ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the vertical differentiation of horticultural marketing channels in Kenya. According to Janssen and Van Tilburg five stages of agricultural market development can be described, notably primitive, emerging, intermediate, industrialized and advanced. On the basis of the criteria laid down by these authors, the horticultural sector in Kenya can be characterized as an emerging economy. On the input side, many farmers are still replacing their seed stock only occasionally, although the demand for seed with specific commercial characteristics is rising. The history of food trade in Sub-Saharan Africa already showed a general relation between urbanization and urban growth on the one hand and the development of food marketing systems on the other. Many rural households are either self-sufficient or they lack the purchasing power to buy the commodities. Horticultural traders who sell produce in the market place of a consumer centre can be grouped on the basis of their respective turnovers.
