“Best development partner” at 2021 Avocado Industry Excellence Awards

Dr Chagema Kedera, NExT Kenya Programme Coordinator, received the trophy from Avocado Society of Kenya CEO Mr Ernest Muthomi.

COLEACP’s programme activities in Kenya recently resulted in the award for “best development partner” at the 2021 Kenya Avocado Industry Excellence Awards (KAEA) held on 10 December at the Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi.

The KAEA, now in its second edition and becoming a national ritual, is an initiative of the Avocado Society of Kenya. The awards acknowledge and recognise contributions to the avocado sector that change or alter businesses, resulting in advancement in all areas of the sector, and including but not limited to marketing, research and development, products, and innovations in production.

COLEACP’s programme activities were recognised and appreciated for their exceptional contribution in the advancement of the Kenyan horticulture sector, in particular the EU-funded NExT Kenya programme. This programme targets whole value chains, with a specific focus on micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and the private and public services that support the horticultural sector. For example, the programme was involved in revamping Kenya’s National Horticulture Taskforce, a public-private sector coordination mechanism on strategic/policy issues to address the challenges facing the horticulture industry. It has carried out a study of the bottlenecks affecting the competitiveness of Kenyan exports, and a report soon to be published will offer pragmatic, in-depth recommendations on how to best deal with the bottlenecks identified. The programme has also initiated the development of Good Practice Guides for avocado and beans/peas, which are currently being finalised. The NExT Kenya programme aims to increase the contribution of the horticultural sector to household incomes through the generation of employment opportunities and foreign currency; and to improve food security, food safety and nutrition by increasing the resilience, inclusiveness, and sustainability of Kenyan horticultural value chains.

Other programmes implemented by COLEACP in Kenya are Fit For Market and Fit For Market SPS. Recent activities under these programmes, in collaboration with other stakeholders, include a series of regional training/sensitisation forums for all producers across the country, aiming at a common approach across the industry to help drastically reduce interceptions of Thaumatotibia leucotreta (false codling moth, FCM) on roses exported to Europe.

COLEACP activities in Kenya are supported by EU-funded programmes. The NExT Kenya (New Export Trade) programme funded by the EU Delegation in Nairobi was established following extensive consultations and collaboration with Kenyan horticulture stakeholders. The Fit For Market and Fit For Market SPS programmes are implemented by COLEACP within the Framework of Development Cooperation between the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and the European Union. Fit For Market is co-funded by the French Development Agency (AFD).