Kenya and Tanzania Urban Maize

Maize is a staple food in both Kenya and Tanzania, with more than 90 percent of farmers allocating some portion of their land to its production. While dry maize is vital to food security, a number of farmers harvest some maize early, or green. Although the green maize market has been opportunistic, the green maize price point is 2-3 times higher than dry maize.

This economic development project partners Pioneer Hi-Bred International and TechnoServe, a non-profit organization focused on business solutions for rural poverty. The goal is to enhance the green (fresh) maize marketing value chain for small-scale producers. Producing maize as a horticultural crop enables the farmer to increase production and profitability by using improved inputs such as hybrid seed.

Producing maize as a horticultural crop enables the farmer to receive a higher income and demonstrate the value of improved inputs such as hybrid seed. This project will also help increase Pioneer sales into this high value niche market.