Agriculture is the foundation for economic growth, employment creation, and foreign exchange earnings in sub-Saharan Africa. The sector contributes more than 50% of Kenya’s foreign exchange earnings and employs 80% of the population.

Among the existing agricultural enterprises, horticulture offers the best alternative for increased food self-sufficiency, improved nutrition and ensuring the generation of increased incomes and employment. The horticulture industry in Kenya plays an important role in food security, employment creation, and poverty alleviation. This in essence enhances food nutrition security through improved food access in markets. Horticultural crops are high value crops generating higher profits than staple food crops per unit of land and the income thus generated can be used for different purposes in terms of eradicating hunger through meeting the food requirements and other necessities.

The importance of horticulture in improving the productivity of land, generating employment, improving economic conditions of the farmers and entrepreneurs, enhancing exports and above all providing nutritional security to the people cannot therefore be overemphasized.