Horticulture Earnings to Drop by Sh20B Due to Escalating Drought

The Government has warned of a 17 percent reduction in horticulture earnings due to the  escalating drought ravaging the country.

The red flag was raised by the Horticultural Crops Directorate (HCD) Director Benjamin Tito last week, saying projections indicated that the industry’s earnings will dip by over Sh20 billion by December 2022.

“The industry recorded Sh157 billion in 2021 after increasing from Sh150 billion registered in 2020. However, by the end of 2022, earnings are expected to drop to Sh130 billion as the climate change effects continue to affect the industry,” Tito said.  

The warning comes a few days after Agriculture Cabinet Secretary (CS) Mithika Linturi confirmed that the three days strike by Kenya Airways (KQ) pilots had denied the industry over Sh600 million.

Horticulture  producers and traders have been counting  losses due to the KQ strike, with over 100 metric tons of fresh produce still lying in local warehouses.  Out of the incurred losses, 75 percent comprise cut flowers.

Tito said the sector has also been affected by lack of water due to drought, and high levels of notifications of fresh produce consignments at the recipients export destinations, mainly in the European Union (EU) market.

“We have witnessed reduction in volumes being shipped to various export destinations especially the European Union (EU). This has happened as farms using irrigation systems are grappling with reduced volumes of water and thus are not able to expand farming areas,” said Tito.

Tito said though Kenya is still leading as a major exporter of fresh produce in EU and other world markets, volumes have reduced significantly, a trend that will affect the earnings as well. 

He was addressing agriculture stakeholders during the 2022 Fruits, Vegetables and Herbs Conference and Exhibition at a Nairobi hotel.

Speakers warned that reduced production due to the severe drought will spike prices.