Farmers display harvested bananas. [Photo/Pinterest]
Fresh Produce Exporters Association of Kenya (FPEAK) and Kenya Association of Small & Medium scale Fruits and Vegetables Exporters (KEFE)) and are hosting the Fruits and Vegetables Conference and Exhibition 2017.
The event started on Wednesday and will end on Thursday, September 14 at Kenya School of Monetary Studies, Thika Rd, Nairobi.
The conference aims to bring together both private and public stakeholders in the fruit and vegetables subsector to discuss existing challenges and opportunities with greater emphasis on promoting competitiveness of Kenya’s fresh fruits and vegetables agribusiness through enhanced adoption of food safety standards.
Recent research shows that;
1. Edible horticulture (vegetables, fruits and nuts) production in Kenya has increased tenfold in the last 20 years. The area, production, and value in 2014 were 589,939 Ha, 7.6 million MT and Sh131.8 billion respectively. The leading vegetables in production and value were Irish potatoes, tomatoes and cabbages. The major fruits grown in order of importance were; banana, mangoes, pineapples, avocado, pawpaw, oranges, watermelon, and passion fruit (Agriculture and Food Authority, 2014).
2. Horticulture is a key foreign exchange earner alongside tea, remittances from Kenyans living abroad and tourism. The value of exports of fresh horticultural produce increased from US$816 million in 2014 to US$877 million in 2015. This was attributed to better unit prices for vegetables and higher volumes of fruits exported. The value of vegetables exported increased by 11.2 per cent from US$182 million in 2014 to US$203 million in 2015.Kenya’s earnings from horticulture exports rose 20% to KES 77.81 billion ($755 million) in the first nine months of 2016 compared to 2015 (KNBS, 2016).
3. In order to improve margins, Kenya has focused on enhancing production efficiency and diversifying to other non-traditional export markets such as the Middle East, China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. It also sought to maintain competitive advantage by focusing on products that have higher standards, increasing variety and product differentiation, and by shipping direct to the major supermarket chains.
Mr. Hosea Machuki CEO, Fresh Produce Exporters Association of Kenya (FPEAK) said; "Kenyan producers face significant challenges relating to the quality and safety of their fresh products. Undoubtedly, food safety standards make an important contribution to the global economy since they improve efficiency of production and trade at both importing country level and at local level and they reduce consumer costs. It is also recognized that a need exists for innovative new food preservation technologies targeted toward the needs of smallholder Kenyan farmers, as well as, a need for a more highly skilled team of post-harvest handlers, researchers, administrators, and business personnel in order to enhance competitiveness at the marketplace. Now that the country has in place a local standard - KS1758 part II for fruits and vegetables, Its time we all implemented it in order to ensure that only safe food is produced for consumption by the population.”
With the conference’s main objective to enhance Kenya’s competitiveness, areas of deliberation will include; Food control systems, Safety in Production, Storage, Distribution and Marketing, Traceability, Policy and Regulatory Enforcement, Advocacy and Consumer Awareness.
The two day conference will incorporate presentations, plenary discussions, breakout sessions and gallery exhibitions attended by more than 300 participants drawn from a diversity of stakeholders in the horticulture industry in Kenya.
This will comprise; Relevant Government Institutions, Producers, Processors, Traders, Exporters, Professional Bodies, Conformity Assessment Bodies, Academia, Financial Support Institutions, Civil Society and Development Partners, among others.
Key strategic partners in this initiative are; USAID – KAVES, the Kenya Market-led Horticulture Program-HortIMPACT at the Netherlands Development Organization and Global Communities. Other partners include SOCAA, SGS, COLEACP and Stanbic Bank.