Lucy Namu on 2 nd September 2014 A presentation made during the New Zealand and South Africa Trilateral Workshop by Food Safety Systems for Export – A case of the horticultural sub- sector in Kenya

Presentation outline General background to horticultural subsector. Growth of the industry. Structure of industry. Lessons learnt. Recommendations and way forward. 2

General background to the Kenyan horticultural sub- sector 3

Background 4 Up to 80% of rural population is employed in agriculture and its related industries. Most growers produce on less than half a hectare. Horticulture contributes 36% of Agriculture’s GDP. Trade in vegetables about 40 years old Exports of beans in pods (BP) and peas in pods (PP) constituted over 30% of total vegetable exports to the European Union in In the total tonnage was 68, Metric tonnes.

Contribution of horticulture to the GDP MAPS = Medicinal and Aromatic Plants 30% constitutes beans and peas in pods

Growth of the industry 6

Value of Horticultural Exports

Strong advantages of the beans and peas in pods exports Kenyan beans in pods are of high quality due to their positive organoleptic attributes. –They soften on steaming –Don’t have stringy fibrous texture –Compatible with other vegetables –They are available all year round Strong support on marketing support High demand in EU market for produce, they have taken a fairly large proportion of this market; business has been running generally well (until 2013).

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Structure of industry. 10

Structure of industry.../2 Producers: Growers mainly small holder farmers Middlemen: formalized as suppliers / marketing agents Exporter and processors: business entities Importers: linkage to external market CHANGES SINCE 2011: Formalization of supply chain players. 11

Components of export assurance system Involvement of government with: a.Producers: –Training in emerging issues and compliance requirements: –Jointly undertaken by the Competent Authorities with expertise in specific areas –Training in market requirements and technical information on optimal production b.Suppliers / marketing agents: registration of individual suppliers/agents –Currently in developing codes of practice c.Exporter and processors: –Registration of business entities –Obligations to implement contractual farming. 12

Components of export assurance system../2 Involvement of independent verification / audit / sampling plans and laboratories –National monitoring program implemented by Competent Authority (CA) - sampling plan –Testing - CA –Independent verifications – CA; private food business operators Degree and frequency of foreign audit / testing at borders: –Currently beans and peas in pods under increased checks at EU DPE 13

Components of export assurance system../3 Importance of supply chain integration: –Provision of information on emerging challenge –Knowledge (legislation, regulations, standards) and authority to implement appropriate control and verification measure 14

Horticulture Competent Authority Structure (HCAS) Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service: Chair of NTH and pesticide residue monitoring plan Horticultural Crops Development Authority: Enforcement of Good Agricultural Practice and Training of farmers Pest Control Products Board: Pesticide formulation quality monitoring Kenya Agricultural Research Institute: Research in “softer” alternatives; Integrated pest management Multi-agency system 15

Lessons learnt 16 Changes in market regulations (mainly EU) have made increasing challenges in compliance with requirements –Important to improve on knowledge gaps Need to develop a robust food safety system involved from primary production to table – Kenyan value chain has been driven towards market / private standard requirements. Business entities not always able to invest in improvement of primary production – government could set up incentive schemes for investment Robust support system required at primary production level

Recommendations for expanding market Understand the regulatory environment that is affecting trade Develop a comprehensive system - provide for capacity building especially for small holders. Emphasis that the ensuring food safety should be the primary role of food business and producer entities. Product diversification –Specific product branding for specific target markets Ensure robustness of the food safety control system to provide for continued compliance.

Core principles of a credible export assurance system Should be hinged on legislative requirements – evolve legislative requirements - "Due diligence" principle Must be transparent, should be auditable and provide for appropriate level of documentation to re-construct a system. Ensure operators submit their methods to risk analysis and implement control measures. Provide industry with a self assessment system for continuously ensuring compliance. Should be based on sector analysis

19 THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION: KENYA PLANT HEALTH INSPECTORATE SERVICE (KEPHIS) P. O. Box Nairobi, Kenya. Tel: or Fax: s: Website: