For female fruit farmers in Wote, Makueni County, overcoming exploitation by middlemen has been a physical challenge for them for years.
This continued until 75-year-old Benjamin Kituk raised a red flag in 2012. He said that while women toil in vain to produce the best mangoes, oranges, pawpaws and other juicy fruits, they are tricked and sold at throwaway prices, mainly due to poverty. I've seen it.
terrifying power
Out of compassion and a determination to free women from this cycle of exploitation of individual farmers, Mzee Kituku thought of ways for communities to form self-help groups.
He also believed that a formidable force would address gender inequality when men and women came together to address common problems that hurt families and hindered progress within the larger community.
Age was also not on his side, so he acted quickly and asked Mr. Jackson Musyoka, who he considered a “young blood”, to carry out that noble mission and Kitoni, who was hit hardest by the unfair trade. Kyani called for the rescue of farmers from Kitambioni.
Musyoka had worked as a trainer of trainers in conservation agriculture and knew what the issues were. Fast forward to today, he is currently the Chairman of the Kitoni Farmers Self-Help Group, which he helped establish in 2012.
“Muzi Kituk called me and expressed his regret at seeing women toiling on their farms and walking home with peanuts. This is a cycle of poverty at the family level and throughout the community. He said this led to.
Now that he is older and frail, he realizes his dream of not only selling ripe fruits, but also creating value-added and ready-to-market products that will gradually improve people's lives. He wanted to leave me with a noble responsibility. .
“In a farewell speech, the people of Ukambani were not lazy and did not want to leave behind their grandchildren who suffered poverty simply because of unfair trade practices,” Musyoka recalls.
The group currently has 60 members, both women and men between the ages of 35 and 75.
During a trainer-to-trainer session, Musyoka heard community members lamenting the sale of mangoes, oranges, pawpaws and melons at throwaway prices.
“My job was to design a roadmap for the economic empowerment of women farmers, ultimately engaging men and youth to increase their incomes and improve people's standard of living,” he says.
Mzee Kituku's vision made a lot of sense. More than a decade later, his vision is taking shape and the group has gradually become a reference point in Makueni County for how economic empowerment of households can be achieved by leveraging gender harmony. It's coming.
With each member's monthly contribution of Sh200, the group purchased a Sh100,000 plot of land in Kitoni Shopping Center in 2018 and installed a Sh500,000 pulping machine capable of crushing seven tonnes of fresh mangoes a day. has been installed. Processes jam, yogurt and concentrated juice.
Jackson Musyoka, Chairman of the Kitoni Farmers Self-Help Group. At the mango pulp factory.
Photo credit: Peter Musa I Nation Media Group
A visit to the site reveals ongoing projects and a strong commitment to turning it into a full-fledged processing factory with offices, training and meeting areas.
Resilience
“I am happy that through agribusiness, which adds value to this fruit, many women can fulfill their dreams of investing to leave a legacy to their children and grandchildren,” said the mother of eight and director of the association. says Lucia Waweo, 63, a member representative of the group. Management Committee.
She recognizes this project as a brave execution of their determination to increase income.
Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, after learning of their enthusiasm to expand their agriculture into agribusiness and rebuild their livelihoods, offered four members of the group (two women and two men) a job in fruit processing and stickering. , trained in factory operations such as packaging, service, and service. maintenance.
Mr Musyoka said the value addition dream began with a 50 mango tree planting campaign, aimed at ensuring a sustainable supply of fruit by the time pulping and processing began.
Once mature, each mango can produce 2,000 fruits per season. In the market, each mango costs Sh10 and one tree sells for Sh20,000. With at least 50 mango trees, a farmer can get 1 million lice per year. A farmer with 300 mango trees can earn about 6 million lice per year.
Adding value one step at a time
“We have seen in the media inspiring stories of women whose lives are changing step by step and ultimately changing their families and society through more business activities,” says Waweo.
Musyoka said they are currently producing mango juice for the local market. Despite awaiting further approval from the Kenya Bureau of Standards, large-scale production has not yet begun due to limited market access.
“Once we get approval, we will ask farmers to increase the supply of fruit for serious processing,” he says.
According to Nairobi-based Stockholm Environmental Institute (SEI) researcher Dr. Anderson Kebira, value addition by farmer groups offers better opportunities to diversify their income as they enter into industrial processing of various agricultural products. It is said that it will provide.
Dr. Kebira, SEI program leader for Natural Resources and Ecosystems, said that in addition to improving crop management, training farmers on how to avoid post-harvest losses will determine fruit quality and therefore market preference. I am.
Engineer Gregory Kioko, operational manager of Makueni County Fruit Development and Marketing Department, said post-harvest losses account for 45 per cent of Makueni's fruit harvest.
Fruits for processing must be harvested before ripening and should be allowed 3 to 4 days to ripen naturally.
“Initially, farmers thought that yellow ripe mangoes were suitable mangoes to be delivered to the factory for pulping. I know the stages,” he explains.
clean energy
Ms Waweo, Ms Susan Mumbua and Ms Felista Maitya appealed to the county government to address the electricity demand, especially electricity demand.
“During the busy season of January-February, we have adopted diesel generators for very limited production.Currently, we only sell locally to individuals and as we do not have freezers. , we are unable to store products to show to potential customers,” Musyoka laments.
“We need reliable clean energy from the national grid, electricity and solar, not fossil fuels. We learned about global warming and its impact on weather and rain patterns.
“Diesel emits carbon, which contributes to greenhouse gas emissions.
“We don't want to destroy the environment beyond what we have now. I hope our governor will [Mutula Kilonzo Jnr] Alongside the hydropower connection, it will expand locally available clean energy resources such as solar and biogas.
“This will save people from having to travel long distances to find firewood and protect them from respiratory illnesses while cooking,” he added.
“The Governor was recently interested in finding out how the group expands from its small beginnings to create added value.”
