Small and medium-scale horticulture processors and packaging companies have received a boost in their operations after the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) Horticultural Crops Directorate (HCD) was awarded the HACCP (SANS 10330:2020) certification, which will open up international markets.
The certification presented by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) was for the Nairobi Pack House, which provides startups and medium-scale exporters and importers of vegetables, herbs, fruits, and flowers with packaging space and cold storage.
The Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) is a system that provides the framework for monitoring the total food system, from harvesting to consumption, to reduce the risk of foodborne illness and assure food safety.
Speaking on Wednesday at a Nairobi hotel during the certification award ceremony, State Department of Industry Principal Secretary (PS) Dr. Juma Mukhwana said that the government has endeavoured to get markets for Kenyan products, but local production has not been able to satisfy the markets.
Dr. Mukhwana said that under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), Kenya was not able to satisfy even one per cent of the available market in the USA.
“On Monday, the president will be signing the Kenya-European Union (EU) agreement, which will enable Kenya to sell up to 13,000 different products to 27 EU countries duty-free and quota-free for 25 years,” said the PS.
To boost local manufacturing and processing and increase exports to these markets, Dr. Mukhwana said that the government is implementing the County Aggregation and Industrial Parks (CAIPs), where in each county they have identified three to five value chains where the products will be aggregated for value addition.
“In this financial year, the national government has put in Sh4.5 billion, with county governments putting in the same amount for the construction of CAIPs, and their construction is ongoing,” explained the PS.
Dr. Mukhwana said that the second biggest employer in the country after the public service is the manufacturing sector, employing 600,000 people, and a lot needs to be done, especially in horticulture processing and value addition, in efforts to create more jobs.
“The industry sector is the only place where you can employ 3,000 people in one place, and I am happy that the Nairobi Pack House has received this important certification,” said Dr. Mukhwana.
He said, “One of the issues we are asking ourselves is how much value we are adding to our products. The other day we were in Japan to talk about coffee, and when we went to the supermarket, we found a kilogramme of Kenyan coffee retailing at Sh7,000, yet what the farmer is getting is very little, and the difference is just value addition.”
AFA Board Chairman Cornelly Serem said that they aim to ensure that the pack houses in the country meet international standards so that international buyers are comfortable buying products from Kenya.
Serem said many international buyers have the condition for the HACCP (SANS 10330:2020) certification, and the attainment of the standards will open up markets for Kenyan horticulture products.
“One of the biggest challenges we have had with our products is packaging, which at times is of lower quality, appeal, and design. I would like to challenge KEBS to come up with standards for packaging materials and design, and this way we will avoid having the same Kenyan product of equal quantity packaged in different sizes and designs,” said Serem.
HCD Ag. Director Christine Chesaro said that they have eight-pack houses across the country that handle different products; the one in Kibwezi handles mangoes; in Yatta, tomatoes and mangoes are drying for the export market; the one in Nkubu handles bananas; and the one in Sagana handles fresh produce and avocado, among others.
Chesaro said that the pack house in Nairobi has benefited SMEs who cannot afford their own packaging space by offering them a fully equipped facility.
“Because we are serving our farmers, being a regulator, we worked towards adhering to the standards because the markets are very sensitive to this, and that is why we took the lead to certify our Nairobi pack house,” said Chesaro.
She explained that the process started in 2017 and they have had a series of audits and corrective actions. In July 2023, they had the final audit, and the certifying body, KEBS, felt satisfied that they had met the standards to be certified.
By Joseph Ng’ang’a
