African Bird’s Eye Chilli: a New High-Value Crop for Kenyan Smallholders

Since Fintrac’s USAID-financed Horticulture Development Centre (HDC) project began field activities last January, it has been promoting African Bird’s Eye (ABE) chilli as an ideal crop to provide an additional income source for small farmers. ABE chillis require few if any inputs and its hardiness makes it very suitable for production in marginal areas.

Malawi is the leading world supplier of ABE chillies, historically shipping around 400-500 metric tons per year to Western Europe and other markets. Other suppliers, including Zimbabwe, South Africa, Nigeria and Uganda, produce much smaller volumes and typically on a more speculative basis. Over the last several years, weather and other problems have called into question the ability of Malawian suppliers to provide ABE chillis on a regular basis. Supply from Zimbabwe has also been inconsistent. Supply fluctuations have additionally caused prices to vary wildly – from $2,000 to $4,000 per metric ton.

To take advantage of current market openings, Fintrac HDC, in conjunction with local commercial partners, is leading efforts to develop Kenya as a reliable source of ABE chillies. To date, a total of 27 lead partner clients, representing over 400 individual farmers, have transplanted more than 92 thousand seedlings. The western parts of the country have planted nearly 71 thousand seedlings, followed by Coast Province (10 thousand), Rift Valley Province (7 thousand), and Central Province (4 thousand). Approximately 9.2 acres are currently planted, with the average farmer having 500 to 1,000 plants on plots ranging in size from one-eighth to one-quarter acre. By the end of 2004, an estimated 1,000 farmers will be growing ABE chillis, increasing to about 20,000 farmers by the end of the four-year HDC project.

The interest in ABE chillies is growing rapidly as farmers realize that there is a ready market, both local and international, for the crop. Mace Foods, a processing firm based in the town of Eldoret in the Rift Valley, has marketing contracts with farmers that include price guarantees. More than 30 farmers, primarily in western Kenya, have already signed up to supply Mace Foods. At current prices (KSh 100 per kilogram for dried product) and with only rain-fed production systems, participating farmers can earn additional income ranging from KSh 25,000 to KSh 80,000 per year. The average farmer will likely earn KSh 40,000 - KSh 50,000 per year.

Mace Foods, which processes dried chilli products for the European export market, has set a target of 20 tons per month for ABE chillies. This calls for a well-organized and sustained system of production, which the Mace Foods-HDC partnership seeks to achieve. In addition, other local processors have expressed an interest to partner with HDC. More planting is expected to be carried out in October to coincide with the beginning of the short rains.

The ABE chilli, Capsicum frutescens, is a relative of the tabasco pepper and is among the hottest varieties of pepper in the world. Whole peppers are marketed to Asian consumers, who use it as an ingredient in curry and other dishes. It is also sold in powder and oleoresin form to food and pharmaceutical companies.