August 27, 2007
15,000 Attend Kenyan Maize Business Fair
ACDI/VOCA’s Kenya Maize Development Program (KMDP) held its largest ever annual maize business fair at Moi University in Eldoret, Kenya, August 23-24.
Over 15,000 participants, including over 70 exhibitors from the private sector, NGOs and the public sector, and an estimated 11,000 farmers, attended the two-day fair, which strengthens business relationships among maize industry stakeholders. Since ACDI/VOCA began organizing the fairs in 2004, the number of fair participants has tripled.
This year’s theme of “Agribusiness Without Borders” highlighted the importance of maize production and trade within the East Africa region and the need to increase trade linkages in the maize, wheat and dairy sectors.
Minister of Trade and Industry Commends KMDP
The guest of honor on the inaugural day was the Minister of Trade and Industry Mukhisa Kituyi. Other officials present included the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Trade and Industry, David Nalo, USAID/East Africa Regional Food for Peace Officer David Rinck and KMDP Cognizant Technical Officer Dr. Julius Kilungo.
In his keynote speech, Kituyi, who also attended last year's fair, commended KMDP and its partners for the transformative effect of the fair. He said it enables farmers to learn from each other and build networks, most importantly with prominent private sector participants.
Kituyi also lauded ACDI/VOCA’s and the USAID-funded Regional Agricultural Trade Enhancement project’s collaboration to establish the Eastern Africa Grain Council (EAGC), which promotes structured and efficient maize marketing in the region, including the use of grain warehouse receipts.
“Kenya Maize Handbook” Launched
At the end of the first day, at a gala dinner presided over by Minister of Agriculture Kipruto Arap Kirwa, ACDI/VOCA launched the KMDP "Kenya Maize Handbook," a 176-page repository of comprehensive scientific, business and agricultural information on maize farming. Dignitaries included Minister Kituyi, Chairman of EAGC Nick Hutchinson and Managing Director of Kenya Seed Company Hosea Sitienei.
The second day of the fair began with a fun-filled bike race sponsored by Farm Chem Kenya, Ltd., during which 150 taxi bicyclers known as boda bodas competed for a brand-new bicycle. Boda bodas, common in western Kenya, are sometimes used for market transport.
The fair continued with over 10,000 farmers visiting the exhibition tents from as far as Nakuru (over 200 km from Eldoret) including leaders and members of the 60 associations supported by KMDP as well as farmers from neighboring Uasin Gishu and Trans Nzoia districts. Throughout the day, farmers visited over 40 demonstration plots set up in the adjacent university farmland, where they learned about improved agronomic practices.
Yields Tripled
During the closing ceremony, ACDI/VOCA-Kenya Chief of Party Steven Collins remarked that farmers within the KMDP’s reach had been able to triple their productivity from 10 bags of maize/ha to over 32 bags/ha, and that this has enabled Kenya to move from being a maize-deficit country to self-sustenance.
Minister Kirwa applauded the increase in productivity and attributed it to farmers’ adoption of improved agricultural practices advocated by KMDP and the ministry of agriculture. He noted that increased access to credit has enabled farmers to buy appropriate inputs and plant on time, thus contributing greatly to improved harvests. KMDP-supported farmer groups have borrowed $1,092,101 from various banks.
The credit initiative is part of ACDI/VOCA’s efforts to provide capacity-building technical assistance through KMDP over the past several years to help farmers form registered associations. ACDI/VOCA provided the associations with training on access to and use of credit to enable them to better manage their finances so as to capitalize on their farms’ production potential.
Private Sector Out in Force
The KMDP fair has always been marked by strong private sector participation from companies that sponsor the event and exhibit their products and services. This year over 70 private sector companies participated including seed, food, animal feed and fertilizer manufacturers, farm machinery distributors, information technology companies, commercial Kenyan banks and local microfinance providers. These companies paid in total $33,700 in sponsorship fees and thus covered 75 percent of the fair’s cost. KMDP expects the fair to be fully financed through stakeholder contributions over the next two years and thus become a sustainable forum for Kenyan maize stakeholders.
ACDI/VOCA’s KMDP boosts household incomes by raising productivity, improving effectiveness of smallholder organizations and increasing access to agricultural markets and business support services. Led by ACDI/VOCA, the program involves a diverse consortium of partners within the maize value chain, including the Cereal Growers Association of Kenya, Farm Input Promotions Africa Ltd. (FIPS) and the Kenya Agricultural Commodity Exchange. For more information, on ACDI/VOCA’s KMDP click here.
