House of Procurement (HOP), a Pan-African procurement and supply chain enterprise, has teamed up with the Warehouse Receipt System Council (WRSC) to revamp Kenya’s agricultural trade.
The two partners signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in Nairobi on Monday, the ceremony was witnessed by HOP Group MD and CEO Benard Odote and WRSC Acting Chief Executive Officer Lucy Komen, who attended the event respectively.
The agreement focuses on detangling the main challenges faced by the Kenyan agricultural sector that are post-harvest losses, price volatility, and low-priced credit accessibility.
Through this agreement, HOP and WRSC will facilitate the structuring of trade and inspection of warehousing, thus providing farmers with better yields through fair exchange and consolidation methods.
Farmers will be able to obtain loans in a simpler manner by utilizing the warehouse receipts as a form of security with banks, SACCOs, development finance institutions, and fintechs.
“The integrated partnership simulates the experience of the farmer with that of the crop, from the time of planting up to the moment it reaches the market, thus ensuring that the vital value chains have the capacity to survive long after a crisis has hit,” was Odote’s remark on the occasion of the signing.
Some of the major concerns the new partnership hopes to address will be; Reduce post-harvest losses with an emphasis on food security.
Assure fairness in pricing and stabilize markets for traditional farmers’ benefit. Open up low-cost loaning alternatives for agri-business persons and farmers. Introduce Kenyan commodities to trade markets in neighboring countries and abroad, thus paving the way for export competitiveness and inflow of foreign exchange.
Komen stated that apart from fuelling farmers, the project would also be a guarantee for the industry in general by providing a steady supply of food and raw materials despite the climatic changes and seasonal variations.
Certified warehouses are being converted into not only storage but also liquidity centres; this is therefore expected to create a win–win cycle where farmers get financing and are able to invest with confidence while buyers have guaranteed access to products.
Consequently, there will be both national food security and commodity price stabilization. The collaboration furthermore goes hand in hand with initiatives led by the government such as the Food Supply Assurance Programme (FSAP), which is expected to make Kenya a leader in food security and agricultural exports on the African continent. Agriculture is almost a third of Kenya GDP.
HOP and WRSC have been recognized by the signing of the MOU as taking a historic step in the revitalization of the country’s agricultural trade landscape as well as in affirming Kenya’s status as a regional agribusiness hub.
