Proceedings of The 6th International Conference on Management, Economics and Finance
Year: 2023
DOI:
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Multi-stakeholder partnerships in building sustainable value chains: Case study of Indigenous Vegetables value chain in Eldoret, Kenya
Cynthia Moraa Onyangore
ABSTRACT:
African Indigenous Vegetables (AIVs) were previously regarded a poor man’s food but that is changing due to the continued sensitization on the nutritional value of AIVs and a rising middle class that is willing and able to pay for quality fresh produce. Production of African Indigenous Vegetables is still largely dependent on rain, and this leads to fluctuation in supply and prices during rainy seasons and dry seasons. During the rainy season, there is overproduction leading to a glut, lower prices and increase in post-harvest losses. During the dry season prices skyrocket. Consumers are becoming more aware and requiring transparency as to the source of their fresh produce; this demands that production is well monitored and sourcing from smallholder producers is only done from credible farmers. There is however a shortage of seeds and seedlings for AIVs, also contributing to the cyclical fluctuation in both quality and quantity of AIVs produced. Public and private sector stakeholders in the AIVs value have not been integrated into the AIVs value chain, from farm to fork. Climate smart agricultural practices have also not been fully harnessed to ensure sufficient year-round availability of fresh, safe vegetables to consumers with adequate economic gain to producers and traders. Collaboration among the various stakeholders is imperative to address these various facets inherent in the AIVs value chain. This will be aptly portrayed in the poster presentation to represent the gaps, leverage points and tradeoffs in the AIVs value chain in Eldoret, Kenya.
keywords: inclusive, collaboration, agri-chains, indigenous, climate-smart