How Culture and tradition Hampers the use of ICT in Agriculture

As i was writing this post i couldn't help but reminisce at how my father used to be treated as a king in our house back in the days. His word was the law and everybody had to observe and obey it to the latter or else face his wrath. This has been the case in many households especially in the African context governed by strict traditions where the place and position of a man in the society was highly esteemed. Whilst some people would say this ensured discipline in the house and the society at large in terms of leadership, it also had some aspects of dictatorship which were repugnant since they stifled what i'd call family democracy.
This strong hand of the African man extended as far as his resources stretched. This therefore meant that before any decision was made, the man had to be consulted or else nothing would be done at best or hell would break loose at worst.
Traditionally(and presently as well), African men were not only the custodians of the family names but they also protected all the assets and properties belonging to the family in order to ensure they were effectively passed on from one generation to the next.
The work of the woman therefore has traditionally been reduced to that of a servant whose work is to generate wealth for her family yet she still lacks the powers to make any critical decision regarding the use of the land. Since the husband buys everything including the small radio at home and all electronic gadgets(being also in control of the finances), he gets to decide which channels people would listen to on radio or watch in case they have a Tv set. The only family bank account-if any- is controlled by him which therefore means that he gets to enjoy end  of the year bonuses that accrue from the sale of coffee and other commodities yet chances are that he was merely a spectator when the wife and children were toiling.
Most traditional men would probably listen to the old classical music while women would probably prefer listening to something different. This therefore means, in case there is an educative program running on Tv or radio, the family would definitely miss out on the information being put across since the only channel of communication is jealously controlled. This reminds the old days when the only person allowed to as much as touch the family radio was the father.
Cultural believes and attitudes could also play a significant role in determining the receptivity and adaptability of technology among some communities. To some people within the social structure- especially the elders, technology is perceived as an invasion to their privacy or worse still, a form of corruption into their culture which would spoil the future generations by filling their impressionable minds with foreign ideologies and lifestyle which are at cross purposes with the local culture and norms. Although this is slowly changing in many parts of the world due to the use of the media and other campaigns which have helped in exposing the hitherto very cultural people to different cultures, there still exists a good number of people who would have none of this  at least for now.
Property and asset control has also been a stumbling block towards full utilization of  technology. Traditionally, men being custodians of the resources like land and the title deeds attached to them, their decisions are final regarding what is to be done or the investments to be put on a given farm. This therefore has the negative impact of sidelining women leaving them disenfranchised as it were. This eventually affects the whole family because as much as they lack ownership rights and therefore they don't have a say, they play a significant role in the management of the farm and as such their input cannot be gainsaid. There's therefore a need to bring their issues to the fore by making sure that they are treated as partners especially during the decision making process regarding investments into the farm. Since most of them spend much of their time toiling for the family, they understand better the general trends and status of the farm in terms of the improvements and viable investments that need to be done. Using them as conduits towards the adaption of technology especially among smallholder farmers has a great promise. Most of them by virtue of being social by nature, would probably be more receptive towards the adoption and application of a given technology than their male counterparts.
Societies still clinging to their cultures while condemning modern technology should know that tradition and science can co-exist very well without one compromising the other. The world is changing so fast owing to globalization and issues like global warming and global economic recessions that are affecting all and sundry. This therefore calls for a concerted effort from all quarters in dealing with these issues irrespective of our cultural differences. This can only be achieved in a networked environment with the help of technology and other deliberate efforts like government policies which would help people link up in order to share knowledge and experiences thereby tackling problems that bedevil man in the 21st Century like disease, hunger and food insecurity. These are the same simple steps that would see us achieve the millennium development goals that we all strive for before the 2015 deadline.

Building Linkages between the Markets and Smallholder farmers with ICT .

Photo Courtesy of Picasa.

A lot of the debate on the future of agriculture has been focusing mainly on large scale farmers since their production both at the global and domestic markets is considered sustainable, profitable and of course huge. Very little research has been conducted on the potential of the smallholder farmers at their detriment although i'd dare say that the future of food security in many parts of the world, more so the developing world, lies in harnessing the untapped potential of smallholder farming. With the looming dangers of climate change and global warming which would immensely affect food production levels as a result of the expected erratic weather patterns and the prolonged droughts, an increasing number of people are going to be food insecure in the coming years. The situation is made even worse looking at the recent statistics of global population growth which has hit the seventh billion mark and which therefore means that there'll be more mouths to feed in the coming years yet the amount of food produced globally doesn't tally with this increase. This reality therefore calls for a paradigm shift and a change of focus and tact, from focusing just on the revenue base coming from the large scale agriculture, to building a solid foundation that would cushion many people from hunger.


On the technology front, much of the innovation has been on green technology and ways of enhancing and developing drought resistant gene varieties while building their resilience to pests and diseases. These developments although commendable, are mostly targeted at large scale farmers who have the capital to afford this technologies. The genetically modified organisms popularly known as the GMOs, have received varying reactions in different spheres with some terming them as poisons because of the nature of their production which involves gene manipulation whereas other people think they represent the future of food production that will bolster global food security.
Many smallholder farmers have traditionally been producing their output for domestic and subsistence usage owing to a combination of factors like lack of modern technology, the unsustainable small parcels of land and lack of information on sound agricultural practices to mention but a few. The traditional culture of many African societies hasn't helped the situation either. The subdivision of land into very unsustainable small parcels which get even smaller in each successive generation as the original land is inherited and sub-divided amongst the growing number of family members, means that the portion of the land which was originally set aside for food production will probably give way to other competitive land usage like a  house or something else. The net effect therefore is that the former food secure and independent people are now dependent and food insecure.


During my previous work in consultancies, i have seen quite a number of organizations like the FAO gaining much interest in smallholder production. Unlike their large scale counterparts who probably have complicated management structures and a longer hierarchical order with a stringent budget thus slowing down the decision making process as far as adapting innovation is concerned,  smallholder farmers can benefit immensely from a myriad of technological innovations because of their simple nature and structure. 
The increasing growth in the ICT sector including the growing influence of the social media, presents huge opportunities in  areas of research, branding, market expansion through marketing and advertisement. Google for instance, has developed a simple tool that would enable SMEs put their products and services out there for access by the wider market with very simple steps to follow when populating their websites. The initiative dubbed "Putting Businesses Online", enables entrepreneurs to leverage on the power of a simple website to advertise their products and services in order to reach out to a wider market. This will cut down operational costs like advertisement which normally discourage many budding entrepreneurs from establishing their businesses. For a smallholder farmer dealing with perishable products like milk and vegetable, the prospects are greater from the exposure one would get through free advertisements. This could provide them with a ready market which will ensure a steady flow of the goods while cutting down losses associated with such goods.


Developing a platform like a website specifically for smallholder farmers with portals containing materials touching on various topics like farm management, crop varieties, treatment of pests and diseases, value addition etc would open up a new channel of communication and knowledge exchange that will go a long way in boosting that sector. A mobile phone, being the most accessible communication gadget, can transform the life of a smallholder farmer. People can trade and bid on whatever item on sale while all the benefits go straight to the farmer without involving the middlemen.
The same platform would  also act as a forum where farmers ask different questions about the best farming methods or seed varieties and people with the necessary knowledge or expertise  would act as resource persons thereby creating a lasting network for knowledge and information exchange. With a simple platform like a blog, a facebook page or even a twitter account, they can set up forums where one asks questions and receive answers from a wide variety of audiences with experience on that particular subject. Much of these is basically going to be spearheaded by the youth; one because they represent the future in terms of its opportunities or lack of it. The other reason is because, most software and technology developers are young people and as such, they are able to communicate in their "tech lingua franca" effectively in an attempt to provide solutions to the problems affecting the society. The youth are also the majority occupants of these small parcels of land which makes them the right candidates and implementers of this initiative that aims at turning the fortunes of smallholder farmers from mere subsistence to small-scale commercial farmers thus improving their living standards. This also has the power to build their resilience towards the impacts of climate change whose negative impacts is expected to hit the smallholder farmers the hardest.

The Road to Durban: Climate Change and Adaptation

Map courtesy of Google Earth 2011.

As delegates gather in the sea side city of Durban, South Africa, am pretty sure what's going on in the minds of many is how to enhance the post-Kyoto Protocol agreement while drawing lessons from the past mistakes. A lot is riding on this and am also sure the agenda must be packed up, but this notwithstanding, all and sundry have to boldly and openly examine the achievements and gains or lack of it, that have been made so far since the Kyoto protocol came into force back in 2005.
Many countries especially in the west, are yet to meet their set out targets pertaining to carbon reduction emissions  as agreed . Other countries like China which never ratified the protocol in the first place and thus were not obliged to reduce their emissions, ought to be encouraged to join other nations in good faith in order to save our planet from the looming catastrophic effects of climate change and global warming. China itself being one of the largest polluters, certainly has to commit to some degree to cut down its carbon emissions in the post-Kyoto treaty through massive investments in green technology and other efficient and clean energy sources. The Kyoto protocol had also established market based mechanism through which countries could adopt in meeting meeting their targets  i.e. the emissions trading, joint implementation and the clean development mechanism.
The existing members who have been party to the Kyoto protocol, need to step up their efforts and campaign even after the expiration of the protocol period come 2012.
Emerging economic giants like Brazil and India, need to be encouraged to focus their energy and development efforts along the green path by putting more resources in areas like wind and solar energy which have been found to be effective sources of energy to power industrialization.
The developing countries are also required to chip in as well in this initiative. Much of the negative impacts of climate change through studies and research have clearly shown that these countries stand to suffer a great deal from the negative impacts of climate change through prolonged droughts, floods- which are currently being experienced in various parts of many countries, and disease incidents to mention but a few.
The role of indigenous communities in the post-Kyoto protocol also needs to be enhanced to ensure that there is a win-win situation even as conservationists continue to invest their resources and energy in rallying people behind the banner of climate change and global warming. Their roles, responsibilities and benefits ought to be clearly defined and given priority in the discussions to avert a scenario where government apply an iron rule while implementing noble projects like the REDD+ initiative. This is especially so considering that most of them are still domiciled in the remotest areas in the country side; their economy and traditions in general, hinges on the provisions of nature which makes them quite vulnerable on the impacts of climate change and global warmoing. In the same breadth, more research still needs to be conducted on adaptation and resilience especially among the most vulnerable groups in the community. Governments need to be encouraged to include and factor in issues relating to the vulnerable groups in their annual budgets  and development plans in order to cushion such groups at least in the short run. An the global scale, delegates need to discuss the possibility of setting up a global fund solely aimed at equipping these groups with the necessary wherewithal and technology that'll boost their chances of survival and adaptation.
The role of gender and the youth hasn't really received much attention in the climate debate. Gender here refers mainly to the role of women in combating climate change. Women represent a unique constituency as far as adaptation and resilience is concerned mostly in traditional economies where the role of every individual is still uniquely defined. Women are the ones mostly left home to cater for the homesteads in traditional communities which makes them the best targets in efforts geared towards conservation. Unlike their male counterparts who are mostly mobile, moving from city to city in search of employment and a living, women are static and therefore the right people to receive empowerment and training in adaptation. They also suffer the most since very few if any in many traditional societies, have access to land rights and entitlements which would bolster their investment in green technologies.
The youth are also equally important. These are the same folks who are expected to take over the leadership mantle and and provide solutions to the present and the future generation and as such they need thorough preparation and training in conservation and climate science. These are the same people who are informed in modern technology and science that would probably define and shape the future of adaptation in the face of climate change. The existing groups and voices within the climate debate-which have hitherto been low, need a jolt in order to bring their issues, roles and responsibility strongly to the fore in the post-Kyoto agreement. An all inclusive framework therefore ought to be developed that would set out measurable goals with a credible followup mechanism both at country level and also within the overall UNFCCC.

Indigenous knowledge and Climate change

The issue of climate change has in the recent days gained a lot of public attention and generated an interesting debate among top scholars, governments, researchers and environmenlists alike. Much of the debate has revolved around the issue of adaptability and resilience in the face of climate change and its impacts especially among the countries predicted to be worst hit by climate change. This has seen the emergence of different arguments coming from both the proponents for and against climate change, with others questioning whether its real or just a propaganda gimmicks by the 'green' campaigners with the objective of 'forcing' and influencing behavioral change through the installation of fear and in the process subterfuge people. Those are the politics of climate change, but when all is said and done, governments and the proponents for or  against the subject of climate change, ought to ask themselves indeed very serious and deep questions concerning our current state of affairs as far as the climate is concerned. A cursory look at the statistics from climate scientists, its obvious that the status quo has been shaken. The business as usual approach is no longer an attractive option going by the evidence of the changing climatic patterns. There are arguments from different scientists that, while areas mainly in Africa are likely to suffer in terms of prolonged droughts and flooding incidences, areas in Europe are expected to record a favorable weather patterns that would be considered a positive thing or a gain.  On the flip side, sea levels are expected to rise by 18 and 59 centimeters by the end of the century in many parts of the world. Floods and prolonged droughts are a reality in many parts of Africa today with many farmers recording zero harvests or a delay in the onset of the rainfall sessions; lack of fresh drinking water and the spread of diseases like malaria are just but a few of the changes brought about by climate change.
A lot of these can be blamed largely on anthropogenic factors driven by man's ways of living. Many countries in their attempt to create jobs and boost their revenue base through exports in this hard economic times, have continued to emit a lot of greenhouse gases in to the atmosphere. The increase of the global population hasn't helped the situation either by exerting tremendous preassure on the finite resources like energy, water etc; Extravagant and less green lifestyles in the modern world has meant that many families are owning several vehicles, which translates to more gas consumption and therefore pollution in to the atmosphere.
Several solutions have been mooted in an attempt to nip this global warming trend in the bud. The Kyoto protocol as a case in point-an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change(UNFCCC)- sets binding targets for 37 industrialized countries and the European community for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. As much as this is a loadable effort, the less developed and developing countries of the world, which are also making efforts to catch up with their European and western counterparts in industrialization and information technology, cannot be said to be that green. Emerging economic powerhouses as they are called, consisting of countries like India, Brazil and even South Africa are all in the race to joining the club of the big boys, so to speak, by marching their per capita incomes building state-of-the-art infrastructures.
Other efforts like the clean development mechanism(CDM) have been put in place to stimulate sustainable development and emission reductions. The mechanism allows emission-reduction projects in developing countries to earn certified reduction credits. (source: UNFCC)
Much of the aforementioned efforts are mainly scientific and technical in nature. Other less technical, yet effective approaches are yet to be explored fully.Most African countries and in deed others as well like Brazil and Australia and many others, have minority indigenous groups domiciled mainly in forested areas. Most of their lifestyles-largely traditional- could be considered arguably 100% green. Their livelihood completely hinges on the provisions of nature for their daily survival.

A traditional beehive made from a dead log.

The forests are considered rich with different natural resources like herbs, traditional vegetables, honey(both ground and surface honey), water etc which form a crucial resource base for these communities.
Since the forests are their livelihoods, they tend to live a very disciplined lifestyle, where the use of resources is guided by certain principles. In one indigenous community in Kenya called the Ogiek(Mau Forest) and the Yiaaku(Mukogodo Forest), i got to learn quite a lot about their lifestyle during my research. They both have a system of governance-both social and in terms of resource utilization- that contributes to natural resources management. In both communities-who are more or less like relatives- trees and all the resources in it, play a crucial role in their day-to-day life. For instance, its prohibited to cut down a live tree among the Ogieks, for either making a bee hive or for firewood. Tradition dictates that only dead trees be used for such. Traditional herbs can only be harvested by a specialist, mostly considered to be the community doctor. Trees played a key role in their life such that it was believed that in the event that one cuts down a tree, they would invite curses not just for themselves only but also the generations to come. This therefore meant that people exercised utmost discipline in resource utilization. Trees also acted as shelters i.e as a house and also provided camouflage and a hiding place and a safe refuge when enemies attack and also during the rainy seasons.
Such a strict  traditional governance system therefore ensured that much of the remnants of truly indigenous trees in Kenya were protected  and this can be spotted in areas still occupied by the indigenous communities. Of late however, the situation is gradually changing partly as a result of politics that has seen the large-scale eviction of the indigenous communities from their ancestral lands in the name of creating conservation areas and also resettlement programs in an aim to rehabilitate the degraded lands. Instead, what has happened is that another door of corruption has been opened, where timber merchants obtain dubious licences for harvesting indigenous trees-mainly hardwood-considered to be of high quality. Huge blocks of forested areas covered by indigenous trees-which really take many years to mature-and also form catchment areas for many rivers and streams supplying water to urban centers around and far away have been cleared.
Efforts to replace the indigenous trees with exotic trees hasn't born much fruit since most of these exotics are not well adaptable to the surrounding environment. Further, the fact that many of them mature faster, means that we are trapped on a zero sum game with no significant increase in the forest cover. These trees are toxic in nature, restricting undergrowth which means they are not good for rehabilitating an ecosystem which hosts a variety of flora and fauna that  are interdependent.

One of the rivers emanating from 

Cherangany Hills-a key catchment area

for many rivers in the Rift Valley, Kenya.

The government through international agencies like the World Bank, is slowly beginning to appreciate the role traditional ecological knowledge from the indigenous people can play in restoring the former glory of the hitherto destroyed forests. Quite a number of projects like the Natural Resource Management(NRM) by the World Bank through the Kenya Forest Service-a government arm in charge of managing all forests in Kenya- have been initiated and are required to incorporate indigenous people with ideas as key stakholders. This has led to the emergence of a partnership between the government and the people towards the protection of the forests considered by climate scientists as carbon sinks capable of storing carbon for many years thus ridding the ozone of harmful GHC gases. This therefore means that the indigenous communities will be allowed to access the forest to extract essential resources for their livelihood like honey, herbal plants, vegetables and dry firewood among many others, while at the same time helping the government in rehabilitating and managing the forests by planting more indigenous trees; Equally important. they'll be key participants on issues of policing efforts to guard against illegal logging and extraction of forest products. The other areas of corporation is in the implementation of the REDD+(plus)(Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) mechanism by the UN. This is aimed at creating a financial value for the carbon stored in the forests, as an incentive for developing countries to adopt green strategies by investing in low-carbon development paths for sustainable development. This is where the role of conservation and sustainable management of forests comes in. Its envisaged that the financial flow for greenhouse gas emission reduction from REDD+ could reach up to 30billion US dollars a year, which forms a good revenue base that could be used to boost pro-poor development initiatives.In order to achieve these set goals, the UN has recognized the role of the indigenous groups and has set up mechanisms that will ensure that their rights are secured in the REDD+ implantation as key stakeholders. In fact, World Bank has incorporated in its terms of reference concerning projects under their funding with indigenous communities, a clause on FPIC(Free Prior and Informed Consultation) which basically means that, before any project under its funding is implemented, the people in that area-who are key stakeholders- ought to be consulted in advance and supplied with full information concerning the pros and cons of the project.
Indigenous communities and indigenous knowledge has therefore come to play a very central role in the efforts to reduce the impacts of climate change and global warming. To this far, challenges still abound both from internal and external sources with the former mainly emanating from the government while the latter is mainly due to a change in lifestyle and modernization among people, which means that people have been forced to adopt modern lifestyles  hence abandoning their traditional social and economic systems of living for modern and "fancy" ones which are capitalistic in nature. This has therefore broken that critical societal fabric guided by customs and traditions governance system, meaning that people begin to live individual lives and start demanding modern sources of energy and foodstuffs etc which require money to sustain them. This has forced many to turn to forest and its products for sustenance. The result has been and sadly so that, people who ought to protect these forests, have turned in to loggers themselves all in an attempt to eke out a living.

Agrotourism: The untapped Opportunity

A traditional store used for preserving food.

Agrotourism by definition is a form of tourism which capitalizes on the richness of the rural culture as a tourist attraction. The concept is quite new and as such, it has been absorbed or lumped up together with eco-tourism which mainly focuses on the natural biodiversity consisting of flora and fauna.
Most traditional communities the world over are rich in customs and norms that defined their way of living, defining individual roles, not just within the family but also in the wider community across all gender, age and status.
Culturally, agrotourism has remained an untapped potential in many societies mainly in Africa, which are rich in culture and traditional practices. This traditions have been adopted in part or in toto in our modern lifestyles, with slight modifications here and there. Some of them (traditions) are still strictly adhered to especially in areas and societies that are still closed up as far as information penetration is concerned. Others, according to UNESCO reports, are facing the threat of extinction mainly as a result of modernization as people get exposed to modern cultures and lifestyle especially in urban areas and forget their own cultures.
I've been lucky enough to work closely with an organization dealing with indigenous communities, both in Kenya and outside. From my small research work, i came to learn that these communities were completely organised despite the fact that their traditional structures and way of life were considered archaic- at least by today's standards. This was evident through traditional systems that governed different aspects of their lives like, marriage, divorce, death, circumcision, leadership etc. While some like female genital mutilation(FGM) and early marriages, could be considered repugnant, there's a lot of richness and diversity within traditional cultures. For instance, to attain food security, there were procedures and methodologies used, not just during hunting period but equally important, areas for hunting were clearly designated while in others, one had no permission to cross over someone else's territory without permission as this could invite not just conflicts but curses as well. There were also skills how the hunted animal would be preserved. This in a way ensured that there was food in the family during the rainy season, but also there was sustainability in the hunting i.e. people only hunted when there was need to. Economically, there were structures which governed the interactions between different communities in terms of trade and commerce thus ensuring that community members accessed goods and services they did not produce.
The field of medicine also has a long history. Traditionally, each community had a medical doctor or medicine-man/woman, who catered for all the patients both within and outside a given community. This was mainly done using traditional herbs-which still have relevance and wider application in modern medicine in treating diseases like epilepsy while others still are raw materials for some of the major pharmaceuticals and drug manufacturing companies. These rare skills were considered God-given and only possessed by certain families or a few talented people in the society and who were accorded esteemed for that. To date, some people still rely heavily on this traditional medical practices for treating chronic diseases like diabetes and many others. Its the same knowledge that a traditional-cum-modern medical doctor in a remote village in Tanzania, got a lot of publicity for his ability to cure all the diseases that afflict people. People streamed in their thousands via various means including helicopters to the hilly village in order to get a taste of the magical concoction. As much as these people were sick and needed help, to the Tanzanian government, they represented a good portion of medical tourists thereby earning the country the much needed revenue.
In Kenya, the Luhya community from western province, is famous for different cultural traditions. One is the bull fighting which attracts quite a sizable number of tourists, both local and international, who travel for miles to come over there and experience the drama, as bulls trained for fighting engage in a duel. In addition, there's also the annual circumcision ceremonies done during the Christmas holidays, where many boys move around the streets in the town and villages, singing songs and dancing as they undergo the passage of right from childhood to adulthood. The Maasai community- also in Kenya, is famous for this kind of tradition as well. The morans are famous for painting their head with red orchre soil, and it is said that in the past, for one to be considered a real man as a right of passage, they had to kill a lion. This tradition has so far been overtaken by time with the introduction of the modern governance system which emphasizes on conservation and the protection of flora and fauna.

A traditional hut(Manyatta)
 used to house a  family.

Other traditional cultural behaviors that could attract tourists include the traditional songs and dances, folklore and story telling. Traditional songs and dances is another selling point for agrotourism. Pretty much every traditional community around the world, had different songs which were sang in different occasions. For instance, there were songs sang during the circumcision ceremonies, praising the initiates for their promotion to a new status and for displaying bravado during the whole process of initiation which was considered excruciating since crude methods were used during the circumcision. Others were war songs  sang during battles; There were songs sang during harvest times.Others still, were sang during sad times like the loss of a community member or to sooth a crying baby. Some community members especially in areas toured by foreigners for scenery, community members in the vicinity have organised themselves in groups that entertain their guests. Others have taken it as a full time job and have been contracted by big companies running tourist resorts to offer entertainment. They are also invited by other bodies like the government during special functions
Artistry and creative art work is also another area that could benefit local communities if well managed. Different cummunities were traditionally known to posses different artistry and craft work which were not only used to ease their work on a day to day basis, but also traditionally used as a currency for barter trade. With such a rich traditional knowledge, women were mostly talented(and still  are) in weaving and basketry work while their male counterparts were known for carvings and metal work. Such beautiful artifacts are a common place in many tourists hotels and resorts although if the same tourists were to visit places where these items are made i.e. villages, they'd probably get value for their money because they'll get to learn so much about the product they've purchased, including the motivation and inspiration behind such beautiful art work since many artists normally have stories attached to their work.
As much as this opens up so many opportunities for the traditional artist, a few challenges still exist. One obvious one is the level of education or exposure to information especially the ICT among the rural folks. A good number of them sell their art work to middlemen who in most cases pay them peanuts while they themselves fetch a lot of money from the sell of the same product(s) to tourists and other interested buyers. The fact that people sell their wares as individuals, puts them at a disadvantage and denies them the benefit of collective bargaining. This has therefore seen lots of them being exploited considering the fact that a great deal of them can hardly afford a square meal a day therefore any offer made would suffice as long as they are able to survive with it. The other issue touches on intellectual property rights. The fact that most of them have basic education or none at all, means that they understand very little about ownership of ones creativity and innovation. As observed by UNESCO "...low level of enforcement of copyright laws destroy the incentives for the creation and distribution of local cultural products in all the countries of the world and reveal the need for concerted efforts to encourage creativity and to foster sustainable development."(Source: http://www.unesco.org). Without the establishment of an oversight body that would ensure that all products are copyrighted before they are offered out for sale, the innocent artist deep in the village could face legal actions from other parties or companies claiming legal ownership and copyright of the products. Community members also ought to be trained on entrepreneurship in order to maximize on their culture and be able to package it in order to derive maximum benefits. The use of ICT and the social media presents powerful tools that could offer wider exposure of a community's culture to the wider world at no cost. Governments also have a responsibility to protect such rich cultures through legislation and education initiatives on the value of traditional culture in the tourism sector. This will ensure that their interests are not only protected, but most vitally is that, they will be taken as key stakeholders in the development agenda. This initiative would gain credence especially considering that traditionally sources of revenue for most governments i.e the export of agricultural products, has largely been hit by both the climate change phenomena and the recent underperformance of the global economy which in turn has tremendously affected the purchasing power of most citizens.

My journey to Kibera slum: Hopes and Fears in the Face of Climate Change; The urban perspective

One of the many pathways in Kibera
with houses & shops on either side.

I took a casual stroll in one Sunday afternoon to arguably one of the largest slums in Africa; In actual fact, according to UN-HABITAT reports, its the second largest informal settlement in Africa. My visit there lasted for slightly over one hour, give or take, yet what i saw was overwhelming. Typical of any informal settlement, with a cursory look, i was welcomed with a strong stench from the many trenches with stagnant sewer waters, the human paths were narrow and crowded, the shacks were congested with poor sanitation, yet amidst all these gloom and doom, i was particularly impressed by the people's resilience to keep on keeping on by facing each day boldly. However, i was left wondering how long they can sustain this facade in the face of many challenges threatening their livelihood. I couldn't help eavesdropping at a conversation some women were having at a local market selling second hand clothes popularly known as mitumba. The discussion which bordered on survival especially in the face of the poor performance of the Kenyan shilling against the international currencies like the sterling pound and the greenback, and which therefore has had a knock-on effect on all basic commodities. One of them was wondering how she'll manage to pay rent and still buy water from the local vendors with the little she makes from selling clothes.
This got me thinking how such people not just in Kibera slum but other  informal slums are prepared for the impacts of climate change and whether their resilience can withstand the test of time. Most families there hinge on small businesses for their upkeep with the meager profits they make, if any, going to purchasing a few household items here and there. Its not strange to find a house doubling up as a food cafe during the day all in an effort to survive. Some are engaged in charcoal business oblivious of the damage the tree that were used in the charcoal making caused to the environment and subsequently to their well-being. Those who can't open up kiosks end up working as house-helps for the middle-class citizens or toil from one construction site to another looking for at least a chance to make that extra shilling. Some girls are also forced to engage in premature sex while others still venture in to prostitution in order to eke out a living and survive another day in this hard economic times.
Much debate on climate change and the capacity for resilience has been focused on rural folks and how well prepared they are as far as adapting to climate change is concerned. While this could be justified, bearing in mind that a lot of the food stuffs consumed in urban centers come from such areas plus their lack of access to information and technology makes them more vulnerable, the people living in the cities face some of the greatest and unique challenges as well. Unlike people in the rural areas who could possibly have a farm or land to fall back on and which cold help them secure some sort of food security and access to water, the slum dwellers are in a much trickier position owing to the fact that they are 'foreigners' in the lands they occupy and live a hand-to-mouth lifestyle that involves purchasing everything from food, water, plus strange enough, toilet and bathroom use. This therefore places a great strain on their ability to survive by narrowing down their alternatives.

Charcoal sold in Kibera in small tins 

of Ksh.10

Their economic system being in an urban set-up, is that of a net consumer with very little production happening, if any. The urban farming initiative, while it has a tremendous chance and prospect of cushioning these people at least in the short term from the vagaries of climate change, has very little application in an area where virtually every space on the land is covered by a house, occupiers lack security in terms of tittle deeds among many challenges. There are also other challenges like where to get the water for irrigating vegetables planted in a gurney bag for instance plus issues to do with resources for achieving that.
In light of these challenges, a sustainable mechanism therefore ought to be drawn, bringing together different stakeholders both in the private sector, the public represented by the government and the international community through various agents like the World bank, IMF and UN. Their efforts ought to focus on research focusing specifically on urban environments and their coping mechanisms and adaptation to climate change. The findings would inform policy formulation and decision making regarding the response and resource distribution by the government. The vulnerabilities in urban and specifically rural areas could be treated as a special case and effective steps taken regarding that. This could involve encouraging people to use alternative and efficient green energy sources like bio-gas and solar energy. In India for instance, UNEP's Indian Solar Loan Programme, saw over 20,000 solar homes systems financed in a major partnership with the local banks. This ensured that the poor who were both in urban and rural areas and who couldn't afford electricity and cheap clean energy, were supplied with clean reliable energy from solar. This idea could be replicated elsewhere and still achieve excellent results. Some could also involve supplying the slum dwellers with water tanks and also educating them on natural water treatment techniques like the use of ultra violet light to kill bacteria present in the water like has happened in a few slums in Kenya.
The people also ought to be empowered with the necessary information that would perhaps foster behavior change towards adaptation to climate change. This is where the use of ICT comes in strongly through its various mediums like local radio stations, mobile phone sms, tv and the internet through blogs like this one and social networks sites like Twitter and Facebook. These cold be complemented with music concerts, posters, caravans etc all in a concerted effort aimed at driving the message of climate change home and in the process enable them form a strong community network which could help them in adapting to and also expel myths hitherto associated with climatic changes.

ICT and youth opportunities in rural areas.

Information communication technology popularly referred to as ICT, is a phrase that has gained popularity in the recent years the world over. Prior to the “Google”and “Ipad” generation, very little about ICT was known especially in less developed world, with the majority of us looking at it as a foreign concept especially in the African context. Much of the government businesses were conducted manually with papers flying all over from office to office as memos. The private sector was also not left out in what I may call the “paper era”, which meant for instance that bank transactions had to be done on paper including deposits and withdrawal of funds. But then came slowly the emergence of computers and the internet, which redefined how people communicated.  People no longer had to own a personal box at the local post office where mails were dropped in; one only needed an email account opened at no cost with internet access as the only requirement which was widely available in local cyber cafes albeit at a cost.

This sudden adoption and tech-craze that swept across the world, was largely pushed forward by the young people-mostly in urban areas and it came to symbolize a paradigm shift in the way we conduct our businesses. This has continued to grow in leaps and bounds with new tools coming up almost every day. People are able to share videos,documents, music, and socialize on the internet using tools like Facebook, Skype, Myspace, Twitter e.t.c .

Earlier on, people could only access these amazing services on their desktops, but the developments in the mobile industry has continued pushing the capabilities of the small handsets, from its traditional function of just voice and text messaging to a more complex complete package of both radio, camera and video, GPS etc.

Sadly though, all these amazing technological innovations are only limited to or enjoyed by folks in urban areas especially in developing countries. The penetration rate of these technologies hasn’t been that impressive. That could be attributed to factors like poor or a complete lack of infrastructure that can support them. The internet for instance was and still is- unfortunately, only limited to certain towns with electricity supply that would power the cybercafés. There’s also the issue of low bandwidth which makes internet charges quite high for peasants since they are bailed on per minute basis. The standards of living among the rural folk are also an impediment since the per capita income can’t spare cash for luxury which is what internet access was perceived.

The development of cheaper mobile phones, coupled with the review of communication charges by mobile operators to include tariffs for people on the lower cadre of the economy has greatly enhanced mobile penetration to areas that were hitherto enclosed with the only source of information –if any, being the radio. This has opened up the areas in terms of business and information flow. Young people are able to send and receive money easily without stepping into a bank. This means one can obtain a small capital wired/sent to them to start a small business via a mobile phone like its popular in Kenya.

The governments have also taken up the initiative and challenge positively to open up these areas through various programs. The Kenyan government for instance has an ICT policy in place to oversee the distribution of technology to the rural areas. This has been achieved in collaboration with other players and stakeholders in the ICT sector like the computer for schools program that has seen the distribution of computers to remote schools and community centers. There are also ICT hubs set up in villages, equipped with solar panels and modems for internet accessibility. In Rwanda, the one laptop per child (OLPC) program was rolled out in schools to transition the country from the “blackboard and chalk” education to a digital one. With such efforts, areas that were enclosed would certainly be opened up since information would easily flow in there. This means that students in rural areas for instance would be able to access recent learning materials on the internet thus be in a position to compete with their urban counter parts. This connection also means that students unable to afford the education offered in urban centers will enroll for distance classes thus obtaining a certificate at a fairly low cost.

Economic benefits are also likely to be accrued by the presence of ICT infrastructure in rural areas. The young folks would be able to benefit from the business process outsourcing (BPO) by taking online jobs for clients located thousands of miles across the world. The internet would also enable them advertise their business and projects thus exposing their SMEs, service and products to a wider market.  Youths from areas rich with scenic beauty could use cheap video cameras to capture the beautiful landmarks in their areas like water falls, games etc and share them with the outside world via channels like Youtube, flicker etc thus attracting tourists which would bring them revenue from the visitors.

There are also other benefits like internet publishing and opportunities offered by companies like Google i.e. Adwords and Adsense where people can generate revenue through the number of clicks generated by their adverts.

The benefits of ICT in rural areas among the youth are therefore immense. Their full potential are yet to be fully exploited, but the good news is that, so much is happening both in terms of ICT policy, institutional capacity building and the enhancement and harmonization of the legal framework governing the whole ICT sector to deal with issues on copyrights and intellectual property right, right to information access vis a vis government regulations. The institutionalization of ICT among the governments has seen many programs and services rolled out using ICT which makes it harder for the rural folk to ignore it as a luxury.

Youth and Agriculture: Challenges and Opportunities.

Back in the days when i was still a young man, i remember my mum made sure we know where the food that we found on the table came from; so she'd organize every weekend for us to go to the farm and help in either weeding  or planting the seeds. For me this wasn't exactly comfortable for a number of reasons; One, it clearly affected my program (yes kids also have them!) to go play soccer which i was particularly fond of, together with my pals. The issue i had is that, since we were living in a pretty much urban area, i kinda felt uncomfortable carrying the jembe(hoe) around because i didn't know what my friends or worse still, the girls would think of me. But that didn't worry my mum because somebody had to work on the farm and that person had to be me and my siblings.
As i write this article, i reminisce on my past and i have no regrets whatsoever simply because, despite the fact that i was raised in an urban environment, i was in a good position to march up or at least give my counterparts raised in reserve or farmlands, a run for their money as far as farm work is concerned. So much has changed since my old days. I remember in primary school we had a subject called agriculture which was intentionally taught in the carriculum by the government through the Ministry of Education in order to equip everyone with that critical knowledge in agricultural practice because it was believed at the time that every one ought to have at the minimum, some knowledge on farming. This trend gained its momentum in my country Kenya in the period just after independence where the president at the time rallied all and sundry with the famous call of "turudi mashambani" - a swahili phrase for lets get back to the farms. This was our small Agrarian Revolution of sorts. The idea was for people to gain independence not just from the political standpoint but also on matters of economy and food security. People therefore  learnt about different farming practices in schools, plant and animal diseases, crop varieties, soil management e.t.c. and which were examined at the end of the term.  A great deal of the existing successful farmers we have today, owe their success or at least some of it to the kind of training they received back in the days which formed their foundation in agriculture. Today as i write this, so much has changed. Agriculture was merged with science in the curriculum review by the ministry which therefore watered down its value and the depth of its content.
This has therefore meant that we as a country lack the suckers as it were that'd replace the bananas once they are gone.
Most young people shun careers in agriculture and natural sciences in general and instead prefer pursuing careers in other areas like law, medicine and IT which are considered lucrative in the modern world. This has therefore led to the mushrooming of learning institutions aimed at meeting this ever expanding desire and hunger for success. The government has also pumped in huge sums of money coupled with a raft of legislation aimed at boosting and attracting private investors in the education sector. The  result of these initiative has been that the so called lucrative sectors like IT and law, have been over flooded by the many candidates who are continually being churned out every other year by these colleges. Many young people who had hopes of a better future in these fields have ended up being a disappointed lot in search of an ever elusive employment opportunity.
The government also is facing a huge challenge in the sense that, a lot of these young people are well educated yet there isn't any meaningful work to engage them since the market can only absorb too many of them. The health of the global economy hasn't help much either with the recent poor performing of the local currency against the world major currencies like the dollar and the sterling pound, coupled with the global economic crunch that hit the US and Europe in the recent days. The situation in Europe has seen countries declaring bankruptcy like Greece and Portugal due to huge debts; This therefore means that people should expect huge job cuts as companies prepare themselves for the looming disaster.
Agriculture has remained as the only hope for many people especially the youth. The Kenyan government for instance has only discovered this and in response it has initiated quite a number of community projects aimed at empowering people hence boosting their livelihood. Young people have been encouraged to form groups through which the government would channel funds to viable projects. This has seen a great deal of them building fish ponds for aquaculture, beekeeping, small scale dairy farming and rabbit keeping among many others whose products are sold both locally and abroad. So many young people have testified of the changes this projects have had on their lives in terms of improving their living standards and thus keeping them away from drugs and crime. Others with IT skills have also developed mobile and desktop applications that help farmers interact and share ideas on good farming methods, challenges and opportunities.
This achievements are laudable but there still remains opportunities which that remain untapped.
The governments ought to fast track the development and adoption of a youth policy and a framework on agriculture in order to cement the achievements made so far. This will boost the confidence of many young and upcoming small scale farmers who hitherto had shunned agriculture. The policy should address issues on land accessibility, subsidies and market for their products. The youth also ought to change their attitude as far as agriculture is concerned by embracing and appreciating the reality that agriculture could be the next biggest employer in the ever uncertain and shrinking environment of white collar jobs.
A mentor ship and exchange programs for the youth spearheaded by the veteran farmers should be encouraged, aimed at equipping them with the necessary skills on agriculture and entrepreneurship. These efforts and many others not mentioned here will go a long way in bringing that paradigm shift in our thinking and spell out the mysteries and attitude developed over many years.

ICT and Agriculture

Since the advent of the world wide web(www) way back in the late 1980s, the world was pretty much like an enclosed box with very minimal meaningful interactions taking place between people in the same villages let alone in a global context. Farmers in places like Africa basically engaged in the traditional barter trade system which involved at times travelling over long distances in search of a commodity that one was interested in in order to exchange for it and even that, they had to find someone who was also looking for the same commodity being sold or exchanged.
The other unique thing about Africa in the agricultural sector, is that, much of what is cultivated by many farmers like corn, potatoes and other serials, were actually introduced by early missionaries and erstwhile colonial governments and since then, very little in the form of diversification of the crops has actually happened. This has left the farmers with very little choices considering the fact that these same foods are actually staple in these areas and as such the people would be reluctant to try something different that could probably maximize on the available resources and boost their food security and nutrition.
This enclosed system also meant that during a  bumper harvest season, the farmer could only preserve so much in their stores while the remaining harvest going to waste due to such factors as pests and diseases or simply rotting.
These are some of the challenges that a traditional farmer went through and are still experienced by some who are still locked up as it were in different parts of the world where there's very minimal information flow or government intervention for that matter.
The Information and communication technology pretty much gained momentum in the early 2000s especially with the inventions that came up from various ICT players like Google with their search engine, Microsoft and ipad ans iphones that revolutionized the way information is transmitted. Later on, other developments picked up like the web2 and now web4 where people are no longer just the traditional consumers of information, but with the Wikipedia, blogs, social media and the like gaining momentum, everyone with any information to share has tools to publish and thus becoming both the consumer and publisher.
As part of this technological growth and innovation, agriculture has seen tremendous benefits and still continuous to develop and evolve owing to the drive by engineers and ICT technologies to come up with various tools, applications and products on agriculture which some are free for download, while others are obtained at a small fee.
Farmers groups in remote places in Africa and the developing world, have been able to develop websites where they showcase their products to a wider market beyond their traditional country or village boundaries thus boosting their profits and improving their livelihoods. Other organizations like FAO and the World bank have set up websites with lots and lots of information from case-studies conducted in different parts of the world concerning the trends in agriculture and issues  concerning natural resource management and climate change.
These resources have equipped the farmers with the necessary information especially concerning the effects of global warming thus cushioning them from the negatives impacts of such an occurrence like erratic weather patterns and drought. This has helped in avoiding wastage from crop destruction while at the same time, helping farmers embrace new technologies in the form of drought resistant crop varieties and modern farm management practices.
Technologies like global positioning system(GPS) and geographical information system(GIS), have helped especially large scale farmers engage in what is known as 'smart agriculture' where decisions are based on the locations of issues like the distribution of parasites and diseases thus avoiding random application of farm inputs that not only leads to wastage but also pollution.
Young people have also taken the challenge to innovate agriculture by designing mobile applications running on Android, Symbian and other mobile devices that help farmers interact effectively. The mobile money transfer in Kenya has also gained global plaudits and recognition for revolutionizing the way people do business. A farmer can now purchase fertilizer or receive payments from their produces using the popular Mpesa money transfer technology.
The list of the ICT impacts on agriculture are immense and if the current trend in technological development is anything to go by, we are yet to see amazing innovations that are mind boggling.
In conclusion, the developments in the ICT sector as far as agriculture is concerned would also require a comprehensive policy framework that will guide these developments by setting up standards and procedures that will harmonies all the other sectors including land tenure systems that directly affects agriculture. All the stakeholders in the agricultural sector especially the farmers also ought to be involved if possible at every step of the design and the innovation in order to boost their relevance and also focus on existing problems that affect the sector or individual unique scenarios. This will ensure that the end products are customised based on the needs and demand.

Leadership

It has been more than three decades, but those bullet holes in the ceiling, this broken altar still stand as vivid reminders of the history that unfolded here at Regina Mundi Church in Soweto, South Africa.

You all know the story – how 35 years ago this month, a group of students planned a peaceful protest to express their outrage over a new law requiring them to take courses in Afrikaans. Thousands of them took to the streets, intending to march to Orlando Stadium.

But when security forces opened fire, some fled here to this church. The police followed, first with tear gas, and then with bullets. While no one was killed within this sanctuary, hundreds lost their lives that day, including a boy named Hector Pieterson, who was just 12 years old, and Hastings Ndlovu, who was just 15.

Many of the students hadn't even known about the protest when they arrived at school that morning. But they agreed to take part, knowing full well the dangers involved, because they were determined to get an education worthy of their potential.

That June day wasn't the first, or the last, time that Regina Mundi Church stood in the crosscurrents of history. It was referred to as "the parliament of Soweto." When the congregation sang their hymns, activists would make plans, singing the locations and times of secret meetings. Church services, and even funerals, often became anti-Apartheid rallies. As President Mandela once put it, "Regina Mundi became a world-wide symbol of the determination of our people to free themselves."

It is a story that has unfolded across this country and across this continent, and also in my country — the story of young people 20 years ago, 50 years ago, who marched until their feet were raw, who endured beatings and bullets and decades behind bars, who risked, and sacrificed, everything they had for the freedom they deserved.

It is because of them that we are able to gather here today. It is because of them that so many young women leaders can now pursue their dreams. It is because of them that I stand before you as First Lady of the United States of America. That is the legacy of the independence generation, the freedom generation. And all of you – the young people of this continent – you are the heirs of that blood, sweat, sacrifice, and love.

What will you make of that inheritance? What legacy will you leave for your children and your grandchildren? What generation will you be? I could ask these questions of young people in any country, on any continent. But there is a reason why I wanted to come here to South Africa.

As my husband has said, Africa is a fundamental part of our interconnected world. When it comes to the defining challenges of our times – creating jobs in our global economy, promoting democracy and development, confronting climate change, extremism, poverty and disease — for all this, the world is looking to Africa as a vital partner.

That is why my husband's administration is not simply focused on extending a helping hand to Africa, but focusing on partnering with Africans who will shape their future by combating corruption, and building strong democratic institutions, by growing new crops, caring for the sick. And more than ever before, we will be looking to our young people to lead the way.

In Africa, people under 25 make up 60 percent of the population. In South Africa, nearly two-thirds of citizens are under the age of 30. So over the next 20 years, the next 50 years, our future will be shaped by your leadership.

I want to pause for a moment on that word – leadership — because I know that so often, when we think about what that word means, what it means to be a leader, we think of presidents and prime ministers. We think of people who pass laws or command armies, run big businesses, people with fancy titles, big salaries. And most young people don't fit that image.

But when it comes to the challenges we face, we simply don't have time to sit back and wait. True leadership – leadership that lifts families, leadership that sustains communities and transforms nations – that kind of leadership rarely starts in palaces or parliaments. That kind of leadership is not limited only to those of a certain age or status. That kind of leadership is not just about dramatic events that change the course of history in an instant. Instead, true leadership often happens with the smallest acts, in the most unexpected places, by the most unlikely individuals.

Think about what happened in Soweto 35 years ago. Many of the students who led the uprising were young. They carried signs made of cardboard boxes and canvass sacks. Yet together, they propelled this cause into the consciousness of the world. We now celebrate National Youth Day and National Youth Month every year in their honor.

Think about the giants of the struggle – people like Albertina Sisulu, whose recent passing we all mourn. Orphaned as a teenager, she worked as a nurse to support her siblings. When her husband, Walter Sisulu, became Secretary-General of the ANC, it was up to her to provide for their family. When he was imprisoned for 26 years, it was up to her to continue his work. And that she did. With a mother's fierce love for this country, she threw herself into the struggle.

She led boycotts and sit-ins and marches, including the 1956 Women's March, when thousands of women from across this country, converged on Pretoria to protest the pass laws. They were women of every color, many of them not much older than all of you. Some of them carried their babies on their backs. And for 30 minutes, they stood in complete silence, raising their voices only to sing freedom songs like Nkosi Sikelel iAfrica. Their motto was simple, but clear: "If you strike a woman, you strike a rock."

Ma Sisulu, the students of Soweto, those women in Pretoria, they had little money, even less status, no fancy titles to speak of. But what they had was their vision for a free South Africa. What they had was an unshakeable belief that they were worthy of that freedom –- and they had the courage to act on that belief. Each of them chose to be a rock for justice. With countless acts of daring and defiance, together, they transformed this nation.

Together they paved the way for free and fair elections, for a process of healing and reconciliation, and for the rise of South Africa as a political and economic leader on the world stage.

While today's challenges might not always inspire the lofty rhetoric or the high drama of struggles past, the injustices at hand are no less glaring, the human suffering no less acute. There are still so many causes worth sacrificing for. There is still so much history yet to be made.

[Young people] can be the generation that makes the discoveries and builds the industries that will transform our economies; the generation that brings opportunity and prosperity to forgotten corners of the world and banishes hunger from this continent forever; the generation that ends HIV/AIDS in our time; the generation that fights not just the disease, but the stigma of the disease and the generation that teaches the world that HIV is fully preventable, and treatable, and should never be a source of shame.

[Young people] can be the generation that holds leaders accountable for open, honest government at every level, government that stamps out corruption and protects the rights of every citizen to speak freely, to worship openly, to love whomever they choose; the generation to ensure that women are no longer second-class citizens, that girls take their rightful places in our schools and the generation that stands up and says that violence against women in any form, in any place — including the home – especially the home –that isn't just a women's rights violation. It's a human rights violation. And it has no place in any society.

Your efforts might not always draw the world's attention. The change may come slowly, little by little, measured not by sweeping changes in the law, but by daily improvements in people's lives. But I can tell you from my own experience – and from my husband's experience – that this work is no less meaningful, no less inspiring, and no less urgent than what you read about in the history books.

[People of conscience cannot be content with their own comfort and success when they know that other people are struggling.] As my husband often says, if any child goes hungry, that matters to me, even if she's not my child. If any family is devastated by disease, then I cannot be content with my own good health. If anyone is persecuted because of how they look, or what they believe, then that diminishes my freedom and threatens my rights as well. In the end, that sense of interconnectedness, that depth of compassion, that determination to act in the face of impossible odds, those are the qualities of mind and heart that I hope will define your generation.

As one of our great American presidents, Teddy Roosevelt, liked to say, I hope that you will commit yourselves to doing "what you can, with what you've got, where you are," because in the end, that is what makes you a lion. Not fortune, not fame, not your pictures in history books, but the refusal to remain a bystander when others are suffering, and that commitment to serve however you can, where you are.

Now it will not be easy. You will have failures and setbacks and critics and plenty of moments of frustration and doubt. You may not always have a comfortable life. You will not always be able to solve all the world's problems at once. But don't ever underestimate the impact you can have, because history has shown us that courage can be contagious, and hope can take on a life of its own.

It's what happens when folks start asking questions — a father asks, "Why should my son go to school, but not my daughter?" Or a mother asks, "Why should I pay a bribe to start a business to support my family?" Or a student stands up and declares, "Yes, I have HIV, and here's how I'm treating it, and here's how we can stop it from spreading."

Soon, they inspire others to start asking questions. They inspire others to start stepping forward. Those are the "ripples of hope" that a young U.S. senator named Robert Kennedy spoke of when he came here to South Africa 45 years ago this month. In his words, he said, the "numberless diverse acts of courage and belief which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance."

That is how a church can become a parliament. That is how a hymn can be a call to action. That is how a group of young people with nothing more than some handmade signs and a belief in their own God-given potential can galvanize a nation. That's how young people around the world can inspire each other, and draw strength from each other.

I'm thinking today of the young activists who gathered at the American Library here in Soweto to read the speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King for their inspiration. I'm thinking of how Dr. King drew inspiration from Chief Luthuli and the young people here in South Africa. I'm thinking about how young South Africans singing the American civil rights anthem "We Shall Overcome" in the streets of Cape Town and Durban. I'm thinking of how Nkosi Sikelel iAfrica echoed through university campuses in the U.S., as students – including my husband –planned boycotts to support students here in South Africa. I'm thinking of this church and how those stained windows depicting the struggle were donated by the people of Poland, and how the peace pole in the park outside was donated by people from Japan, and how every week, visitors from every corner of the globe come here to bear witness and draw inspiration from your history.

Finally, I'm thinking of the history of my own country. I mean, America won its independence more than two centuries ago. It has been nearly 50 years since the victories of our own civil rights movement. Yet we still struggle every day to perfect our union and live up to our ideals. Every day, it is our young people who are leading the way. They are the ones enlisting in our military. They're the ones teaching in struggling schools, volunteering countless hours in countless ways in communities.

In this past presidential election, they were engaged in our democracy like never before. They studied the issues, followed the campaign, knocked on doors in the freezing snow and the blazing sun, urging people to vote. They waited in line for hours to cast their ballots.

I have seen that same passion, that same determination to serve in young people I have met all across the world. If anyone of you ever doubts that you can build that future, if anyone ever tells you that you shouldn't or you can't, then I want you to say with one voice – the voice of a generation –-you tell them, "Yes, we can!"

US First Lady Mitchel Obama's speech on her recent tour to South Africa.

The solution(s) to our current food crisis lies within our borders

The recent hikes in food prices in Kenya has taken a great toll on the meager incomes of the poor Kenyans yet, so far, no lasting solution has been found by the myriad of think-tanks occupying the top echelons of power in the country starting with the president an alma mater of LSE (London School of Economics). The poor performance of the Kenyan shilling against the world major currencies like the greenback and the Euro, hasn't helped the situation either.
Someone would tempted and correctly so to ask the question, where did we go wrong; when did the rains begin to beat us as a nations. I vividly remember when i was a kid, mum would take us to shags(reserve/upcountry) to visit my grandparents and when it was finally time to return back, we often came back loaded with quite a number of bags carrying different kinds of foodstuffs and of course the good-old chicken to cap it all up. Those are the days when there was surplus production from the farms with the stocks running past the following planting season. Those were also the days when on average, a family had a minimum of 5(five) hectares of land upon which both farming activities and the homestead co-existed harmoniously.
The planting season was also well known by all and sundry. I remember, grandma would start preparing the shamba (farm) around the month of March every year in readiness for the oncoming rains. The rains on their part did not disappoint as they arrived just as they were expected without delay in volume and intensity.
This scenario is no longer there. With the changes in climate regimes where areas that were previously cooler are now ovens of sorts, rainfall patterns are erratic and unreliable thus affecting the mental prediction of the farmers and their farming habits as well. This, coupled with the ever increasing population in virtually all areas of the country, has greatly affected the output from the agricultural sector at large. This huge increase in family numbers has meant that the small parcels of lands have been subdivided to the children with each getting a small portion to establish himself. This means that the land that previously produced food for the family and neighbors i.e. the surplus which was sold out, is no longer there. People who hitherto were net producers of goods have now become net consumers thus affecting the supply chain tremendously which obviously will have a negative impact on the balance between supply and demand. Most of these people have therefore been forced to change their lifestyles in order to cope and as a survival strategy by moving from rural to urban areas in search of a living.
This increase in demand has therefore meant that the price of basic commodities like flour and fuel has to go up to cope up with the pressure. This has a knock-on effect as the economists like to put it, since other sectors of the economy which are part of the production or supply chain are bound to be affected as well.
The government on its part is under constant and immense pressure to stem the tide of the increase in prices of basic commodities that affect the hoi polloi. Some can be achieved in the short run like declaring tax waivers to food importers, while others are beyond its control considering that Kenya is a net importer of goods and therefore its bound to be affected by any changes in the price of goods sold in the international market like oil.
As a country, we need to rethink our approach and strategy to the problems that affect us. Countries like China have been successful at tackling their challenges like the huge population through the one child policy, while economically, China is producing lots of goods and services at a cheaper cost which are able to compete effectively against the world majors producers of the same goods and services.
Kenya being mostly an agricultural economy with the knowledge economy slowly taking over, ought to go back to the drawing board and redesign its road map. The government should enact into law policies that will ensure that our agricultural lands are sustainably utilized by putting a cap on the minimum size of land that can have a title deed. Farmers should also be empowered through training in modern technology like green house technology and incentives like cheaper fertilizers and other farm inputs and a guaranteed market for their commodities. Infrastructure like roads and power will go a long way in opening up the area thus boosting the production and supply levels. This means that instead of exporting raw materials to other countries which eventually return back to us as finished products which are expensive, we as a country should begin to produce our own products that can compete effectively against other goods in the international market.
In conclusion, we also need to diversify our goods and services apart from the traditional cash crop products which can be affected by the ever changing weather patterns. We also need visionary leaders with ideas that can take our country forward, not mere politicians who hoard maize and petrol in order to gain from the price hikes thus subjecting the majority poor to more suffering.
These are our problems and they need our solutions.

How graft hurts the most innocent in the society

Granted, we all have the potential to be corrupt, in fact the bible itself clearly says that we are all born sinners but when all is said and done,  to be or not to be corrupt is a conscious choice that all of us have to make every day when we're presented with that alluring and tempting offer. Many people like shortcuts in life and that's why parents would bribe in order to secure admission for their son or daughter who never made the cut as far as the requisite qualification standards go. Many people serving the government in one way or the other had to part with a few or even a huge chunk of money in order to secure jobs in the civil service. Virtually all ministries are served by people who preferred using shortcuts at the alter of meritocracy to be where they are.
This cancer hasn't spared our military either. This organ our nation ought to be a uniting facet of the country but cases of people paying bribes to the join the disciplined forces have been reported over and over whenever there are countrywide recruitment. Justice also has been peddled to the highest bidder with those endowed with much resources, able to circumvent the due process by expediting their cases or blatantly influencing the verdict.  The tender processes in both public and private companies are nothing but a sham since the knowledge of who finally wins the contract is well known in advance.
All this has been driven by sheer greed and selfishness and the nature of the capitalist system where people believe and falsely so that, in order to succeed in this life, you have to do it at someone else's expense. Like many diseases, corruption eats into the fabric of our society with devastating consequences and sadly, its the innocent people who normally bear the greatest brunt.

• Corruption drives a real estate developer to use substandard materials in building both commercial and residential buildings and the end product is manifested through the myriad reported cases collapsed buildings that we've seen  in Kenya.
• Corruption in the judiciary leads to unfair and questionable judgement which amounts to a miscarriage in dispensing justice to both the accuser and the accused.
• Corruption in the civil service leads to the unequal dishing of jobs to certain communities leading to inefficiency in service delivery due to incompetent and laxity . 
• Corruption in the education system has continually denied people who hitherto have continued to enjoy the free primary education a chance to extricate themselves from the tentacles of poverty.
• Corruption in the health sector has led to the deaths and suffering of many poor patients as drugs meant for their treatment are stolen from the public hospitals and end up in clinics run by the same doctors operating in public hospitals.
• Corruption hasn't spared our churches either as some engage in false teachings targeting the believers' conscience and emotion while extorting their hard-earned cash in the name of planting seeds.

The list goes on and on, but when all is said and done, we are the ones who started this vice and we're the ones to put a stop to it. There's no magic bullet in sorting out this mess or an effective panacea; It starts with  me and you. All of us have to purposefully make concerted efforts in small and big ways alike, in order to slain this dragon.
It starts at home when parents take their responsibility by instilling good and positive moral values to their children through practical examples that'd inspire the younger generation to value hard work and integrity in everything they do and to embrace the spirit of giving back to the society. As one African proverb says, we were given two hands for a reason; One to take and the other to give. Lets all learn to give however small because that's the beginning of ending the spirit of greed which fuels corruption.

THE STRENGTH OF A WOMAN: Happy Mother's Day.

I just read a tweet from one of the many contributors in global debates as we mark the International Women's Day centenary that, women generally contribute some 66% of global labor, they earn some 11% income for that and only own a paltry 1% of property. I can't verify the authenticity of these figures but if we put aside the mathematical accuracies and statistical significance of these figures just for a second and just focus on the message behind the figures, it clearly represents the plight and struggles the  average woman has to contend with whether in Bangladesh, Nairobi, Reo de Genairo etc.
Women make up the largest share of the population in many countries, yet hitherto, they have been unable to moblise their numerical advantage to champion for their rights and the right of the girl child.
The society has continually given the womenfolk a raw deal and a second class citizen kind of position in different spheres of our lives be it in politics, education and even in religious circles. Women have been made to believe that they are never equal to their male counterparts and as such any efforts made towards tipping that balance or upsetting the status quo is perceived as outlandish at best or completely out of this world. In some traditional societies, challenging a male dominated sphere would be interpreted as challenging the culture and norms of such a society which are normally carefully guarded and in favor of men.
In education matters, given a choice between educating a girl child and/or educating a boy child, most parents would sacrifice a girl's education and future at the alter of the boy's. This trend has been seen in virtually all communities with a strong tie to their bequeathed culture and traditions. In countries like Afghanistan for instance, its an offence for a girl or  woman for that matter to walk alone outside without being accompanied by a male relative. This means therefore that, if one wants to even go to school, they must have some male figure accompanying them and if that doesn't happen then it means they'll have to stay at home and remain immobilized. Girls are also prohibited from going to school as this would "spoil" them. In Saudi Arabia, women are not allowed to drive vehicles while in Somalia its an offence for a woman to put on a brassier.
The same culture has been used to deny women ownership of property like land which has the immense power of extricating them from the tentacles of poverty and want through economic empowerment that would allow them access to small micro-finance loans for their development.
Politically, the nature of our politics so far has been so murky and controlled by a coterie of oligarchs forming impenetrable circles of influence which conspire to control power and only circulate it to members of the "club" most of whom are cronies and family members. Many political parties have denied women candidates certificates for running as candidates during elections in the guise that they lack popularity and are therefore a liability of sorts. Many women thus have been reduced to spectators with only the radicals getting crumbs in the form of direct nominations which reduce them to puppets since they lack the direct mandate from any jurisdiction. In some cultures, women are either forced to vote for their husbands preferred candidates or denied their suffrage all together. All these goes a long way is denying them that one voice at their disposal for electing the right leaders who understand their issues. The world is awash with exemplary political leaders like Liberia's Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Angela Merkel of Germany, the late Bhutto of Pakistan and Hillary R.Clinton who is currently US'Secretary of State. All these women & many others in business and science show us that even women have something valuable to offer.
The religious organisations haven't been left behind as far as undermining women is concerned. Many religious organizations adhere to doctrines that prohibit women from occupying certain positions of leadership or strictly coming up with the do's and don'ts as far as their dressing code is concerned. Others still segregate women by either telling them not to mingle with men or setting a aside a designated area where women can occupy while worshiping.
These are just some of the struggles and impediments women go through on a day to day basis. The dynamics vary depending on the environment where one is. But one thing that is clear is that the world cannot continue to ignore women any more. So much has changed with the evolution of the internet which spurred globalization thus enhancing information and knowledge exchange.
If the world wants to achieve the MDGs in the shortest time possible, i'd suggest we empower women. This can only be achieved when all of us work towards that same goal for synergy. It doesn't help much when only women from a certain corner of the world are liberated while the rest are left shackled. This has to be a concerted effort with great focus in countries where women suffer the most. Governments have to review their strategies and safeguard women's rights not only in their programmes but most vitally, ensuring that they are entrenched in their constitutions. Issues to deal with property ownership, maternal health, education for the girl child among many others, are key pillars that would empower women thus enabling them to also enjoy the opportunities that their male counterparts have enjoyed until now.
For this to succeed, there ought to be attitude change especially among men who have been accused of putting up these glass ceilings that impede women development. As the old adage goes, behind any successful man, there's a woman. In the same breadth, i'd coin my saying by noting that, behind any successful nation or mission, there's a woman.
Happy Mother's Day To All Women!