By Carmelo Troccoli – Director General, WorldFMC
Last Saturday, during the dialogue “The Future of Local Food Systems in Kenya: Public Spaces, Farmers Markets and Producer Rights”, I had the opportunity to join farmers, consumer representatives, market organizers, food system actors, and local institutions in a conversation that was both practical and inspiring. The dialogue took place almost exactly one year after the opening of the first farmers market in Kenya supported through our collective efforts, offering a timely moment to reflect on what has been achieved and what lies ahead.
One year ago, the ambition was not simply to create a new place for buying and selling food. The vision was broader: to demonstrate that farmers markets can become the foundation of stronger local food systems, systems that connect producers and consumers directly, create economic opportunities for small-scale farmers, strengthen communities, and improve access to healthy food.
Today, one year later, we can already see encouraging results.
Farmers Market Nairobi has steadily grown, providing direct market access to 65 local farmers and value-added food producers from Nairobi and surrounding counties. Most notably, 61 of these 65 producers are women, highlighting the important role that farmers markets can play in supporting women’s economic participation and entrepreneurship. Through regular market opportunities, participating farmers have reported improved incomes by reducing their dependence on intermediaries and retaining a greater share of the value of their products.
At the same time, consumer engagement has grown significantly. Approximately 1000 shoppers now attend the markets regularly to purchase their weekly food directly from producers. Thousands of consumers have been reached since the market’s launch, demonstrating a strong and growing demand for fresh, locally sourced, traceable food. The markets have also created new opportunities for indigenous vegetables, locally adapted crops, and agroecological products that are often overlooked in conventional supply chains.
These achievements matter not only because of the numbers involved, but because of what they represent. They show that direct farmer-to-consumer markets can generate tangible benefits for both producers and consumers. Farmers gain better profit margins and more stable customer relationships. Consumers gain access to healthier food and a deeper understanding of where their food comes from. Communities benefit from stronger connections between urban residents and peri-urban and rural producers.
Yet perhaps the most important lesson from the first year is that a farmers market is only the beginning.
What we are building in Kenya, and increasingly across Africa, is not simply a collection of markets. We are helping to create the foundations of a farmers market system.
A system requires much more than physical market spaces. It requires strong farmer organizations, engaged consumer groups, supportive public institutions, and policies that recognize the value of local food economies. This is why the discussions in Nairobi were so significant.
Participants expressed a clear commitment to strengthening direct farmer-to-consumer markets and expanding opportunities for smallholder and agroecological farmers. There was broad recognition that small-scale producers, particularly women and young farmers, continue to face major barriers in accessing markets, land, finance, and investment opportunities. While women remain the backbone of food production, their access to land ownership and economic resources remains a persistent challenge that requires urgent attention.
The dialogue also highlighted the need for stronger collaboration among farmers, consumer organizations, county governments, and food system stakeholders. Participants emphasized the importance of establishing more regular farmers markets across Nairobi’s neighborhoods, while developing partnerships with schools, restaurants, and institutional buyers to create more stable and predictable demand for local products.
Equally important was the recognition that stronger connections are needed between urban consumers and the rural and peri-urban communities that produce their food. Farmers markets have demonstrated their ability to bridge this gap, creating relationships based not only on transactions but also on trust, transparency, and shared responsibility.
The conversations were also grounded in the realities facing food producers today. Participants identified numerous challenges that continue to affect the resilience of local food systems: limited and inconsistent market access, high transport and logistics costs, food affordability concerns, climate-related shocks such as drought and irregular rainfall, inadequate storage and cold-chain infrastructure, competition from imported products, and the ongoing difficulty of attracting young people to agriculture. These challenges cannot be solved by farmers alone. They require coordinated action from public institutions, civil society, consumers, and the private sector.
For this reason, one of the most important outcomes of the dialogue was the call to begin discussions on policies that better support local food systems. Participants highlighted the need for simplified regulations for direct sales and for public policies that facilitate the establishment of farmers markets in public spaces without imposing prohibitive rental costs. Such measures would not only support producers but also strengthen food security and community well-being.
The Kenyan experience is particularly meaningful because it reflects a broader journey that the World Farmers Markets Coalition is accompanying internationally. In many ways, Kenya follows the path pioneered in Lebanon, where farmers markets demonstrated their capacity to empower producers and strengthen local economies. At the same time, Kenya is generating new lessons and innovations that will inform our work in other countries across Africa.
What emerged from the Nairobi dialogue is a shared understanding that farmers markets are not isolated projects. They are part of a wider transformation of food systems. They offer a practical pathway toward increasing incomes for small-scale farmers while ensuring that vulnerable consumers can access healthy and nutritious food.
The next steps are already becoming clear. Existing markets continue to grow, with three markets currently operating every weekend and four additional markets expected to launch before the end of 2026. Beyond Nairobi, there is growing interest in expanding this model to other counties and urban centers, strengthening partnerships with local governments, and continuing dialogue processes that allow food system actors to shape policies and priorities together.
One year after the opening of the first farmers market in Nairobi, we can confidently say that the initiative has exceeded its original purpose. What began as a market has become a platform for dialogue, inclusion, innovation, and collective action.
The real achievement is not simply the creation of new marketplaces. It is the emergence of a shared vision: a vision in which farmers, consumers, institutions, and communities work together to build food systems that are fairer, healthier, more resilient, and more inclusive.
This is the future we are helping to build in Kenya. And it is a future that can inspire communities across Africa and around the world.
