Impro-Co Diet

Improving dietary quality and livelihoods using farm and wild biodiversity through an integrated community-based approach in Kenya (Impro-Co Diet Project) - Turkana

The Impro-Co Diet Project addresses the persistent issues of food insecurity and malnutrition in Turkana, Kenya, which are further aggravated by climate change and pandemics like COVID-19. Using the Participatory Approach for Diet and Farm Diversity developed by Bioversity International, the project empowers communities to co-create sustainable solutions. It emphasizes indigenous knowledge and biodiversity, particularly wild edible plants, to improve dietary quality and resilience. Over 11,000 people were reached with agri-nutrition messaging, and community-driven initiatives were launched, including training in poultry rearing, nutrition education, and financial literacy through VSL groups.

Major Objectives

  • Enhance dietary quality and diversity through the use of farm and wild biodiversity.
  • Empower communities with context-specific, resilient strategies for food and nutrition security.
  • Promote indigenous knowledge and community-driven innovation in agriculture and nutrition.
  • Build local capacity through training, participatory cooking demonstrations, and village savings and loan (VSL) groups.
  • Explore and manage the potential of wild edible plants (WEPs) to support nutrition and resilience.

Project Partner

Research Partners:

  • Bioversity International (now part of the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT)
  • University of Bonn
  • Egerton University
  • Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO)
  • Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
  • Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)
  • Save the Children
  • County Government of Turkana
  • University of Nairobi
  • University of Hohenheim
  • Georg-August University Göttingen
  • Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn

Funding:

This work received financial support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, commissioned and administered through the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) Fund for International Agricultural Research. Grant number: 81235248.

Participants

Result reports

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