KENYA: Strengthening Kenya’s agri-food sector to safeguard food security

Kenya and France are two agricultural and agri-food leaders in their respective regions, each seeking to strengthen mutual understanding between the two countries.  

In 2023, Kenya and France entered a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen food security and food sovereignty with technical experience transfers identified as an avenue to promote this collaboration.

This project will strengthen the skills and capacities of Kenya’s private agricultural sector and encourage sharing of experiences and expertise with French companies through a bipartisan Fund for Technical Expertise and Experience Transfers (FEXTE). 

The actors targeted by the financing will all be active players in sectors contributing to the country’s food security such as cereals, oilseeds, protein crops, tubers, milk, etc. Priority will be given to the most vulnerable populations such as breeders in remote regions most affected by drought. 

15-20 agri-food companies whose activity is vital for the development of the local agri-food production in Kenya will go through a 12-month business acceleration program, including a 360° diagnosis, training, coaching and mentoring sessions and two visits to France. This will promote experience-sharing, networking between Kenyan and French companies. 

3 discovery missions will be organized for delegations composed of ministerial, public and private entities to visit France and learn about pre-identified themes; cereal and plant protein chains, animal identification traceability, logistics, wholesale markets, and agri-food innovation ecosystems.

• Kenyan agri-companies will gain valuable skills enabling them to create local added value in the agricultural sector by transforming their mode of production with new processes, new products and reduction of post-harvest losses.  
• Successful capacity building opportunities; Training seminars conducted with 500 participants, discovery missions completed with 30 Kenyan participants, expert missions carried out with 6 French experts mobilized in total.
• Stimulate interest of French companies in Kenya to attract new investments and create new jobs in the agrifood sector.