Rising temperatures from climate change are intensifying food spoilage and threatening the livelihoods of Kenya’s smallholder farmers. As temperatures go up, the smallholder farmers must adapt. 

The smallholder farmers in Nakuru and Nyandarua counties in Kenya face post-harvest losses of up to 40% during production of French beans, sugar snaps, snow peas and other vegetables. The farmers directly bear the cost of these losses and are left without the necessary capital and income to invest in solutions that could reduce the losses. Limited access to markets and value chains prevents them from realising the full value of their production

The key to success in this case is a multistakeholder partnership. The use of public financial mechanisms is used to attract private investment to unlock profitable business opportunities while enabling adaptation for smallholder farmers. 

The multistakeholder partnership is led by DanChurchAid, and funded by Denmark via the ‘Danida Green Business Partnerships’ fund.  

Through a partnership between DCA, Fresh Produce Exporters Association of Kenya (FPEAK), FSD Kenya, Danfoss and with support from Global Food Cold Chain Council (GFCCC), the project is enhancing access to affordable cooling solutions targeting Kenya’s thriving agricultural sector. With agriculture contributing over 20% of Kenya’s GDP and horticulture alone valued at over 1 billion USD, addressing post-harvest losses presents a significant business opportunity for both farmers and commercial partners.  

DanChurchAid enables the partnership between different stakeholders. Danfoss is providing energy-efficient, low global-warming potential refrigeration technology and supervision; FSD Kenya supports designing innovative financing models so smallholder farmers can access cooling and Fresh Produce Exporters Association of Kenya (FPEAK) assist in strengthening farmer capacity to meet export standard certification and access to markets. Global Food Cold Chain Council (GFCCC) provides technical support and knowledge-sharing to the project. 

Together this partnership enables farmer cooperatives and aggregators to invest in sustainable cold storage units that keep produce fresh longer, reduce losses and enable farmers to adapt to rising temperatures.

Initial results and projections indicate that the multistakeholder partnership is a win-win-win-win solution. The smallholder farmers in the Nakuru and Nyandarua counties in Kenya reduce losses, increase income, and strengthen their resilience. Cooperatives and FPEAK members gain access to high-value markets and Danfoss expands markets for sustainable cooling technology. Local financial institutions unlock new sustainable lending opportunities. 

With the climate-smart design and blended finance model, the project seeks to lay the foundation for a green, inclusive cold-chain system that can be scaled across East Africa – building resilience, strengthening livelihoods, food security and sustainable growth. 

The Ufumbuzi farmer cooperative explains how the new cooling technologies reduce food loss: “The produce that would at times go bad due to loss of water, can now stay fresh three to four more days in the cooling unit, enabling us to harvest any day. This has helped us to eradicate issues such as overgrown beans that were prevalent. We used to lose over 28% of our produce, but with this cooling unit, we’re expecting to see more money coming to our pockets.”