In accordance with the Kenya Manufacturing 20by30 Plan, the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) seeks to increase the manufacturing sector’s contribution to GDP from 7.8% in 2022 to 20% in 2030 through four crucial focus areas: global competitiveness, export-led growth, SME development, and agriculture for industry.
KAM collaborated with development organisations on the 20by30 Plan, especially the Agriculture for Industry Pillar. Anthony Mwangi, the CEO of KAM, stated that the Association aims to promote the growth of agro-based value chains and redefine the manufacturer’s role in the agricultural industry.
“On one end, farmers cannot find a market for their produce and do not have certainty of returns whereas agro-processers do not have a predictable and consistent supply chain of produce from the perspective of price, quantity, and quality,” he said.
Low productivity, post-harvest losses, and erratic farm produce supplies are some of the issues raised by agro processors and have an impact on both the price and quality of raw materials as well as production planning.
Agro processors also have a restricted selection of crops available to them locally that they can use to make various goods. For instance, the tomato grown in the nation is good for home cooking but unsuitable for making tomato paste.
The Association urged cooperation among stakeholders, including development partners, along the value chain for agro-processing in order to increase access to finance, support the distribution of high-quality seeds and good agricultural practises, strengthen aggregation and storage systems to increase distribution efficiency, and support capacity building for post-harvest loss mitigation.
KAM will continue to engage diverse stakeholders to create a sustainable ecosystem as it endeavours to bolster integration between agriculture and manufacturing.
