinus, Protopterus aethiopicus, Cyprinus carpio, Haplochromine cichlids and Thunnus sp., respectively). Large household size showed an increase in preference for the Lake Victoria sardine, while higher income influenced preference for Nile tilapia and Nile perch positively, implying that when more income is available, Nile tilapia is the preferred fish over other fish species. Increased fish prices positively influenced preference for Nile tilapia, which is explained by the willingness to pay extra for quality and origin, for instance, to avoid the cheaply cultivated Chinese fish. In the case of the Lake Victoria sardine, lower prices positively affected the preferences. Religious and cultural practices and beliefs influenced preference for species and consumption of fish. Residents who migrated from western Kenya had a higher preference for the Lake Victoria sardine, while residents born and raised in Kibera had a higher preference for Nile tilapia. Neighbourhood effects reduced the preference for consuming Nile perch. These findings provide insights into future market opportunities for specific target groups. For instance, given that small-sized fish like the Lake Victoria sardine is highly demanded, in order to increase resiliency in food and nutrition security, small-sized cheap Nile tilapia will have a large potential in the future, with ever higher demand specifically from the residents born and raised in Kibera.

The aquaculture sector is expanding worldwide, driven by the blue economy and blue growth policy, based on principles of smartness, inclusiveness and sustainability, and the need to provide food and nutrition security to an ever-growing population. This trend is still at an early stage in Kenya. This report explores core enabling factors for commercialization of the aquaculture sector in Kenya, based on a structured household survey and a qualitative literature survey and through application of an analytical food system approach that includes the value chain and consumers. First, nine commercialization categories were identified: high, medium and low commercialization levels for each of cage, pond and tank aquaculture production systems. Second, an analytical farm household survey of 300 farmers was conducted in the counties of Kiambu (60), Kakamega (80), Siaya (80), Nyeri (45) and Kirinyaga (35) to analyse enabling factors in each of the nine commercialization categories. The enabling factors explored are income (in Kenyan Shillings [KES]), fingerling production [numbers], fish feed (floating pellets [tons]), transport (% of farmers who have their own transport), market outlets (% per outlet category), share of fish meals consumed per household (%), risk taking/aversion (perception ranking) and trust in government (perception ranking). Third, a qualitative literature survey was conducted to review best practice in commercialization of the aquaculture sector in Kenya. The analyses show that enabling factors differ substantially across the nine categories. The main motivations of pond farming are to ensure food and nutrition security; it is deemed successful when costs can be covered by generated income, even without further investments to commercialise. Pond farming is therefore the least commercialized segment of the aquaculture sector, although it has obtained the most subsidies in the past. Cage farming is expanding substantially in Lake Victoria, and regulations and planning to monitor environmental impacts are urgently needed. Given the high number of new investors, cage farming is expected to contribute significantly to aquaculture supply in the future. Tank farming is a highly commercialized segment that depends on appropriate technology, which is expensive and accessible only to a few fish farmers. However, the efficiency in use of water, feed and land; the reduced risks of losses; and the possibly low distance to urban markets can make this segment a critical supplier of fish to a large consumer group in the future. Overall, it is advised that future investors in aquaculture in Kenya should be aware of the specific enabling factors of each category and should target the most critical enabling factors.

The report ‘City Region Food System Governance – Guiding principles and lessons learned from case studies around the world’ is a harvest of insights from a wealth of case studies that focus on food system governance (in its broadest sense, or focusing specifically on food policy) in an urban context. These insights are complemented by key principles as formulated in guiding documents such as policy agendas and supporting frameworks that focus on urban food governance. Together, these insights come together in five guiding principles for city region food system (CRFS) governance. These guiding principles, together with a reflection on the findings from this endeavour, provide input for a knowledge agenda and future interventions that aim to contribute to more sustainable, resilient and equitable food systems in city regions around the world.

Results from a series of designs sessions, workshops and interviews describe a vision for Bonaire in 2050. In this vision, measures to combat challenges for any sector, will also strengthen nature. We call this a ‘nature inclusive vision’. A recently published visual booklet presents views of a future in which economic development and a nature inclusive society join forces to maintain what is precious, and to improve what is damaged or threatened.

strengthening capacities for sustainable development. As the international expertise and capacity building institute of Wageningen University & Research we bring knowledge into action, with the aim to explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life. With approximately 30 locations, 5,000 members of staff and 12,000 students, Wageningen University & Research is a world leader in its domain. An integral way of working, and cooperation between the exact sciences and the technological and social disciplines are key to its approach.