Promising partnerships

A good example of the biodiversity community getting down off our mountain tops. Emile Frison told about the health problems of dietary simplification or the replacement of traditional diversity of food by energy rich (fast) food in Kenya. The consequences are well known in the developed world: diabetes, obesity, cancer etc. But they are new in Kenya. Bioversity International worked in partnership with farmers, supermarkets, health NGOs and marketers to reintroduce traditional veggies that have much more nutrients than cabbage, the only vegetable left in the market place and restaurants. In 5 years with the help of a marketing communication campaign addressing - through protagonists - cultural values and motives for change, supermarkets and vegetable markets now offer again a range of traditional vegetables against competitive prices. Sales went up with 1100% over the last two years. A promising partnership positioning biodiversity as a solution for the MDGs.