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: 30 April 2020; Hits: 6287

Capsicum farmer reports sales savaged by missing flights to Asia, and closed manufacturers

By Fredrique Achieng

capsicum 2 Capsicum farmer Evelyne Mwangi has seen her income fall by nearly three-quarters in recent weeks as the corona epidemic has stopped flights to Asia that were carrying produce to two of her main markets, China and South Korea.

Previously, Evelyne would earn around Sh17m per shipment, after deductions, but this has drastically reduced to Sh9m per shipment as she ships lower quantities to fewer markets.

Before last month, she was sending out shipments of around seven tonnes each four times a week to her main markets in China, South Korea and the United Kingdom, but now she is sending just four tonnes per consignment to the UK only, and that only once or twice week, because of the reduced number of flights leaving the country.

“Even though fresh produce vegetables demand has not gone down like that of flowers, since people still have to eat, we still feel the effects of the lockdowns. This is because fewer and fewer flights are going out,” said Evelyne.

On top of that, most of her foreign clients are processing firms that process capsicum to powder, and some of them are struggling to maintain their manufacturing.

“Almost 90 per cent of my produce is normally sent to Asia (China and South Korea), and a bit to Europe, but for my Asian market, my demand has reduced by half because processing plants are being closed down due to imposed lockdowns to slow the spread of the virus. I am only left with the UK market,” she said.

“With the restriction of movement around the globe my profits have been cut by more than half and this is just a few months into key export countries closing down their borders.”

It’s a contraction that has left her unable to maintain her 200 staff, who are involved in the process of planting, harvesting and packing, and she is now looking at laying off around half of them.

In this, capsicum farming already has its own challenges, such as insecticide resistant pest and weeds, but the corona epidemic has made matters worse. “We are now forced to sell our products to local buyers, who are an alternative source of income for us, but still do not give us as much promise as exports, since the local market is already flooded.”

To local buyers, Evelyne used to sell a kilo of capsicum for Sh70, but since the pandemic she now sells for Sh50, compared to international markets where she used to sell a kilo for Sh120.

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“If the pandemic will prolong there will be not just an economic crisis but also food crisis around the world. This is because the food supply chain is an intricate system involving farm inputs, farmers, processing plants among others,” says Maximo Torero Cullen, chief economist at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

In addition to the new constraints on export sales, the farming industry relies on imported farm inputs, such as fertilisers and pesticides, with many farmers worried that if the virus continues to wreak havoc around the globe, it will mean more and more crops succumb to pests and diseases.

“I know for sure that this pandemic will end, the only thing I am worried about is when and if we shall be able to stay strong until then,” said Evelyne.

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: 23 April 2020; Hits: 5582

70% of Kenyan food locked out of Nairobi, forcing rural prices to nosedive

By George Munene

food market Smallholder farmers who produce more than 70 per cent of the country’s food are now locked out of the Nairobi markets and suffering tumbling rural prices as a result.

The sudden collapse in prices and supply chains last week saw Kaari, a pig farmer at Chogoria, Tharaka Nithi, calling into Meru Fm seeking an alternative feed source for her 100 now starving hogs. Meanwhile, maize farmers in Meru are having to sell their produce at Sh15 a kilogram down from Sh30 - Sh40 per kg before the lockdown, as nearly all of the previously Nairobi-bound produce is rerouted to Gakoromone, Soko-mjinga and Makutano markets, causing over-supply.

Alex Maingi, an agricultural engineer and farmer, explains that most Kenyan farmers are smallholders, without the quantity of produce or the wherewithal to acquire the food transport licence required to transport food into Nairobi.

As Caleb Karuga, a mixed farmer and agribusiness consultant put it: "Most farmers would pay for a matatu to take a gunia of their produce to Nairobi; these farmers are now having to rethink their consumer base."

Moreover, those who are able to transport food goods into Nairobi have increased the prices charged to farmers, as a result of their own higher costs, as Pius Muriithi. a farmer in Kiambere, Embu county, explained: "Leaving Nairobi, a truck or lorry that had just deposited agricultural produce would return with what would now be considered an inessential product."

Now such trucks return empty, meaning they must earn the costs of both trips, there and back, solely from the agricultural produce going to Nairobi. This has considerably increased the cost of food freight.

The sudden stall on distribution to ready markets has been further exacerbated by the closure of schools and universities, which has seen farmers rerouting produce that was going into the educational establishments back to the open markets too.

For some farmers, a solution has been car boot food produce pop-ups along roads like the Northern bypass, Kabete and the Windsor hotel roundabout. But this is an option for the lucky few, who live in the right location and proximity to Nairobi.

For the rest, the search is now on for new ways to match the food Kenya is producing on its farms with the consumers who are still eating – 4.5m of them in Nairobi.

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: 21 April 2020; Hits: 6746

Poll shows Kenyans worried about Coronavirus food shortages

By Jolene Njambi

veges More than 320 of 400 Kenyans surveyed by SMS pollster GeoPoll are worried they will not have enough food to eat amidst the Coronavirus outbreak.

The survey, which gathered responses from more than 4,500 Africans across 12 nations, found that Kenyans’ concern over an impending food crisis is almost as great a worry to them as the global Coronavirus pandemic itself.

This ties with international alerts, with the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation now warning of an impending food crisis if actions are not taken to protect supply chains and distribute food to vulnerable populations.

Currently, informal food markets constitute a majority of Kenyans’ food supply with approximately 55 per cent relying on informal food markets for their daily food consumption.

But following the announcement of a nationwide curfew on 25^th March 2020, many food markets all over the country have curbed their opening hours in order to beat the dusk to dawn curfew. Many more have had to close, with only 20 per cent of the GeoPoll respondents in Kenya reporting that the markets or stores where they usually buy food are still open.

This has resulted in a dramatic change in food buying habits, with over 60 per cent of Kenyans saying they are shopping for food less often than usual, and 42 per cent buying bigger pack sizes when they do shop.

Of the 80 per cent who reported they were worried about having enough food to eat, a majority, 72 per cent, said they are switching to an alternative brand that is cheaper rather than purchasing their usual brand.

The insights come as GeoPoll promises to run ongoing surveys throughout the current crisis.

“A health crisis such as coronavirus hitting vulnerable populations can have devastating effects on development, food supplies and resources. Reliable data is needed to accurately track on-the-ground situations, and using our remote mobile methodologies GeoPoll was able to gather valuable information quickly and safely,” said Nicholas Becker, GeoPoll CEO.

“Some governments in Africa have been proactive about lockdowns in order to prevent the virus from quickly spreading through densely populated areas, but coronavirus is already present in many African nations, and this study shows there is a fear that the worst is yet to come,” he said.

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