Value chain players in Kenya, Benin and Zambia will benefit from a two-and-half-year project aimed at reducing use of harmful chemicals in agriculture, improve farm yields and also enhance marketing of fresh produce.

With an initial investment of Ksh35.5 million ($274,131) by the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), the project is intended to reduce rejections of the country’s vegetables in the European market.

The project comes ahead of the new EU regulations of fresh produce that takes effect next month and also considering that EU accounts for up to 80 per cent of Kenyans fruit and vegetables sales including 42 per cent of flower exports.

Speaking during the launch of the project dubbed Nature-Based Microbial Solutions for Sustainable Agriculture Productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa (NAMSSA), Senior Scientist, Research at CABI’s regional centre for Africa in Nairobi Dr Joseph Mulema, said they will be supporting registrations of prospective nature based solutions, increase awareness amongst farmers and support last mile agro-input suppliers.

“Players in the private sector, researchers and universities are coming together to drive the adoption of nature-based solutions in agriculture in view of the losses incurred as a result of pests,” he said.

Dr Mulema noted that lack of awareness among value chain actors on alternative pest control approaches is also a cause for concern, thus within the project scope, they will build the capacity of critical players regarding the nature-based solutions.

CABI is leading key partners in implementing the project to address outbreaks of endemic pests, invasion by non-native pests, depletion of nutrient, and soil becoming less suppressive resulting in the majority of soil-borne pathogens.

“Pests, such as the fall armyworm on maize for instance cause close to 40 per cent of pre-and post-harvest losses, while in some cases, losses can exceed 100 per cent, particularly in the case of certain soil-borne ailments,” Dr Mulema said.

In Kenya, the project is going to work with Twiga Chemicals on Broccoli, while in Benin they will implement the project together with the University of Abomey-Calavi in Benin, focused majorly on maize, while in Zambia, they will work with Exotic Green Enterprises focusing on legumes

“We are working together to develop sustainable solutions to help increase yields of key crops affected by pests and diminishing soil productivity,” he added, noting that in Kenya the project focuses on broccoli, in which implementers aim at testing XenTari, a biological insecticide said to be effective in the control of almost all caterpillar pests.

Dr Mulema explained that targeting broccoli in the case of Kenya aims at improving export of the crop, and it will enable farmers to extend the distribution to other brassicas such as cabbage, cauliflower and other vegetables in that family.

At the end of the project, farmers will be in a position to conserve most of the biodiversity in their fields, get safer foods, and what is needed is just to make the solutions affordable and accessible to farmers.

Twiga Chemicals Technical Manager in charge of crop protection, Edward Kitui said they will be testing biopesticides that can manage soil-borne pests and also manage insects such as the butterflies

Kenya exports broccoli, with the primary export markets being the Middle East countries like Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, as well as some European markets.

“Our collaboration will help partners involved in ensuring that the small-scale farmer is able to access the biodiversity-friendly products; be aware of their value, and also look at sustainable food production,” he added.

Kitui, however, noted that one of the biggest challenges is that there are very good solutions in terms of addressing food production, but then getting them to the market requires resources, time and input.

He further explained that one of the biggest issues with broccoli is the caterpillars, and being a major export crop, the introduction of XenTari will help farmers and in the process reduce Maximum Residue Level (MRLs), one of the biggest challenges that affects sales of fresh produce, especially in EU markets.

Within the project, Kitui said, they target to reach 5,000 farmers by building a comprehensive programme for crop-based enhancement, right from the extension officers who work directly with the farmers, the stockists who are supposed to supply the product and also the farmers who are supposed to utilise the product as well.

Head of fundraising and technology transfer at ICGEB, Dr Elena Benedetti, said the projects funding will come from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to develop bio-inoculant solutions for food security in Africa.

“We decided to partner with CABI for the NAMSSA project and support in capacity building and technology transfer in life sciences and also provision of required funding for the last mile,” she said.

This, she added, will be able to increase the acceptance and market penetration to enable local solutions that can become products, also at an international level.

Dr Benedetti further said that the aim is also to decrease the import of materials such as chemical fertilizers, because they have a massive impact on economics and finances of the country, a move that will also make some of those environment-friendly products more accessible to all the partners.

In 2024, the EU increased scrutiny of Kenyan fresh produce exports, particularly roses, due to repeated interceptions of the False Codling Moth (FCM), leading to stricter pest management measures and increased sampling rate.

Floriculture bring a lot in terms of cost revenue to farmers and the country as a whole and therefore addressing the issue of innovative pest management strategies and soil fertility improvements aims to increase the use of nature-based solutions in agro-food systems in Sub-Saharan Africa.

• A Tell / KNA report / By Wanagri Ndirangu