Abstract:
Abstract
The inclusion of rural smallholder farmers in horticultural exports offers two key benefits:
increased household income through global market access and enhanced productivity that
contributes to GDP growth and foreign exchange. In South Rift, Kenya, around 2,500
smallholder farmers are engaged in horticultural exports. This study aimed to investigate the
relationship between traceability by smallholder farmers and the growth of the horticultural
export market. Data were collected from 334 randomly selected small-scale farmers using a
structured questionnaire. Validity and reliability were tested, and analysis was done using
descriptive statistics and simple linear regression. Traceability was assessed based on system
effectiveness, labeling and information sharing, and contract farming. Findings showed that
horticultural production is dominated by older male farmers in cooperatives, working on small
plots (mostly under one acre), with basic education, mainly growing fruits, and having limited
export experience. A significant relationship was found between traceability and export market
growth. However, gaps were noted in post-harvest management among farmers. The study
recommends adopting modern technologies throughout the supply chain, implementing contract
farming within a legal framework, and fostering stakeholder collaborations to reduce costs and
improve compliance with market standards and competitiveness in the export of fruits and
vegetables.
