activities last January, it has been promoting African Bird’s Eye (ABE) chilli as an ideal crop to provide an additional income source for small farmers.
ABE chillis require few if any inputs and
its hardiness makes it very suitable for
production in marginal areas.
Malawi is the leading world supplier of ABE
chillies, historically shipping around 400-500
metric tons per year to Western Europe and
other markets.
Other suppliers, including
Zimbabwe, South Africa, Nigeria and Uganda,
produce much smaller volumes and typically on a
more speculative basis. Over the last several
years, weather and other problems have called
into question the ability of Malawian suppliers
to provide ABE chillis on a regular basis.
Supply
from Zimbabwe has also been inconsistent.
Supply fluctuations have additionally caused
prices to vary wildly – from $2,000 to $4,000 per
metric ton.
To take advantage of current market openings,
Fintrac HDC, in conjunction with local
commercial partners, is leading efforts to develop
Kenya as a reliable source of ABE chillies. To
date, a total of 27 lead partner clients,
representing over 400 individual farmers, have
transplanted more than 92 thousand seedlings.
The western parts of the country have planted
nearly 71 thousand seedlings, followed by Coast
Province (10 thousand), Rift Valley Province (7
thousand), and Central Province (4 thousand).
Approximately 9.2 acres are currently planted,
with the average farmer having 500 to 1,000
plants on plots ranging in size from one-eighth
to one-quarter acre. By the end of 2004, an
estimated 1,000 farmers will be growing ABE
chillis, increasing to about 20,000 farmers by the
end of the four-year HDC project.
The interest in ABE chillies is growing rapidly as
farmers realize that there is a ready market,
both local and international, for the crop. Mace
Foods, a processing firm based in the town of
Eldoret in the Rift Valley, has marketing
contracts with farmers that include price
guarantees.
More than 30 farmers, primarily in
western Kenya, have already signed up to supply
Mace Foods. At current prices (KSh 100 per
kilogram for dried product) and with only rain-
fed production systems, participating farmers can
earn additional income ranging from KSh 25,000
to KSh 80,000 per year. The average farmer will
likely earn KSh 40,000 - KSh 50,000 per year.
Mace Foods, which processes dried chilli
products for the European export market, has set
a target of 20 tons per month for ABE chillies.
This calls for a well-organized and sustained
system of production, which the Mace Foods-HDC
partnership seeks to achieve. In addition, other
local processors have expressed an interest to
partner with HDC.
More planting is expected to
be carried out in October to coincide with the
beginning of the short rains.
The ABE chilli, Capsicum frutescens, is a relative
of the tabasco pepper and is among the hottest
varieties of pepper in the world. Whole peppers
are marketed to Asian consumers, who use it as
an ingredient in curry and other dishes. It is
also sold in powder and oleoresin form to food
and pharmaceutical companies.
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