The horticultural crops Kenyans love to grow

Benjamin Tito is the director, Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) in-charge of Horticultural Crops Directorate. He spoke to Sammy Waweru on the crops Kenyans are growing most and what can be done to export more produce

What is the current status of the horticulture sector?

The sub-sector is a key contributor to the economy. The country exports only 4 per cent of all horticultural produce in volume, while 96 per cent is consumed locally.

Over 90 per cent of all the produce consumed locally is produced by smallholder farmers. Lately, more opportunities have been created for small farmers to access international markets but  this is for mainly those growing fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices. Last year, the value of exports stood at Sh156 billion compared Sh150 billion in 2020. This means there is steady growth of the sector.

What horticultural crops are Kenyans growing most and which ones are mainly exported and sold in the local markets?

For the local market, the most grown vegetables are tomatoes, collards (sukuma wiki), cabbages, garden peas, capsicum, butternuts, carrots, onions and spinach.

On the other hand, French beans, broccoli, cauliflower, snow peas, baby corn and sugar snaps are grown for the export market.

Popular fruits produced are avocados, bananas, mangoes, papayas, oranges, watermelons and pineapples. In terms of exports, the leading commodities are fine beans, baby corn, herbs and spices (like basil, parsley, thyme, chives, rosemary and mint), avocados, mangoes and pineapples.

When Covid-19 struck the country in March 2020, many people ventured into farming, especially horticultural production. Did this translate into increased agricultural output.

Yes, the disease made people to adjust their lives by turning into smallholder production of fast-growing and maturing fruits and vegetables, especially at the backyard of their houses (for urban dwellers) as well as kitchen gardening.

Agriculture thus offered an economic landing. This was mainly to keep people busy, since many were no longer working or worked from home hence had more time to attend to their crops. However, this did not translate to increased area under production. The total area under production decreased from 158,609 ha in 2019 to 136,066 ha in 2020, representing a 14 per cent decrease. Nevertheless, production increased from 3.21 million tonnes in 2019 to 3.26 million tonnes in 2020. The period during Covid saw innovative alternative marketing models for horticultural produce such as online sales, van and car boot sales of fruits and vegetables, a move that was not previously thought of. Today, online trading in horticultural produce is widespread.

The Food Safety Bill is still stuck in parliament but it promises to be a game-changer when it comes to guaranteeing Kenyans safer food. What benefits will the public get if enacted?

The bill provides for the regulation of food safety in Kenya. The benefits of the law once promulgated will assign stakeholders responsibilities of ensuring safe food, therefore, offering clarity in the sector. Creation of an overall agency responsible for coordinating the multiple government agencies regulating food safety will lead to sanity on the food safety issue. Consumers will know where to direct issues relating to food safety, which are currently handled by multiple agencies.

How can the issue of exporting immature avocados be tackled once and for all?

Kenya is the sixth largest producer of avocados in the world after Mexico, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Peru and Indonesia, producing 310,000 tonnes per year.  However, we only export 10 per cent of the total production, compared to Chile which exports 55 per cent and South Africa 60 per cent. The high price associated with early season avocados in the market is the main driver to harvesting immature fruits. This is commonly rampant between December and March when the more preferred fruits from Latin America are out of season. It is important to note that fruit maturity determines the quality, which invariably affects the acceptability of produce by the consumers and, hence, the grower’s profitability.

Harvesting immature avocado fruits has a negative effect on fruit quality resulting in grassy after-taste, watery or rubbery texture, and lack of flavour.

In addition, harvesting immature fruits leads to commercial losses due to consumers’ lack of interest in purchasing bad fruits, thus a decline in foreign exchange earnings.

Export of immature avocados can be resolved through concerted efforts by value chain actors, especially growers and exporters taking responsibility in harvesting only mature fruits and investing in monitoring maturity before picking. This will augment the government’s regulatory efforts.

Kenyan avocados are now being sold in China, with the country having exported the second batch the other day, shall we see other produce like French beans and mangoes also exported to the Asian nation?

We welcome the bilateral agreement between the two countries allowing Kenyan horticultural exporters access to the Chinese market, starting with avocados. We look forward to more produce getting a nod to enter the Chinese market including mangoes, passion fruits and pineapples as well as our French beans, which are classified among the best in the world.

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