Sustainable Urban Economic Development Programme
Promoting Agri-Processing Industries in Kenya’s Intermediary Cities Kenya is a major exporter of raw and processed fruits and vegetables with its export growing steadily in recent years. The agricultural sector generates a significant income for small-scale farmers who heavily contribute to Kenya’s food security. As such, the Figure 1: The Kirinyaga County Team and the Wakiba Investment Group discuss the location of the Tomato Kenyan Processing Plant as they look at the zoning plans of Kirinyaga’s Industrial Park plans. Government prioritises its support for the sector and has invested in infrastructure and research to improve production and quality. In addition, the Government has created export incentives, such as dutyfree access to certain markets and has developed marketing campaigns to promote Kenyan produce overseas. With agriculture being the backbone of the Kenyan economy, contributing approximately 20% of Kenya’s GDP it remains the Country’s third largest foreign exchange earner. The sector still has a lot of export potential with only 4% of its production being exported. An increase in exports would benefit small scale farmers who produce over 90% of what’s grown and would increase their income as well as safeguard their livelihood. The global tomato processing market is increasing as a result of existing businesses seeking to utilise the large supply of fresh tomatoes to meet the demand of the consumer market that is demanding other products such as sauces, juices, paste and ketchup in addition to the demand for fresh and processed tomatoes. In Kenya, the tomato processing industry is mainly composed of small and medium-sized enterprises that use manual or semi-automated processes. The sector has in previous years experienced sector-specific challenges such as