The government has raised fears that the continued export of premature horticultural produce could jeopardise and compromise the appeal and standards of local products on the international market.
Agriculture Cabinet Secretary, CS Mithika Linturi, insists that fresh produce exports should only be harvested at the right time so that when sent to the markets, they meet the prerequisite standards.
He stressed that this was necessary to ensure the country was not blacklisted and did not lose the market for horticulture products because of the greed of some unscrupulous exporters keen on making higher profit margins at the expense of standards.
To ensure horticultural farmers and exporters know when to harvest what type of fruit or crop, the ministry will give the necessary support to the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) to enable it to enforce the laid-down rules and requirements of the sector, the CS stated.
The CS warned that letting the unscrupulous exporters trade in premature produce would have a major effect on the horticulture sector since it would ruin the export markets the country has been able to penetrate.
The CS made the remarks while responding to concerns raised by AFA Board Chairman Cornelly Serem to the effect that some exporters who exported immature produce, especially avocado, were jeopardising future exports.
Serem said China was willing to import up to 100,000 metric tonnes of avocado from our region, but most exporters were exporting immature avocado fruits.
He also observed that the transportation of avocados from the farms to areas of export was sometimes not handled carefully, thus compromising their quality.
“We urge our farmers and exporters to work closely with our crop inspectors to make sure what you do complies with the requirements of the country that is going to import our horticultural produce,” advised Serem, adding that AFA would create discussions in all counties so that all players in the sector have an opportunity to discuss with other players and regulators within the industry.
They were speaking during a stakeholder meeting on the export of fresh produce through the Eldoret International Airport.
The meeting was also attended by, among others, Cabinet Secretary Roads Kipchumba Murkomen and Governors Stephen Sang (Nandi) and Ken Lusaka (Bungoma). Others were Uasin Gishu Deputy Governor Eng. Johan Barorot and his Baringo counterpart Felix Maiyo.
Serem said AFA had been dormant for a long time, but it was now active and preparing a road map on how to support fresh produce farmers to produce quality for the export market.
Addressing concerns from exporters that the Eldoret Airport runway was not sufficient to enable large cargo planes to lift off, Roads and Transport CS said they were under instructions from the country’s top leadership to ensure the runway is expanded from the current 3.5 km to 4 km and were seeking extra land to extend by a further 600 metres for safety and logistics to enable planes to land and take off. Currently, the runway can only enable cargo planes weighing 55 tonnes to lift off.
The CS also assured the industry players that the lighting of the runway at the airport had been fully restored and that they were working on a proper power backup system to ensure the runway was always lit.
He further announced that tenders for the supply of jet fuel at the airport, which has been a major concern for most flights, were currently undergoing evaluation, and once awarded, the issue of lack of fuel would be a thing of the past.
The two CSs also expressed concern that Eldoret Airport at the moment was only receiving imports, but the cargo flights returned empty for lack of export goods.
According to Murkomen, the airport is the second busiest after Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, handling 12, 000 metric tonnes of goods annually.
“Unfortunately, the goods the airport handles are imports, mainly dry goods such as electronics, garments, and motor vehicle spare parts,” he observed.
He said though Eldoret has a large catchment area where horticulture crops and fruits do well, there is a need to develop a joint marketing strategy and have a steady supply site to ensure the airport is fully utilised.
The CS, however, warned that the future of farming in the country’s arable lands was in jeopardy due to continuous land fragmentation that would, in the long run, make farming uneconomical.
“It is high time we take the bull by the horns. We need to make tough decisions as a country on land fragmentation, which is the greatest challenge to agriculture. Otherwise, in 10 years, if we continue this way, we will not achieve what we want to do,” said Murkomen.
Linturi, for his part, said that although horticulture was the fastest-growing sector, there was a need to encourage more farmers to venture into the sector to increase production.
“Agriculture is the fastest way to grow the economy and create employment for the youth, but this can only be done through increased productivity,” he said.
The Agriculture CS said the government was working hard to secure a market for horticulture products. “Soon I will flag off the first flight to India for avocado. We also secured a market for pineapples and fish in Israel, but we could not produce enough pineapple. Despite the ready market, are we producing enough to fill cargo flights? he posed.
At the same time, Uasin Gishu County has witnessed increased horticulture production, which has become a major economic sector since the advent of devolution.
The County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Agriculture, Edward Sawe, says since the county government supported farmers to diversify to high-value crops for export instead of depending on traditional maize and wheat farming, significant growth in export crops has been realised.
“Through the crop diversification programme, the county assisted farmers in accessing high-quality planting materials. It has so far distributed 200,000 avocado seedlings, more than 400,000 macadamia nut seedlings, 68,000 tissue culture bananas, and over 870,000 coffee seedlings,” said Sawe.
The county, he added, produces a variety of vegetables, fruits, herbs, and spices for domestic and export markets. Currently, the county has 2300 ha of vegetables that include French beans, snow peas, kitchen peas, and African leafy vegetables, among others.
Avocado, tree tomatoes, strawberries, and gooseberries cover a total of 2300 ha, with mature avocado having the highest acreage of 350ha with a production of 7000 tonnes that earns the farmers over Sh560 million.
Herbs and spices grown include rosemary, sages, Oregon, tarragon, parsley, coriander, leaf celery, and chilies are grown in 30ha.
According to the CECM, the county has also been promoting coffee, with 580ha currently under cultivation.
He, however, revealed that the horticulture sector still faced challenges that included depending on rain-fed agriculture, a high prevalence of pests and disease, and low levels of value addition.
By Kiptanui Cherono
