By Kimuri Mwangi
TradeMark Africa (TMA) has signed a technical and financial support agreement with the National Horticulture Taskforce (NHT). The two partners committed to strengthen and sustain investments in Kenya’s fresh produce exports.
The agreement was signed as part of the EU-funded Business Environment and Export Enhancing Programme (BEEEP), which is among other areas supporting the transition of 50% of fresh produce exports from Kenya from air to sea-freight by the year 2030.
The agreement was signed on Thursday in Nairobi at an event which brought together stakeholders from the logistics sector to assess the state of agro logistics in Kenya and review development of Kenya’s Masterplan on the modal shift of fresh produce exports from air to sea freight.
Part of the targeted initiatives by the NHT include building the capacity of producers of horticultural products to utilize sustainable processes including the use of renewable energy in farms, implementing various water conservation methods and transitioning exports of fresh produce from air freight to sea freight.
Ahmed Farah, Kenya Country Director, TMA said, “As the world moves towards more sustainable production, there has been the need for Kenyan producers to integrate sustainable agricultural practices and environmental impact mitigation strategies contributing towards the actualization of the net zero carbon emissions. This partnership therefore will be key in enabling producers to meet these requirements.”
Clement Tulezi, Chairperson, National Horticulture Taskforce said they are grateful for the support we have received from the European Union through Trademark Africa as through their support, they are keen on supporting the implementation of the programme’s objectives.
“Through engagements such as this, we will be able to identify relevant interventions and meet the programme’s objectives of increasing and diversifying trade in mangos, avocados and vegetables value chains, reducing trading times and costs by improving efficiency and environmental sustainability of transport infrastructure and enhancing the business climate.” Opined Tulezi.
Henriette Geiger, Ambassador of the European Union to Kenya said, “We are fully in support of the NHT as we transition the avocado, mango and vegetable value chains towards more sustainable production processes from farm to fork. This also aligns with our Generation Green Campaign, where we are targeting increased productivity that will stimulate economic development through job creation, but in a sustainable and inclusive manner.”
The forum heard that Kenya’s transitioning from airfreight to sea freight is not only an environmental choice but a vital economic advantage to secure its fresh produce exports, as supermarkets in the UK and Europe seek to diminish their climate footprint. Airfreighting from Kenya to Europe generates substantially higher greenhouse gases compared to sea freight (1 kilogram of airfreighted green beans emits as much as 177 kilograms of sea freighted green beans).
Earlier in the year, the European Union signed a Euro 25 million (KSH 4.2 billion) agreement with TMA in support of the Business Environment and Export Enhancement Programme (BEEEP). BEEEP is a unique export-oriented value chain ecosystem that will resolve challenges in the mangos, avocados, and vegetables value chains to enhance competitiveness and increase access to identified export markets.
