The Committee Linking Entrepreneurship-Agriculture-Development (COLEAD) held a stakeholder workshop to mark the successful conclusion of a five-year special program created to support Kenya's horticulture industry capacity to comply with the ever-evolving market requirements.
The workshop, scheduled to take place in Nairobi, brought together key stakeholders from the public and private sectors, development partners, and horticultural industry representatives to review the outcomes, lessons learned, and the sustainability of the program's impact.
© COLEADA section of delegates attending The Committee Linking Entrepreneurship-Agriculture-Development (COLEAD) stakeholder workshop
Launched in April 2020, The New Export Trade (NExT) Kenya Program (Enhancing Kenya Horticulture Exports) was funded by the Delegation of the European Union (EUD) under the 11th European Development Fund (EDF), with a total budget of €5 million. Its overarching goal was to improve Kenya's horticultural value chains, fostering increased employment opportunities, foreign exchange earnings, and enhanced food security, food safety, and nutrition. The program has been instrumental in reinforcing Kenya's position as a global player in horticultural exports while addressing the evolving challenges in international market demands, regulatory frameworks, and climate change by providing virtual and in-the-field technical assistance, vocational training, and support services in regulatory monitoring, market insights, partnerships, research and innovation, and access to finance.
"NExT Kenya has worked to strengthen horticultural value chains by improving market access, raising food safety and quality standards, and increasing sustainability on social, economic, and environmental fronts. This was achieved despite a very challenging context marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, Brexit, the war in Ukraine, climate change, and continuously evolving regulations in some of Kenya's main destination markets," said Jeremy Knops, the General Manager of COLEAD.
© COLEADPanelists at the COLEAD stakeholder workshop
Over the past five years, the program has made remarkable strides in improving the competitiveness of Kenya's horticultural exports. Through targeted interventions based on demand, COLEAD has worked closely with over 182 beneficiaries, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), service providers, government institutions, and trade associations, to strengthen their capacity to meet the stringent sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards set by key export markets, particularly the European Union.
"Another significant milestone is that horticultural enterprises supported by the program have almost all demonstrated significant gains in food safety management, business practices, environmental stewardship, and social empowerment—supporting a more competitive and sustainable sector. Additionally, local expertise in these areas has grown, benefiting both Kenya and the region. All these efforts have led to greater resilience for a sector that supports millions of smallholder farmers, traders, and entrepreneurs across the country," said Jeremy.
Key achievements of the NExT Kenya Program
Capacity building of MSMEs on good agricultural practices, food safety, plant protection, access to markets and market intelligence, business planning, and access to finance.
© COLEAD Jeremy Knops, the General Manager of COLEAD delivering the opening remarks at the COLEAS stakeholder workshop
Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards (SPS) Compliance: Supporting the Kenyan horticultural sector to comply with the new EU Plant Health and food safety regulations covering pesticide residues and harmful organisms such as FCM on roses and MRL issues, particularly on beans.
Supporting the implementation of efficacy and residue trials for the registration of plant protection products (PPPs) for control of critical pests affecting minor crops (fruits and vegetables).
The development of industry-specific Good Practice Guides (GPGs) for key horticultural value chains, including avocado, beans, and peas, was a significant achievement. These guidelines were prepared to inform stakeholders on addressing the sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) and commercial quality requirements along the value chains. More importantly, these guides have been broken down, and dissemination materials have been prepared to inform various actors along the value chain. Additionally, a Training of Trainers (ToT) was conducted to equip industry experts with the necessary technical and training expertise on the GPGs content to support further rollout.
The Public-Private Sector Dialogue was pivotal in strengthening the National Horticulture Taskforce (NHT), which has now been restructured as the National Horticulture Standing Committee (NHSC) to facilitate continuous and responsive collaboration. The NHT was established to address challenges and emerging issues while synergizing and optimizing resources for the betterment of the horticulture industry. Support was provided for the secretariat and the convening of meetings to address emerging issues. Additionally, a study was conducted to identify the challenges affecting the competitiveness of Kenyan horticultural exports. Through this study, 122 bottlenecks were identified, and the top 47 have been rationalized to inform the development of the horticulture masterplan.
© COLEADDr. Chagema Kedera, the Program Cordinator-Technical assistance, COLEAD
"With the successes of the NExT Kenya program, we must remain vigilant to the challenges plaguing the horticulture sub-sector, and agriculture in general. I am pleased to inform you that these issues are being addressed through the National Horticulture Standing Committee, an initiative of the government and the private sector," noted Dr. Kipronoh Ronoh, the Principal Secretary, State Department for Agriculture.
For more information:
COLEAD
www.colead.link/