Kenya’s horticulture sector came under scrutiny at the recently concluded Financing Agri-Food Systems Sustainably (FINAS) Summit 2025, with concerns raised over persistent post-harvest losses that continue to cost farmers significant income.
The Summit gathered a wide range of African and international stakeholders under the theme ‘Taking Ownership: Rethinking Sustainable Financing for Africa’s Food Systems’.
Addressing delegates at the summit in Nairobi, Kenya’s Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, Dr. Musalia Mudavadi, highlighted the scale of the problem facing horticultural producers in key counties. “Farmers in Meru and Kirinyaga produce premium fruits and vegetables, but up to 40 percent of this produce goes to waste due to poor storage, inadequate transport, and weak market links,” he said.
Dr. Musalia Mudavadi also pointed out that agricultural financing remains scattered, heavily collateralized, and concentrated in a handful of high-value chains, sidelining the core drivers of food systems: the smallholder farmers who contribute 70% of Africa’s food supply. These farmers continue to work within fragmented, underdeveloped value chains.
“Too often, capital flows bypass smallholder farmers, overlook women producers, or are structured in ways that fail to reflect the seasonality, risk profile, and diversity of the agricultural sector,” he noted.
While much of the summit’s conversation centered on overhauling financing models for African agriculture broadly, Mudavadi’s remarks brought attention to the unique challenges horticulturalists face within Kenya’s food system. He noted that despite the sector’s potential to contribute to both local food security and regional trade, these losses continue to erode farmers’ earnings and discourage investment in horticulture.
The Prime Cabinet Secretary called for financing models and agricultural systems that are more inclusive, smarter, and grounded in local realities, ensuring that resources reach those who need them most, including smallholder farmers, women producers and youth-led agri-enterprises.
Mudavadi’s remarks added to growing calls for practical solutions to the structural issues limiting horticultural market access and post-harvest management.