I planted once, but will harvest for the rest of my life

Walking in her mango orchard as birds chirp incessantly while chasing each other from one tree to the other, Margaret Nyaguthie passes for someone on a picnic.

The farmer in her, however, becomes apparent when she stops to take a look at a half-eaten fruit.

Nyaguthie is doing rounds in her 25-acre farm in Sagana, Kirinyaga, on the bank of River Sagana.

The farm is home to over 3,000 mango trees. Lacking no water, manure and care, the trees have grown into impressive sizes, about 30 feet high.

The purple and green leafed trees form a forest of sorts with their huge stems and black barks looking ancient though they have been on the farm for about 17 years.

Nyaguthie planted the mangoes in 1998 to give her a soft landing upon her return to the rural area after two decades of working as a sales lady in Nairobi.

“I was then looking for the cheapest investment with quick and stable returns.”

“Mangoes presented that opportunity for me. The seedlings cost Sh3 each then (now they go for Sh60) with other expenses going to manure and labour. The climate was also favourable,” adds the 60-year-old.

HARVESTS DAILY

Over two-and-a-half-years later, she had a modest but promising harvest of quality mangoes.

Now, for the last eight years, her harvest has stabilised to between 15 and 20 truck loads of mangoes per season, which comes around March to May and September to December. She harvests almost daily during the two seasons.

Each truck carries an average of 20,000 fruits, which go for between Sh15 to Sh20 a piece.

The grandmother of several children says growing mangoes is a good agribusiness because there is guaranteed sales besides the peace of mind the crop gives the farmer “due to consistent income”.

It requires little labour, and once “your buyers know the quality of your fruits, you simply negotiate on phone and the ever rising demand means they come for them depending on the volume”.

Mangoes are planted in rows of 20 feet apart and 15 feet between seedlings. They require regular pruning, spraying during cold seasons, manure and fertiliser. If well-looked after, a mango tree can remain productive in most of its 100 year lifetime.

Big farmers like Nyaguthie invest in water pumps, which cost up to Sh300,000 to serve a farm like hers. Small-scale farmers rely on rainfall but yields remain low although they can water the plants manually.

Margaret, who took interest in farming from her uncle. When she got married in 1973, the family acquired the farm.

She needed confidence and broad skills in planting, tending the crop, marketing and book-keeping. She divided her time between working on the farm, and attending training by the Ministry of Agriculture on crop management and marketing.

Her efforts have been recognised by the African Women Agribusiness Network, which recently invited her among 100 other women to a conference in Nairobi to exhibit her dried mangoes and mentor young women.

DRIED MANGOES

She has attended training organised by United States International University and the Ministry of Agriculture on fertiliser use consistent to soil texture, organic matter, pH level, chemical use, post-harvest handling, value addition and packaging.

Nyaguthie dries mangoes for the local and export markets.

Out of the 20 trucks of mangoes she harvests per season, five are dried using home-made dryers. “Dry mangoes help us overcome over-production,” she says.

She cuts waste to zero while keeping consumers supplied with mangoes throughout the year.

The value addition raises her income in the Maragwa-Mwea–Embu–Mbeere mango zone where there is no other cash crop, like tea or coffee. Few farmers have ventured into mango drying.

Dried mangoes go for Sh500 a kilo and one needs 20 fresh fruits each weighing about 0.5kg to produce a kilo, which can be taken to the market even after one year as long as it is properly stored.

Margaret has been carrying out experiments on practices that increase yields and prevent losses. She has been recognised by Half the Sky, an international organisation that supports farmers “for her inspirational role”.

She uses “minimum tillage” method of farming, which helps to level the field, minimise weeds, increase manure use and reduce soil compaction. Low tillage is one aspect of conservation agriculture. According to African Conservation Tillage Network, it saves farmers time, energy and money and also leads to stable or even doubles yields.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Chuka University are using her farm for training. “I receive several groups of students, farmers and researchers every year and respond to over three calls daily from farmers needing advice,” says Margaret. She also grows and dries moringa herb, paw paws, pineapples and sweet bananas.

GOOD TASTE

The thick undergrowth on her farm is characteristic of “minimum tillage”. Nyaguthie says you “till only if you must”, adding that it helps crop diversification.

The mango varieties on her farm are Tommy, Aden, Apple, Kent, Boribop, Vedic, Ngoe and Maskio Punda. Tommy is a purplish huge fruit that is most popular in Kenya due to its attractive colours and good taste. It is highly valued in Uganda, Tanzania and European Union, where she sells dried fruits through an agent.

“I have never returned or seen any farmer go home with mangoes they could not sell,” she says.

She says that families can earn handsomely from about 10 trees. However, weevils, spider mite and aphids and over-spraying affects the quality of fruits due to chemical residue, says Margaret.

Mango export market is dominated by brokers who buy from farmers at throw away prices. “Dry mango can save the farmer,” she says but regrets that “local farmers are too slow to adopt it”.

Edward Kungu, a quality control consultant for horticultural export firms, says drying mangoes is the best value addition because it raises the price by more than 10 times.

“Three fresh mangoes going for Sh7 each will fetch Sh600 when dried.”

“Poor knowledge among farmers is the cause of high chemical residue in fruits that are rejected in abroad.”