Horticultural show by Mwangi Mumero
With exports currently valued at $ 640 million, the
Kenya horticultural sub-sector has continued to attract investors and service
providers in the last couple of years.
The sub-sector now employs about 4.4 million people
in the
country directly in production, processing and
marketing ,while another 3.5 million benefit indirectly from horticulture.
It is a big contributor to the nation’s GDP,
competing with tourism and tea for the top slot as the biggest earners in the
economy.
With its huge potential, horticulture has become an
attraction in many trade and business fairs in the East African region.
Recently, the Naivasha Horticulture Fair attracted
more 250 exhibitors -50 of whom were multinationals in the flower, vegetable
and fruit industries. Exhibitors included flower breeders, marketing firms,
transporters and logistics as well as service providers.
The Naivasha region in the Rift Valley- 80 km from
Nairobi- is considered the Silicon Valley of the global flower industry.
Most of the flowers exported to the European Union
originate from this region known for its saline lake- which provides most of
the irrigation water used by the flower farms.
“The horticulture industry continues to contribute
to the Kenya economy through generation of income, creation of employment
opportunities for rural people and foreign exchange earnings in addition to
providing raw materials to the agro processing industry”, observed Joram
Kiarie, Kenya Commercial Bank Director of Mortgage Business and one of the
guests at the two- day event.
Currently on
its 10th year, the Naivasha Fair has in the last three years been
sponsored by the Kenya Commercial Bank- one of the oldest and biggest financial
institutions in the region.
“As a leading financier of agribusiness in the region,
the KCB Group has invested Ksh 12 million ($ 140,000) in the fair over the
period”, noted Mr. Kiarie during the opening ceremony which was also graced by
Kenya’s Agriculture minister Dr Sally Kosgei.
According to Dr Kosgei, the Naivasha Horticultural
Fair is a ‘one-stop shop’ that brings together all industry stakeholders to
showcase their products and services and take stock on the way forward.
“As the government, we have received complains from
producers on the slow pace of VAT refund and we are working closely with the
ministry of finance to streamline the payments. We have also removed tax on
farm inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides to increase access to farmers
and also reduce production costs”, sad Dr Kosgei, highlighting on the
incentives the government has offered farmers to boost production.
The government, Dr Kosgei offered, has worked
closely with large scale and small scale horticulture producers to make their
operations smooth by removing hurdles.
“The horticulture industry is in private hands and the
only thing the government can do is to create an enabling business environment
for the private sector to achieve their targets”.
Exhibitors interviewed by African Farming felt that the Fair provided a good opportunity to
interact with farmers, breeders and service providers. It is also a forum where
new business contacts are made for further consultation.
“The fair has provided us with a platform to show
case our irrigation kits and other farm technologies from the smallholder to
large scale horticulture farmers. We have been able to interact closely with
the consumers of our products and services”, said Yariv Kedar, the deputy
managing director of Amiran Kenya Ltd.
In the last decade, Amiran, an Israeli firm, has
pioneered in the introduction of affordable irrigation technologies that have
seen smallholder farmers initiate green house project for the production of
vegetables such as onions, cabbages, tomatoes and capsicum.
The company has rolled out an irrigation kit
suitable for schools colleges, and even for small scale farmers.
“A minimum land requirement is an eighth –acre. At
affordable prices, the schools can access a greenhouse, collapsible tank, drip
lines, agro-chemicals, fertilizers and a spray pump. We also offer protective
gear and formal training for at least 3 persons in a school on irrigation
techniques”, he observed.
Depending on the size of greenhouse, prices vary. A
15metre by 8 metre greenhouse retails at Ksh 177,000 ($ 1,770) while a bigger
one of 24 by 8 metres will go for Ksh 240,000 ($ 2,400).
According to Mr. Kedar, the company offers training
and extension services to buyers of their products for over two years.
Information technology was also well represented the
fair as companies showcased solutions for horticultural farmers.
“With this mapping software, a farmer will be able
to identify parts of land according to the yields obtained from that section.
This will enable the farmer to evaluate how their piece of land yielded – where
most grain was harvested and where the least produce was obtained”, remarked
Mr. Khurram Mohamed, the Precision Sales Engineer with Crop Nutrition Laboratories.
He was showing farmers a new software- known as
FARMWORKS- that can map a piece of land on their yield production capability.
Mounted on a combine harvester, the device collects
data using GSM and then transmits it to a nearby laptop for interpretation to a
map, which is a shade of colours.
“With this information the farmer may decide to add
more manure or fertilizer on the poor yielding areas, may change farm practices
such as ploughing or may decide to introduce new crops to boost soil fertility”,
said Mr. Mohammed.
Another company Two Way Communications was
showcasing new communication gargets.
“Communication within the flower farms- mainly on
operations and security are a must for any grower. Over 99 per cent of the
flower farms are users of our products”, noted Stephen Ndung’u, the technical
sales officer with the firm as he explained to farmers on their latest
products.
Farmers attending the fair also had the opportunity
of learning new farming technologies and skills.
“We always come to this show to seek new ideas. As a
small-scale farmers, it is important we keep up with the trend in the
horticultural industry so that we are abreast with emerging issues in the
sub-sector”, said David Kibyego, a youthful smallholder farmer from Kericho
County, about 150 km from Naivasha.
Like many farmers in his region, Mr. Kibyego grows
cabbages, kales and tomatoes on his 5 acre piece of land that overlooks the Mau
Escarpment.
“I have acquired an irrigation kit and I plan to
expand my horticultural enterprise in the coming years. I have to learning to
be better informed on the new ideas”, he said.
Over the last decade, smallholder farmers have been
credited with producing most of the vegetables and fruits consumed in the
country.
(ends)
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