A ‘Private-sector Success Story’? Uncovering the Role of Politics and the State in Kenya’s Horticultural Export Sector

Abstract

Kenya’s horticulture sector is often heralded as one of sub-Saharan Africa’s principal success stories. The country has become the region’s largest exporter of fresh fruits, vegetables and cut flowers to Europe and the sector is a major source of foreign exchange, employment and poverty reduction. Generally, the existing literature presents this as ‘a private-sector success story’, whereby a supposed limited role for the state allowed the private-sector to develop independently and innovatively react to shifting global market dynamics and sourcing strategies of European lead firms. This reflects the fact that research on Kenya’s horticultural sector has been dominated by scholars from a Global Value Chains/Global Production Networks (GVC/GPN) tradition, who tend to neglect the explanatory power of domestic political economy. This paper challenges these market-focused readings, arguing that the Kenyan state – and particularly the broader political context in which it is located – has played a more important role in Kenya’s horticultural success story than has generally been acknowledged. Using an historically-grounded form of political settlement analysis, this paper shows how domestic political economy and state-business dynamics have fused with the more transnational factors identified by GVC/GPN scholars to drive rapid and constant growth in Kenya’s horticultural exports since the 1970s.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Sam Hickey, Pritish Behuria and Rory Horner for their invaluable comments on previous iterations of this paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available to bona fide researchers, in anonymised form, on justifiable request to the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to the fact that they contain information that could compromise the privacy and confidentiality of research participants.

Notes

1. The methodology employed by the researcher is explained in detail in the Appendix.

2. 1975 Ministry of Agriculture report, ‘Development of exports in fresh fruits, vegetables and flowers.’ KNA/AHM/1/1.

3. 1975 Ministry of Agriculture report, ‘Development of exports in fresh fruits, vegetables and flowers.’ KNA/AHM/1/1.

4. 1975 Ministry of Agriculture report, ‘Development of exports in fresh fruits, vegetables and flowers.’ KNA/AHM/1/1.

5. 1975 Ministry of Agriculture report, ‘Development of exports in fresh fruits, vegetables and flowers.’ KNA/AHM/1/1.

6. Interview, horticultural business association, Nairobi, 05/08/2016.

7. Internal HCDA correspondence, ‘International export seminar.’ KNA/AHM/1/1.

8. Interview, long-standing horticulture investor, Limuru, 12/08/2016.

9. Interview, journalist, Nairobi, 14/11/2016.

10. Interview, pioneer floriculture investor, Nairobi, 13/09/2016.

11. Interview, flower farm owner, telephone, 28/04/2017.

12. Interview, horticultural business association, Nairobi, 27/04/2017.

13. Interview, horticultural business association, Nairobi, 27/04/2017.

14. 1986 report on ‘HCDA development plan’. KNA/AHM/2/1.

15. 1986 cabinet memorandum on ‘Implementation of National Horticultural Policy and Kenyanisation of the horticultural industry.’ KNA/ACW/1/418.

16. Interview, horticultural business association, Nairobi, 27/04/2017.

17. Interview, horticultural business association, 27/04/2017.

18. Interview, horticultural business association, 27/04/2017.

19. Interview, ex-HCDA official, Nairobi, 29/09/2016.

20. Interview, flower farm owner, Nairobi, 13/09/2016.

21. Interview, ex-Central Bank official, Nairobi, 18/04/2019.

22. Interview, journalist, Nairobi, 14/11/2016.

23. Interview, horticultural business association, Nairobi, 05/08/2016.

24. Interview, ex-KRA Commissioner, Nairobi, 09/05/2019.

25. Interview, horticultural business association, 27/04/2017.

26. Interview, horticultural business association, 27/04/2017.

27. Interview, horticultural business association, 27/04/2017.

28. Interview, horticultural business association, 27/04/2017.

29. Interview, horticultural business association, Nairobi, 05/08/2016.

30. Interview, HCDA official, Nairobi, 08/09/2016.

31. Interview, industry consultant, Nakuru, 09/08/2016.

32. Interview, horticultural business association, Nairobi, 13/09/2016.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) PhD studentship as well as the Effective States and Inclusive Development (ESID) research centre.