Kenya calls for deeper investment and technical assistance from the CFC
The Hague, 2 September 2025 – Ambassador Sheikh Mohammed Belal, Managing Director of the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC), paid a courtesy visit to H.E. Hon. Halima Mucheke, Governor of the CFC for Kenya and Ambassador of the Republic of Kenya to the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Ambassador Mucheke was joined in the meeting by Deputy Ambassador Mr. Mayo and Ms. Maureen Bett, the Embassy’s Trade Officer. The discussions focused on matters of mutual interest and explored opportunities for deeper cooperation between Kenya and the CFC.
During the meeting, Ambassador Belal provided an update on the CFC’s ongoing activities and the growing challenges it faces in responding to increasing global demand for its services. He underscored the Fund’s tangible impact in the field and stressed the importance of collective action to alleviate poverty, build resilience, and foster sustainable development in commodity-dependent developing countries.
Ambassador Belal expressed gratitude to Ambassador Mucheke for her active engagement and longstanding support of the CFC, noting Kenya’s constructive role in advancing the Fund’s mission. He emphasized the potential to further strengthen agricultural value chains, enabling farmers to secure greater benefits while contributing to enhanced national economic resilience.
A key point of discussion was the Humanizing Value Chains (HVC) initiative, which seeks to address enduring challenges such as low farmer incomes and unequal value distribution across commodity chains. By promoting transparency, equitable income allocation, and inclusive growth, the HVC initiative aims to create more sustainable and fairer markets. Ambassador Belal reaffirmed Kenya’s support for the initiative and welcomed the recent endorsement of HVC by Peru, setting an important precedent for wider international participation.
Ambassador Mucheke warmly welcomed Ambassador Belal’s visit and reiterated Kenya’s strong commitment to the CFC. She praised the Fund’s efforts in advancing inclusive growth and highlighted Kenya’s significant role as a major agricultural producer and exporter. She further emphasized Kenya’s longstanding position as one of the top recipients of CFC investments and expressed her desire to see a deeper and more diverse investment trajectory that brings innovations and ideas across the commodity value chains.
She also expressed Kenya’s interest in expanding cooperation not only in financing but also in technical assistance, underscoring that access to knowledge, standards, and innovation is essential for the transformation of smallholder agriculture. Ambassador Mucheke voiced strong support for the concept of Humanizing Value Chains, noting that it “may bring more resources directly to poverty-stricken smallholders”, thereby making a real difference in their lives.
The Ambassadors, joined by Deputy Ambassador Mayo and the Trade Officer, also exchanged views on innovative mechanisms to strengthen support for smallholders, including sovereign guarantee frameworks.
In conclusion, Ambassador Belal encouraged Kenya to further deepen its engagement with the CFC, reinforcing its leadership as a global commodity nation and inspiring collective efforts towards fairer and more inclusive terms of trade. Both Ambassadors reaffirmed their shared commitment to strengthening collaboration in support of smallholders and farmers, whose success remains vital to sustainable growth and development.