Small-holder farmers form an important part of Kenya’s agriculture sector, but their size and limited influence hampers their access to markets. Working together in groups is an excellent solution in this situation as it enables small farmers to secure and sustain markets, enjoy economies of scales and benefit in many other ways from cooperating.

In groups, farmers can more easily fulfil standards of production and other operations such as packaging and transport as required by their target markets and ensure high quality produce. 

MARKUP, through UNIDO, has been training farmers on Group Dynamics and Good Governance in the counties of Trans Nzoia, Bungoma, Busia, Siaya and Homa Bay counties, with more counties to follow. 

“There are many markets for your produce, but you can only sustain them by working in groups,” said MARKUP Kenya National Project Coordinator Maina Karuiru at the official opening of the training in Trans Nzoia. He encouraged young people in particular to work in groups and embrace agribusiness as a way of earning an income and contributing towards access to safe food. 

Read more about how MARKUP Kenya motivates small-scale farmers to cooperate for better market access on the MARKUP Kenya web site.