Horticulture offers significant potential for economic growth, including increases in rural incomes and employment opportunities, across the COMESA and EAC regions. The horticulture sub-sector also offers significant potential for improving the financial agency of women, given the high proportion of women who work in the sub-sector along the value chain, from farming to processing and marketing.
Given this potential, the Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa (ACTESA), a Specialized Agency of COMESA has prioritized building the capacity of the horticulture sub-sector across the COMESA and EAC regions. Through its program, the COMESA-EAC Horticulture Accelerator (CEHA), ACTESA aims to complement the implementation of the Fruit and Vegetable (F&V) sub-sector of the COMESA and EAC Regions. Valued at USD4 billion to double or triple in the next 10 years, CEHA’s priority value chains over the short term are avocado, onion, and Irish potato in Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda.
To support innovative agribusiness projects that contribute to the improvement of farming household incomes, rural economic development, and gender equity via horticultural value chains across the region, the CEHA project will see seven vibrant agribusiness cooperatives and associations receive up to 100,000 US dollars Gates foundation funded matching grants by August 2025, with each grantee contributing a matching amount to complement the CEHA grant. The cooperatives and associations will implement various initiatives aimed at scaling up horticulture value chains over a period of 24 months.
CEHA is keen to transform the horticultural industry in the COMESA and EAC region to create the growth and sustainability of horticultural value chains. The CEHA project underscores the need for accelerating commercial integration of East and Southern Africa horticultural value chains into national, regional, and international markets to promote the growth of horticultural markets, to contribute to enhanced climate-smart horticultural productivity, value chain development, and economic empowerment, and increased gender-inclusive rural income growth and employment creation.
By ACTESA Communication Specialist
