The ‘Role of Small and Medium Agro-Enterprises in achieving food security’ was the subject of a KLV Alumni ‘World Lecture’ that took place on January 15, 2014 in the Impulse Building of Wageningen UR. To this end KLV had invited AAA Member Mrs Eunice Mwongera from Kenya, who is the owner of Hillside Green Growers. Hillside Green Growers is an SME that is engaging smallholder farmers in the Mt Kenya Region in value chains in quality fresh fruits (mango, avocado, passion fruit) and vegetables (beans, sugar snaps, carrots, chillies, aubergines) for markets in Europe, the Middle East and local.

For a mixed audience of over 80 students, researchers, lecturers, entrepreneurs, NGO representatives and policy makers, Mrs Mwongera explained and showed what her company is doing and how, in particular in the absence of enabling governmental policies and services.  Extension towards participating farmers, for example –training in agronomic practices, crop protection, fertilizer use- are all provided through Hillside Green Growers and its NGO partners. The smallholder farmers (typically owning 0.2-10 ha of land and supporting some 5-20 dependents) work on contract basis with Hillside.

Hillside Green Growers is a family business of about 1.3 million Euro annual turnover, that employs some 150 people as field support staff and in the pack house in Nairobi, mainly single mothers from the Kibera city slum. Certified quality production, value addition (packing) and marketing of the products are the main objectives. Associated farmers, about  8000, benefit through increased productivity, prompt payment at guaranteed prices and spending the extra income earned on investments in the farm house, the family and in farm operations.

In the lively discussions that followed Mrs Mwongera’s presentation, critical questions centred on the effectiveness of export-oriented value chains in achieving local food –and nutrition- security, the ecological impact of pesticides and fertilizers, the needs and ways of farmer training –what role for governments?- and how the positive example and experiences provided by Hillside Green Growers can be out-scaled to other areas in Kenya and indeed to other African countries.

The latter two issues are among the main objectives of AAA, the Africa Agribusiness Academy, a joint activity of SME agri-entrepreneurs in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia, and Wageningen UR Centre for Development Innovation. AAA designs and implements coaching trajectories between established African agri-entrepreneurs like Mrs Mwongera and their young and promising counterparts. Coaching support covers areas such as technical skills training, business administration and the write-up of bankable business proposals.

AAA, an original initiative of the Wageningen Ambassadors, is a member-based platform that is funded by the AAA entrepreneurs themselves –about 100 SME’s presently- and a number of private sponsors (through the Wageningen University Fund) , both from Africa and the Netherlands, and receives co-financing from the Netherlands Government. The AAA is technically supported by CDI and a number of independent senior advisers.

Sourcing from smallholders

The Africa Agribusiness Academy

Case study

HILLSIDE GREEN GROWERS AND EXPORTERS Eunice Mwongera

Company Background • Hillside Green is a family export company that was founded in 1998 with a clear mission; to farm and export fresh and healthy fruits & vegetables to the global market. • Hillside specializes in three product segments: o Exotic vegetables o Fruits o Asian Vegetables • Hillside is a leading exporter to Dubai, Kuwait and Qatar, and also exports into UK, Holland and, Norway UK. Currently the company is targeting the COMESA regional market. • Hillside Green produces 30% (of all its products) on its own farm, 50% goes through smallholder farmers, 10% is through individual contract farmers and 10% through middlemen/ brokers.

Sourcing of raw materials /best agriculture practices

There are four strategies that majority of exporters employ to source raw materials. Ordinarily most of will use the four concurrently in a bid to ascertain quality, quantity and consistency of the raw materials given that horticulture is a highly time conscious type of business.

1) Firms own grown 2) Contracted large scale farmers/growers 3) Smallholder farmers, organised in farmers groups 4) Brokers/agents/suppliers

1. A. Smallholder farmers  

Characteristics • Composition is about 40-55 farmers leaving within a given geographical zone with similarity in ecological conditions • Usually have common interest that bring them together, which is sourcing for markets • They also come together to be able to consolidate wares • To benefit from price negotiations and bargains to chemical supplies • May also be sharing water source or other facility like centralised delivery depot

Sourcing from smallholders

The Africa Agribusiness Academy

• • More developed groups cover three or more groups to form a Sacco e.g. sagreens ltd

Prevailing conditions :( challenges)

• • Lack of adequate extension services by government • Lack of affordable certified seeds • Lack of government aided trainings • Lack of government supported marketing structures • Competition • Reliance on rained agriculture • Small parcels of land • Threats from consumer demanded standards

How Hillside has overcome the challenges

• • Implementing a MOU through contract farming • Identify serous enterprising group with structures • Assigning regional managers (agronomists in charge of groups) • Training of farmers, couching on good agriculture practice • Networking with chemical suppliers and seed providers for original seeds • Enhancing close supervision • Identifying with farmers needs e.g. we zero on an existing group • Embraced and negotiated mutually agreeable policies on prices, picking days, spraying programmes, quality, quantity , mode and schedule of payments, how to deal with errant members and contract relationship etc • Encouraging corporate governance within the groups (officials, bank accounts and accountability systems) • Networking with industry stakeholders e.g. PIP, techno serve, KHDP to address issues of quality, training, certifications • Partnering with microfinance, e.g. equity, Faulu to source affordable funds to smallholders and offer business development business services • Identifying with women led groups as they are trustworthy and reliant dressing the business perspective from another angle, sourcing from smallholders remains the cheapest source even if one takes into account all the costs.

Key success factors- farming with farmers groups

• • Smallholder farming is more cost effective

Sourcing from smallholders

The Africa Agribusiness Academy

• • There is marked transformation of life style in the rural areas where horticulture farming is practiced – eradication of rural poverty • Farmers groups farming has an effect of addressing food shortages in the rural areas as farmers have access to easily disposable incomes • This strategy works to mintage food security challenges as farmers are trained on crop rotation • There is evidence of mentorship taking place as young energetic farmers are taking the challenge and indeed commercializing farming

B, Individual (contract) Farmers • Characteristics of the individual contract farmers are that the individual component as opposed to being organized into groups. These farmers also tend to have a larger size of land of approx. 10-50 ha. However, there are few farmers in Kenya with 50 ha that are not already exporting them. • Generally speaking, these growers are easier to manage as compared to smallholders and they require less training. Hillside has a written contract with them which includes provision of seeds, agronomical training, and transport for the produce, payment procedure (monthly payment and higher price as compared to smallholders). • According to Hillside, the advantage of working with them is that they are very consistent, deliver high quality, more honest, less supervision costs, more professional and business minded.

1. C. Brokers • The contractual relationship with the broker is based on Local Purchase Order (LPO). Hillside also offers credit support to bind them. Credit support involves prepayment so that the brokers meet the order. At the start of the season, Hillside holds meetings with the top 8 brokers and agrees on calendar/dates of supply, price, and delivery period and payment mode. These agreements are often verbal agreements and based on trust. As long as you stick to the prices, mode of payment and the calendar, these agreements often work. • Hillside also works with an Accounts Payment System, whereby Hillside collaborates with Equity Bank. The procedure is that the company ensures that the broker opens an account with the bank in question, so that there are no financial problems with prepayment, payment, and booking. This cycle should be smoothly operating. The reason Hillside operates in this way and in particular with Equity Bank is for security purposes to trace back the money flow. If there are any payment issues

Sourcing from smallholders

The Africa Agribusiness Academy

Equity will support Hillside in finding solutions. Another benefit of using Equity is that it has branches in rural areas.

Breach of agreements/Best Practices

1. A. Smallholder farmers   • In some cases, the smallholders do breach contracts. They might under produce, overproduce, shift prices, fail to implement the Good Agricultural Practices (GAP). These are real challenges. At Hillside Green, this is where contract farming comes in. • Through signed contract farming (not to be confused with the larger individual contract farmers listed above) so better say contract documents, Hillsides binds itself to the farmer groups, using different clauses o 1) we shall not breach the contracts o 2) we shall not sell to anybody else o 3) we shall not take anybody else’s products o 4)we shall adhere to the price listed in the agreement • According to Hillside, clause nr 4 is frequently causing problems. If the price agreed upon with Hillside appears to be lower than the actual market price, the farmers may side-sell to an external company. These external companies may also be the same brokers that also supply to Hillside. This is market behaviour and proves almost impossible to prevent. • However, the farmers are morally bound, they are well aware that they need Hillside in the future, hence they will still supply to Hillside but produce for example only the half of what they agreed upon. The other half may be secretly sold to the external companies/brokers.  

• • Hillside identified six ways to either prevent or deal with breach of agreements: 1) The company collaborates with FPEAK (Fresh Produce Exporters Association of Kenya). This association of all exporters has laid out specific rules regarding fresh produce production and thereby protecting the exporter. FPEAK lists the farmer groups of its exporters and circulates this information to all members of its Association. By circulating this information, other exporters ideally do not use the same groups. Implying that if companies are morally consistent they would not touch these farmer groups.

Sourcing from smallholders

The Africa Agribusiness Academy

2) Allocate a permanent officer at the farmer groups, who will monitor/ supervise/ align with the officials. However costs are inclined with continuous supervision. 3) Consequent and frequent payment to the smallholder farmers. Farmers want payments to be prompt/immediate, so if you pay them consequently, e.g. every 2 weeks, the farmer will not see the need to go to other buyers. In some instances, Hillside even pays weekly or even daily. In this farm you bind the farmer. 4) Forcing the contracts by using farmer group officials. The officials deal with the penalties for those who misbehave. Hillside may also intervene itself by not buying the ‘misbehaving’ farmers’ produce for a week. Hence, when farmers refuse to deliver the agreed quantity in an off-season, Hillside punishes by not purchasing their produce in the real season. This serves as another motivator for farmers to live up to the agreements. 5) Increasing prices. Farmers know the market prices, so sometimes Hillside has to higher the prices to keep up with the competition of other buyers.   6) Working through a stakeholder’s network. In this network all relevant stakeholders are present: the exporter, the trainer (USAID/Techno serve), the farmer, the bank (Equity Bank) and the chemical inputs person. The exporter provides for the market, the bank provides for the credit, the farmer provides the produce, the chemical inputs person provides the chemicals and the trainer provides training modules. Hillside is very much in favour of this approach since constraints are jointly discussed and opportunities identified.

Contact details: Hillside Green Growers and Exporters Eunice Mwongera Kindaruma Road P.O. Box 73485 – 00200 Nairobi, Kenya

Tel: +254 (0) 20 239 7353; Cell: +254 722 514 375 Email

Kenya is a beautiful country, located along the equator with two main rain seasons. with Mombasa as the main port entry, Kenya is the single most gate way to the east and central African economies. It is indeed is the strongest economy of the region. With an estimated 40 million people, Kenya boarders Ugandan to the East, Tanzania to the south and Somalia to the north. Its blessed with an extensive coastline on the far east, opening to the Indian ocean. Kenya is the home to the famous international medal holders, Marathon runners our time! Kenya also boasts of the great rift valley Kenya and is actually home to Mt Kenya that sits 29,000ft above sea level, it is a volcanic mountains, whose soils and rain partners conspire to provide just the ideality for exotic vegetables, the mange tout, snow peas, and baby carrots.

Kenya is the home of the big five too, with tourism earning largest foreign earlier after tea and Horticulture! Jomo Kenyatta airport is connected to all global destinations by all major airlines while port of Mombasa single most sea port in Eastern Africa.(handles refrigerated containers to rest of world)

The World's Leading Trade Fair for the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Business.

FRUIT LOGISTICA is the leading international meeting place of the fresh produce trade. From 8th to 10th February 2012, more than 2,400 companies from across the entire fresh produce value chain were present in a single location – including global players as well as small and medium-sized suppliers from all around the world.

Hills side green growers was among the companies that attended this major event.