Agriculture and horticulture are East Africa’s most important sectors, with about 80 percent of the population of the region living in rural areas and depending on agriculture for their livelihood.
The agricultural sector is dominated by smallholder mixed farming of livestock, food crops, cash crops, fishing and aquaculture. The major food crops are maize, rice, potatoes, bananas, cassava, beans, vegetables, sugar, wheat, sorghum, millet and pulses.
The climate, the soil and the existing water supplies in the EAC region provide a base for production of high-quality horticultural produce in a natural environment.
The main export product is cut flowers, whose biggest market is the EU. Major horticultural produce in the region includes pineapple, passion fruit, papaya, avocado, mango, orange, passion fruit, apples, bananas, raspberries, beans, asparagus, snow peas and chilies.
Cash crops include: tea, cotton, coffee, pyrethrum, sugar cane, sisal, horticultural crops, oil-crops, cloves, tobacco, coconut and cashew and macadamia nuts.
Most farmers are small holder farmers who farm on an average of one to two acres. Vivo Fresh supports these farmers in several ways. Through our well-trained field managers, we ensure that all the processes for quality farming are ensured by teaching the farmers best practices.