Mango farmers in Mwingi North, Kitui County, are once again counting losses as large quantities of ripe mangoes go to waste due to lack of a ready market.
Farmers from the Itivanzou and Kamuwongo locations in Kyuso say they are stuck with their harvests as the market becomes saturated, leaving them with nowhere to sell their produce.
During a visit on Saturday to Malili village in Itivanzou, farmer Rose Munywoki showed The Star heaps of mangoes she has been unable to sell due to the lack of buyers.
“Mango production is massive, but I have nowhere to take the fruits. Buyers seem overwhelmed because all the mangoes have ripened at the same time. Most farms are teeming with ready mangoes,” she said.
To avoid total loss, Munywoki said she has been donating some of the fruits to pupils at the neighbouring Kingingo Comprehensive School.
“The learners’ cross-country route passes by my farm, so I give them mangoes as they pass. Each child picks one or two fruits, and at least that makes me happy because I am sharing,” she said.
However, even after giving away large quantities, she is still left with more mangoes than she can handle, forcing her to discard them once they begin to rot.
She called on the Kitui County Government to prioritise value addition initiatives for mango farmers in Kyuso and across the county, including the production of mango flakes and juice, as well as better market linkages.
“If a large factory was set up in Kitui to process mangoes into juice and flakes, as happens elsewhere, it would save us from the huge losses we suffer every time we have surplus harvests,” she said, pointing to a large heap of unsold mangoes at her store.
At Kwa Nguru trading centre, another farmer, Nzama Musili, said saving mangoes from rotting due to lack of market had become difficult.
“I came here today to literally hawk my mangoes, but buyers are not forthcoming because almost everyone has mangoes in their farms. I haven’t sold a single fruit, but I am still waiting,” he said.
Jacob Musyoka, a farmer along the Thunguthu River in Kyuso, said the mango market had turned into a survival-of-the-fittest situation.
“Farmers have to transport mangoes to as many far off markets as possible to avoid losses from rotting. Even then, the fruits are sold at throwaway prices,” he said.
When contacted for comment, Kitui’s agriculture CEC Stephen Kimwele said the county government had put in place several intervention measures.
“We have mapped mango belts across Kitui county and spearheaded the formation of Farmers’ Producer Organizations to promote value addition, aggregation, and collective marketing,” Kimwele said.
He added that the approach would strengthen farmers’ bargaining power, reduce exploitation by middlemen, and open access to larger and more competitive markets.
“We have provided inclusion grants to cooperatives to help them mobilise members and operate effectively,” he said.
Kimwele noted that the county government had partnered with the private sector to collect mangoes through organised cooperatives, citing Kitui West Horticulture Cooperative Society in Mutonguni, which aggregates mango produce.
“Our main challenge remains that many farmers are not organised into cooperatives. Another issue is the quality of our mangoes for export,” he said.
However, he said that through collaboration with JKUAT, farmers were being trained on technological innovations and management practices to reduce or eliminate destructive fruit flies.
“We are also encouraging private-led manufacturers to invest in Kitui. We have land under the County Aggregation and Industrial Park Programme where such firms can establish mango processing plants,” Kimwele said.
by MUSEMBI NZENGU
