Developing Sustainable Fresh Produce Agriculture Value Chains: Case Study of African Indigenous Vegetables (AIVs) Value Chain in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya

Abstract

The African Indigenous Vegetables (AIV) value chain in Uasin Gishu is characterized by highly individualistic behavior among the various stakeholders. Little or no collaboration in the VC has led to an uncoordinated AIV VC that is not harnessing the benefits of a growing demand for African Indigenous Vegetables in the County. This study was conducted to analyze the African Indigenous Vegetable (AIV) value chain (VC) in Uasin Gishu to identify the stakeholders and their interactions and apply analytical tools to identify bottlenecks in the VC and make recommendations that would lead to a more inclusive, dynamic, and sustainable chain. Data was collected using both primary and secondary sources on the various issues on AIVs in Uasin Gishu County. Tools used to analyze the data include the stakeholder matrix, value chain map, SWOT, PESTEC, and causal diagram. Several issues affecting the AIV VC in Uasin Gishu County were identified, and from the analysis, the main problem is uncoordination among the various actors in the value chain. This is due to non-collaboration among the various actors in the value chain. Two recommendations were put forward to address this problem, and they included benchmarking and gap analysis with Vihiga County which has commercialized its AIV value chain and ensuring market access for smallholders. These recommendations would lead to a more inclusive, sustainable, and dynamic AIV value chain in Uasin Gishu where actors have better prices and higher margins.