The Export Model for Local Vegetable Production and Poverty Reduction

摘要

How many people who purchase a packet of Kenyan French beans or sugar-snap peas from the supermarket to accompany their Sunday roast are aware of the story behind that packet? Most of these vegetables are grown by 20,000 poor, small-holder farmers scattered throughout rural Kenya, each with no more than 1 ha of land, following strict production regimes including, increasingly, compliance with EUREPGAP. Vegetables are harvested in the morning, graded and delivered to pack-houses near Nairobi airport in the afternoon. Here they are washed, trimmed, weighed and packed into containers with the livery of major European supermarkets. Tonnes of high quality vegetables are then air-freighted the same night and, miraculously, reach the supermarket shelves within 24 h. Export horticulture has grown steadily in post-independent Kenya, increasing 12-fold in tonnage and 40-fold in value. It is the fastest growing agricultural sub-sector and one of the top five foreign exchange earners in Kenya, contributing almost 13% of GDP in 2003. It is a major engine of economic growth. Kenya is the largest exporter of vegetables to the EU, and the UK is its major customer. Export horticulture is an important source of income for small-holder farmers and their families. Italso employs hundreds of thousands of semi-skilled and unskilled Kenyans who would otherwise struggle to find alternative employment. A considerable number of Kenyans therefore rely on this sector for their livelihood. Its further growth will continue to contribute to reducing poverty and improving livelihoods of the poor. This on-going revolution is supported by improved varieties, high quality seed, good agricultural practices and a sustained effort in capacity building, which, until recently, has been largely supported by private-sector export companies.