Written and coordinated through a ‘writeshop’ approach, this book stands up for traders – who are often treated with mistrust by smallholder farmers. It aims to improve the relationship between producers and traders, thus contributing to more sustainable value chains that provide access to markets for local producers in Africa. Full of short stories that are unique and rich in information, Trading up’s 15 richly illustrated case studies cover a wide range of countries and commodities.

In Kenya, insecure land tenure and inequitable access to land and natural resources have contributed to conflict and violence, which has in return exacerbated food insecurity. Most farmers in Kenya have no legal title for the land on which they farm. Sources of tenure insecurity can be ethnic conflicts over land between neighbouring communities, particularly in the Northern provinces, expropriation by the state or local government and land grabbing by local elite or companies. Competition is as well growing over water, especially over groundwater, which is scarce in Kenya.