Project title: Developing a sustainable African Indigenous Vegetables (AIVs) value chain in Kenya
Cynthia Onyangore – Kenya
Enter the realm of Cynthia Onyangore’s groundbreaking project, where each seed planted signifies a step towards a brighter future for Kenya’s agricultural landscape. Her mission? To create an inclusive and sustainable African Indigenous Vegetables (AIVs) value chain, empowering resilient women and nurturing communities. Through innovative practices and stakeholder collaboration, Cynthia’s vision is taking root, with the following achievements
Project progress:
- The pilot farm was successfully developed for the minimum viable product (MVP), the African Nightshade vegetable producing 1,000Kg of vegetables and scaling up to 1 acre of land for the 1st season.
- 10,000 seedlings were produced for the African Nightshade Vegetable which led to a new income stream.
- She got a new position as a senior consultant with SME for vegetables value chain for 2 Wageningen University & Research training courses, Rural Entrepreneurship and Inclusive Market Development held in Eldoret, with 22 participants each from one of 10 different African countries.
- Successful multistakeholder engagements with 10 different stakeholder groups in the vegetable value chain in Uasin Gishu County and a chainwide learning workshop with 150 stakeholders which resulted in the development of a strategic action plan to address gap areas.
- The price of African Nightshade vegetables within her enterprise has increased from 0.13€ to 0.33€ per kilogram farmgate, and to 0.65€ per kilogram when sorted and washed, because only organic vegetables are produced.
- Their supply also increased from 1,000kg in a season to 2,000kg in 2023.
- 8 internal stakeholders and staff have been trained using the toolkit on sustainable production of indigenous vegetables.
- Secured a research opportunity with Wageningen University & Research to contribute a case study on the role of informal actors in Kenya’s indigenous vegetable value chain. This will culminate in a book publication slated for 2024, featuring 24 case studies from Africa and Asia
- Cynthia employed an additional four part-time workers primarily engaged in production and harvesting activities.
