Release number IFAD/34/07

Rome, 10 July 2007 – A new US$26.6 million horticultural marketing programme in Kenya will boost incomes and improve health and quality of life for poor rural people in Kenya.

“Kenya has significant, untapped potential for horticultural production and sales,” said IFAD’s President, Lennart Båge. “This programme will help poor rural people realize that potential. It is an important step in efforts to reduce poverty and improve welfare in one of the world’s poorest countries.”

The Smallholder Horticulture Marketing Programme will be financed partly by a loan of US$23.4 million and a grant of $500,000 by IFAD. The loan agreement was signed today by Båge and Kenya’s Ambassador to Italy Anne Belinda Nyikuli.

About 12,000 households, or 60,000 people, will benefit directly from the programme. Another 85,000 households will benefit indirectly.

Horticultural production is the most widely practised economic activity in Kenya. A wide variety of crops are grown in the country. The programme will focus on potatoes, bananas, cabbage, kale, tomatoes and other crops grown mainly by the poor. It will concentrate on produce sold in the domestic market rather than the export market. The domestic market is dominated by low-income, smallholder farmers and has good potential for growth. By improving the availability of lower-priced, higher-quality fruits and vegetables, not only will farmers be able to earn more but the health of the Kenyan population overall is expected to improve.

The programme will help farmers to improve crop quality and yields, and to find the most cost-effective ways to get produce to market. It will also encourage growers to add value to crops by transforming them into a range of products such as purées, dried fruits and conserves.

“If we can identify the inefficiencies in the marketing chain between the time a crop is grown and the time it reaches the consumer, we can address them,” said Båge. “This should translate into more dollars in farmers’ pockets.”

Most of Kenya’s population of 35 million live in rural areas and depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. More than half the population lives below the poverty line. Although Kenya has relatively advanced agricultural and industrial sectors, the country is one of the world’s poorest, ranking 152nd among 177 countries in the United Nations Development Programme’s human development index. The index measures a country’s development in terms of life expectancy, educational attainment and standard of living. Economic growth in the country has not kept pace with population growth, and wealth is distributed unequally among households.

The programme will cover eight districts: Kisii, Gucha, Bungoma, Embu, Buret, Meru Central, Nyandarua and Nandi South. The exact needs of each district will be addressed. If, for example, transportation costs are found to be too high in one district, the programme will look at ways to reduce those costs.

With this programme, IFAD has financed 14 projects in Kenya for a total commitment of US$178.7 million.

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IFAD is an international financial institution and a specialized United Nations agency dedicated to eradicating poverty and hunger in rural areas of developing countries. Through low-interest loans and grants, IFAD develops and finances programmes and projects that enable poor rural people to overcome poverty themselves. There are 195 ongoing IFAD-supported rural poverty eradication programmes and projects, worth a total of US$6.7 billion. IFAD has invested US$3.1 billion, with cofinancing provided by partners including governments, project participants, multilateral and bilateral donors. These initiatives will help about 86 million poor rural women and men to achieve better lives for themselves and their families. Since starting operations in 1978, IFAD has invested US$9.6 billion in 738 programmes and projects that have reached more than 307 million poor rural women and men. Governments and other financing sources in recipient countries, including project participants, contributed US$9.1 billion, and multilateral, bilateral and other donors provided another US$7.1 billion in cofinancing.