• The HACCP (SANS 10330:2020) certification presented by the Kenya Bureau of Standards was for the Nairobi Packhouse.
• The packhouse provides startups and medium-scale exporters and importers of vegetables, herbs, fruits, and flowers with packaging space and cold storage.
Image: MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND LIVESTOCK DEVELOPMENT
Horticulture processors and packaging companies have received a boost in their operations after the AFA Horticultural Crops Directorate was awarded certification which will open up international markets.
The HACCP (SANS 10330:2020) certification presented by the Kenya Bureau of Standards was for the Nairobi Packhouse.
The packhouse provides startups and medium-scale exporters and importers of vegetables, herbs, fruits, and flowers with packaging space and cold storage.
The Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) is a system that provides the framework for monitoring the total food system, from harvesting to consumption, to reduce the risk of food-borne illnesses and assure food safety.
Speaking on Wednesday at a Nairobi hotel during the certification award ceremony, Industry PS Dr Juma Mukhwana said the government endeavours to get markets for Kenyan products but local production has not been able to satisfy the markets.
He said in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), Kenya was not able to satisfy even one per cent of the available market in the USA.
"On Monday the president will be signing the Kenya- European Union (EU) agreement which will enable Kenya to sell up to 13,000 different products to 27 EU countries duty-free and quota-free for 25 years," Mukhwana said.
To boost local manufacturing and processing and increase exports to these markets, he said the government is implementing the County Aggregation and Industrial Parks (CAIPs). In the plan, each county identifies three to five value chains where the products will be aggregated for value addition.
"In this financial year, the national government has put in Sh4.5 billion with county governments putting in the same amount for the construction of CAIPs and their construction is ongoing," the PS said.
Mukhwana said the second biggest employer in the country after the public service is the manufacturing sector employing 600,000 people and a lot needs to be done, especially in the horticulture processing and value addition in efforts to create more jobs.
"The industries sector is the only place where you can employ 3,000 people in one place and I am happy that the Nairobi packhouse has received this important certification," he said.
"One of the issues we are asking ourselves is how much value are we adding to our products. The other day we were in Japan to talk about coffee, and when we went to the supermarket, we found a kilo of Kenyan coffee retailing at Sh7,000 yet what the farmer is getting is very little and the difference is just value addition."
AFA Board chairman Cornelly Serem said they aim to ensure the packhouses in the country meet international standards so that international buyers are comfortable buying products from Kenya.
He said many international buyers have the condition for the HACCP (SANS 10330:2020) certification and the attainment of the standards will open up markets for Kenyan horticulture products.
"One of the biggest challenges we have had with our products is packaging which at times is of lower quality, appeal, and design. I would like to challenge Kebs to come up with standards for packaging materials and design and this way we will avoid having the same Kenyan product of equal quantity being packaged in different sizes and designs," Serem said.
HCD acting director Christine Chesaro said they have eight packhouses across the country that handle different products. She said the one in Kibwezi handles mangoes, in Yatta tomatoes and mangoes for the export market, the one in Nkubu handles bananas and the one in Sagana handles fresh produce and avocados.
Chesaro said the packhouse in Nairobi has benefitted SMEs who cannot afford their own packaging space by offering them the fully equipped facility.
"Because we are serving our farmers, being a regulator we worked towards adhering to the standards because the markets are very sensitive to this and that is why we took the lead to certify our Nairobi pack house," she said.
Chesaro said the process started in 2017 and they have had a series of audits and corrective actions in July 2023 they had the final audit and the certifying body Kebs felt it was satisfied that they had met the standards to be certified.