Can you Add Value to Mangoes?

This is one of the many money-making opportunities in the agricultural industry that are open for innovative investors, local and foreign, wanting to invest in rural Kenya.

The impetus for this project came from the observation that Ukamba region in Eastern Kenya produces many mangoes.

In some places, mango plants are used to mark land boundaries. One observer said, "The trees are nicely scattered on the farms and around the homesteads. They are often planted along the plot boundaries or contour lines."

The problem is that farmers are not getting much out of their mangoes because they are produced at the same time, thus creating an over supply.

Two, they are highly perishable, so they must be consumed within a few days. This second problem creates others such as the ability to transport mangoes to urban areas where they have markets and the need to preserve them.

The Project

The project, sponsored by a non-governmental organization, aimed at increasing farmers’ incomes by eliminating some of these problems. According to the promoters, the project could raise farmers’ incomes from Shs15 (less than US 10 cents) per kilo of mangoes to Shs400 (about $6).

The project aimed at increasing the product shelf longevity by altering the structure in which mangoes are transported and consumed. The idea was to introduce a simple technology that would use the available resources and energy.

It was observed that the world was now consumed with the idea of organic foods. What if the fruits were sun-dried packaged and then sold, as they are organically produced?

"The demand for sun-dried organic fruits is increasing due to their multi-purpose use in the food industry and appreciation by consumers that they are healthy beverage or snack with high nutritious value," said a report on the project.

Drying of fruits simply means reducing the water content of the fruit from 98 per cent to approximately 10 per cent. This reduces the volume and weight of the fruit while maintaining all the flavors, taste and nutrients.

Costs

It also increased self life of the fruit due to the high sugar content of the dried fruit. Farmers are therefore able to turn bulky, low-priced mangoes into light, high-priced products.

What were the costs involved? Local carpenters were able to produce driers at a cheap cost of Shs 18,000 (about $257) instead of the commercial Shs65, 000. And local volunteer women were able to dry many more mangoes.

Within a short while, the women had dried 300 kilos of mangoes. And that translated into Shs120, 000 (some $1,714) instead of Shs4, 000 ($57).

The market was easy to find. A report said, "Everyone is enthusiastic that the farmers are producing tasty and nutritious mangoes without preservatives. Local people and in particular school children, are increasingly enjoying the dried mango slices."

Markets were already developing in the United States and the European Union.

Despite this the project was abandoned. "Drying mangoes is not an easy task," the final report said regretfully. "It requires commitment and working discipline by the producers that the rural communities lack."

INEWS: Liked this story?

• - subscribe to our email subscription
• - subscribe to our twitter updates
• - subscribe to our rss feeds
• - subscribe to our magazine and get more

Related stories...

1. Kenya leads Eastern Africa in skill according to UN statistics.
2. The Rise and Demise of the Kenya Planters Cooperative Union