Investing in Kenya’s Agriculture and Food Processing Industry

By / Published August 14, 2015 | 12:57 pm

In Kenya, investment opportunities in the agricultural sector as well as in food processing exists in seed production, manufacture of sprayers and pesticides, veterinary services, construction of dams and bore holes, installation of irrigation systems and services.

Opportunities also exist in support services, such as cold storage facilities and refrigerated transport for horticultural and other perishable products in Kenya.

Horticultural sector

The horticultural sector in this country is one of the fastest growing sectors in the economy and is the second largest foreign exchange earner after tea making it the second best in investment.

There is a wide range of opportunities in production and export of products such as cut flowers, French beans, pineapples, mushrooms, asparagus, mangoes, macadamia nuts, avocados, passion fruits, melons, and carrots.

One can also reap big from this business simply by playing the role of a middleman where he or she connects traders from Kenya with those abroad and earn money from it.

The good thing about engaging in horticulture is that one does not need an expansive piece of land but any small piece of land will do.

Agro-Processing sector

There are numerous investment opportunities that exist in this sector though the majority of Kenyans have not realized that.

There are produced locally and include butter, ghee and margarine as well as sunflower, rapeseed, cotton seeds, sesame, coconut and corn oils, while a large quantity of palm oil is imported.

There are many opportunities in coffee roasting and grinding, with further potential in the production of decaffeinated coffee for export.

The Coffee Sub-Sector

The following are some of the investment opportunities available in the coffee sub-sectors in Kenya that will earn one lots of profits:

Coffee processing and packaging to final products, processing of instant coffee, growing of Robusta coffee, which can be used to support the blending of Arabica coffee, manufacture of coal from coffee husks, provision of finance services to smallholder farmers and development of infrastructure in coffee producing areas.

There also exists a good opportunity to market Kenyan coffee in international markets and especially in the United States.

One can reap big by setting up an online platform that would specifically deal with marketing the Kenyan coffee to international markets.

Dairy Industry

The establishment of dairy processing plants in Kenya is a very good and profitable business that is worth investing in.

The opportunity lies in milk processing for local and regional markets that is now only being done by few big companies.

There is also a big opportunity in production and selling of high value milk products such as milk powder, fermented milk and butter for export.