Makueni County Launches Horticultural Aggregation Center to Empower Mango Farmers
By Zablon Oyugi
Mongo farmers from Makueni County are set to benefit from improved storage services and better market opportunities following the launch of a new aggregation and pack house centre situated near Wote Police Station.
According to Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr., the centre will help promote export mangoes to Middle East and other destinations among other services.
“Our efforts to establish low pest zones for mangoes was not in vain. This morning, I inspected the newly established Makueni County Government aggregation and pack house of export mangoes to Middle East and other destinations at Wote, Makueni,” announced the governor on 3rd Jan this year on his Facebook page.
The centre is set to:
- Offer fair prices for mangoes: Ksh12 per export-grade piece and Ksh15-19 per kilo locally.
- Serve as a central hub for sorting, grading, and packaging mangoes for local and export markets.
- Reduce post-harvest losses and provide exporters with direct access to quality produce.
- Facilitate farmer-buyer linkages through ward agriculture officers and administrators.
In these, the initiative is poised to empower farmers, reduces logistical barriers, and strengthens Makueni’s position in global markets.
The county has been working closely with the respective regulator to enable it come up with the state-of-the-art facility.
“Our collaboration with Horticultural Crops Development Authority (HCDA) and partnership with several exporters has opened up avenues for farmers to sell their export quality mangoes at competitive prices,” said the governor adding that the first shipment is on its way to Mombasa.
According to recent statistics, Makueni County is Kenya’s top mango-producing region, with an estimated 4.3 million mango trees and 28,696 farmers.
The county produces around 303,000 tons of mangoes per season, with a harvest season that runs from November to March. But until 2017, about 30–40% of its mango produce was going to waste, states a publication by Maarifa Centre.
In addition to the aggregation centre, in 2017, the County Government through the Makueni County Fruit Development and Marketing Authority (MCFDMA) Act, 2017, established the Makueni Fruit Processing Plant (MFPP) in Kalamba to also help eliminating post-harvest losses and raise incomes for fruit farmers in the County.