- According to Head of Horticulture Directorate Benjamin Tito, Kenya’s horticulture earnings this year would drop to Sh130 billion against Sh150 billion last year. The European Union (EU) has estimated 40 percent of the Kenya’s produce to post-harvest losses.
Continued drought, lower output, and post-harvest losses are cited as the major causes for the fall in Kenya’s horticulture earnings. The estimated loss this year is about Sh20 billion.
According to Head of Horticulture Directorate Benjamin Tito, Kenya’s horticulture earnings this year would drop to Sh130 billion against Sh150 billion last year. The European Union (EU) has estimated 40 percent of the Kenya’s produce to post-harvest losses. The chief technical officer for Market Access Upgrade Programme (Markup) of EU, Stefano Sedola remarked that it is working with the State agencies and private sector to help farmers curb the losses and increase Kenya’s share of foreign earnings from the European Union. The €35 million EU-EAC Market Access Upgrade Programme is a regional development initiative funded by the European Union. The objective of the project is to support small and medium-sized enterprises in Kenya and other EAC countries to access to the European market.
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Another factor that has impacted the earnings is the interception of Kenya’s products due to the presence of pesticides exceeding the permitted limits. According to reports, Kenya has recorded at least 62 interceptions on exports to Germany, France, Netherlands in the last couple of months, risking the country’s exports being banned.