Getting vegetables off the ground

The horticulture industry is one of the fastest growing non-traditional export sectors of many African countries, including Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania and Malawi. Yet without representation from an international marketing organisation, small scale growers struggle to break into the lucrative European markets where horticultural products are mainly sold.

The difficulty for small scale producers to access foreign markets is, according to Adam Brett of Tropical Wholefoods, due to a lack of knowledge. Speaking in Harare at a recent workshop for vegetable producers, Brett explained, "Many African small producers assume that food and horticultural products will be expensive in the UK but the truth is that many products sold in the UK are cheaper than they are if you buy them in Africa." Another setback stems from a lack of understanding of the standards demanded by European markets, which are too high for the average small-scale African grower. To address the problem, several non-government organisations have set up advisory desks for small scale producers. Express Moyo of Business Consult Africa in Malawi, believes "continued talking to donors and sending small-scale producers to agricultural shows and expositions in Europe and South Africa will help these producers to have first hand information on the required standards and procedures."

The abundance of cheap labour in many African countries has for a long time been thought of as an advantage for producers of horticultural products taking into account the intensity of labour involved in the industry. However, Adam Brett believes that this can, in fact, be a hindrance to quality production. "Cheap labour is a great advantage in Africa but the downside of it, is that it is often very poor quality, as many of the poor people have not had a good education and skills and they do not know how to do business."

A lot of small-scale producers believe that they are disadvantaged in the food and horticulture industry because they do not posses the kind of technology that the commercial producers do. However, Dr Henry Kadaga of the University of Zimbabwe, also speaking at the Harare workshop, challenged this idea; "It is not necessarily the sophistication of the technology [that is important] but how you handle it and put detail in the processing of the products." For this reason, his department has embarked on the production of appropriate and intermediate technologies to help small-scale producers. According to Bertha Msura of the Fumbizanai Permaculture Centre, the shelf-life of some of the food and horticultural products produced by small producers is another worrying factor. The Centre which seeks to promote women's participation in agriculture, has been holding workshops with their members in conjunction with experts in the fields to try to increase product shelf-life, and has also encouraged organic farming to ensure sustainable production.

As the horticultural industry grows, it is increasingly necessary for small producers to become aware of the ethical demands of the markets. To this end, the Agricultural Ethics Assurance Association of Zimbabwe has devised regulations for vegetable producers. According to Kennedy Chakanyuka, the Association's Chief Executive, these regulations will help producers to "adhere to best environmental practices, pay attention to health related and sanitary aspects of product handling, protect worker health and welfare and produce a documentation system that ensures product traceability from farm to market." If initiatives such as these can really be transferred to farm level, the food and horticulture industry looks destined for higher heights in Africa.

Article submitted by Daniel Sikazwe