Europe’s fresh-produce markets are known for demanding high standards of food safety and sustainability. Meeting these standards was essential for Hillside Green to unlock lucrative export opportunities. Indeed, the internationally-recognized GlobalGAP certification – a Good Agricultural Practices standard – is “fundamental” for exporting to Europe and other markets. In Kenya, horticultural exports are a key strategy for raising incomes and reducing rural poverty. We saw that our smallholder farmers and company could benefit from accessing these markets, so from the start we committed to meeting the full suite of GlobalGAP requirements.

GlobalGAP demands rigorous farm management and documentation. In practice, achieving certification meant we had to implement comprehensive quality and safety systems on our farms. We took several key steps:

• Good Agricultural and Hygiene Practices: We developed a farm-wide quality and food safety management plan, covering every stage from planting to packing.
• Detailed Record-Keeping: Our team began meticulously logging all inputs (seeds, fertilizers, agrochemicals) and activities – a requirement for traceability.
• Regular Training: Workers received ongoing training in hygiene, pesticide handling, and compliance, ensuring everyone understood the standards.
• Environmental Safeguards: We adopted integrated pest and disease management, and steps to protect soil and water quality, as GlobalGAP calls for prudent environmental stewardship.

These improvements were aligned with our mission of sustainable, high-quality production. We invested in better irrigation systems, built simple packing houses, and hired an agronomist to guide our team. Throughout this process, we kept in touch with our buyers, who encouraged us to pursue GlobalGAP: as research confirms, buyers often require certification as a “de facto” condition for trade. Indeed, certified producers gain a competitive edge by demonstrating adherence to international safety standards.

After two years of hard work, Hillside Green earned its GlobalGAP certification. With certification in hand, we obtained the necessary phytosanitary certificates from Kenya’s plant health authorities – documents that guarantee our exports are free from quarantine pests, as EU law requires. By early 2014, we shipped our first containers of produce to Europe. Our products – highland vegetables and fruits grown without harmful residues – now grace markets in the Netherlands, Germany, and the UK.

The impact was immediate. Not only did our sales revenue increase, but our farmers received higher prices. This mirrors the findings of a recent study in Kenya: every additional certified producer has a significant effect on export volumes and value. In our case, export volumes more than doubled within a year of certification. More importantly, European buyers began trusting Hillside Green’s brand as a mark of consistent quality and safety.

Achieving GlobalGAP certification has become an integral part of our ongoing commitment to excellence. It fits naturally with our values of transparency and sustainability: consumers can track our supply chain, and we continually refine our practices. Looking ahead, Hillside Green will maintain and expand our certified practices (for example, by pursuing the new GLOBALG.A.P. STeP for sustainability module). By meeting international benchmarks, we not only grow our own business but also pave the way for more Kenyan farms to succeed abroad.