Passion fruit production in Kenya: Opportunities and constraints

Abstract

Passion fruit is ranked third in importance among the horticultural crops in Kenya. In recent years, the fruit has gained high demand due to activities of beverage producing companies. The fruit has dynamically changed the lives of most farmers, being their source of livelihood. Its wide usage makes it an economical fruit to produce i.e. almost all its products (vines, leaves, pulp, juice and seeds) are useful. In recent years, various challenges have led to low supply threatening the passion industry with collapse. The major challenges are diseases and pests and the effects of climate change. These have led to a 50% decline in fruit production in the past 4 years. Research activities have gathered considerable information but a lot remains to be done to effectively revive the passion fruit sector. This paper discusses some of the issues that should be addressed to support the passion fruit value chain.