Ministries of Agriculture &
Livestock Development
SWEETENING THE MANGO: STRENGTHENING THE VALUE CHAIN
AN ANALYSIS OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL LINKAGES ALONG AND WITHIN THE MANGO VALUE CHAIN IN MBEERE DISTRICT,
EASTERN PROVINCE, KENYA Working Document 136 Kenya – 2010
SWEETENING THE MANGO: STRENGTHENING THE VALUE CHAIN
AN ANALYSIS OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL LINKAGES ALONG AND WITHIN
THE MANGO VALUE CHAIN IN MBEERE DISTRICT, EASTERN PROVINCE, KENYA
ANITA MSABENI DAPHNE MUCHAI
GRIPHASE MASINDE SAMUEL MATOKE
VIOLET GATHAARA
This report is the product of team work with the authors listed in alphabetical order
International Centre for development
oriented Research in Agiculture (ICRA)
PO Box 88 6700AB Wageningen
The Netherlands www.icra-edu.org
Ministry of Agriculture & Ministry of Livestock Development, Research-Extension Liaison P.O Box 30028 Nairobi, Kenya www.kilimo.go.ke
Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), on behalf of the IAR4D Initiative P.O. Box 57811, Nairobi, Kenya www.kari.org
Kenya National Federation of Agricultural Producers (KENFAP) P.O. Box 43148 00100 Nairobi www.kenfap.org
Programme for Promotion of Private Sector Development in Agriculture PSDA, bilateral programme by GTZ and MoA Kenya www.gtzpsda.co.ke
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ABSTRACT
Rapid changes in the global socio-economic environment have resulted in significant challenges for the African smallholders to supply their farm products to the market and also to improve their families’ livelihoods. Dealing with such challenges requires not only technical solutions like improved crop varieties and agronomic practices, but also working with and through different stakeholders (Organizational/Institutional) to achieve sustained capacity and impact. This calls for multi-stakeholder approaches to agriculture and rural development. The current study, commissioned by IAR4D-Kenya and supported by ICRA in the Netherlands, focused on the Mango Value Chain (MVC) in Mbeere District, Kenya. The issue was to examine the inter- and intra-organizational/institutional linkages and strengths in the MVC. However, the study also looked at markets, information flows, technology, service provision and policy framework as other factors affecting the MVC. The relevant information was gathered through secondary and primary data collection tools. The results of the study show that contrary to earlier perceptions, markets are not the major challenge in the mango industry in Kenya in general and in Mbeere District in particular. The major challenges identified include lack of or weak organizational/institutional linkages as well low capacities between and within the different stakeholders along the value chain. These, coupled with poor infrastructure, have significantly contributed to the poor performance of the mango industry. The study recommends some strategic interventions to spur growth in the MVC. These include capacity building and strengthening of the different stakeholders in the chain, facilitation of the organization of the different stakeholders into strong viable economic groups, re-organization and strengthening of the main existing associations/committees representing various stakeholder interests in the chain, and the development and maintenance of the requisite infrastructure.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We wish to take this opportune moment to express our sincere gratitude to ICRA for availing the opportunity and supporting us to undertake the “Multi-Stakeholder Processes in Knowledge based Rural Innovations” course. It has really enriched our skills and capacity which we hope to utilize in addressing the many complex challenges facing the development of our country. This could not have been possible without the concerted effort of the ICRA management under the able leadership of Jon Daane to whom we are highly grateful.
We are especially grateful to the ICRA Programme coordinator Juan Ceballos Müller for the able and effective manner in which he facilitated and led the course. We cannot forget also to thank Saskia, Ans and Driek for their invaluable support.
We are also especially grateful to our respective institutions for granting permission and supporting us to attend this important course. The part played by the IAR4D Kenya Initiative in selecting us to attend the course cannot be over emphasized. Further we wish to thank them for the selection of the study area which indeed is a rural development challenge, in line with the objective of the course. Our experience in this area of study has greatly enhanced our skills.
We also take special cognizance of the many stakeholders we interacted with during our study. We are greatly indebted to the DAO Mbeere and his staff particularly Fred Njeru of Gachoka divisional agricultural office for their role in linking us to the local stakeholders with whom we interacted and sourced valuable information. We extend our gratitude to individual stakeholders such as Arshfod Njenga of the PSDA, Peter Gitika of KENFAP, the IAR4D Kenya “Core Team” and Task Force, Kemani Rugendo of Kevian Kenya Ltd, Edward Maina of HCDA marketing department, Benjamin Chege of KARI Thika, as well as the many farmers contacted for their information that greatly contributed into this report.
The compilation and editing of this report could not have been complete without the invaluable input of our reviewer Dr. Richard Hawkins. His immeasurable input in guiding the team to a successful field study, preparation, presentation, and facilitation in the national stakeholder workshop cannot go unmentioned. We take this opportunity to sincerely thank him and wish him God’s blessings in all his undertakings.
Finally, we wish to thank our supportive families for enduring our long periods of absence.
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2010 KENYA ICRA TEAM MEMBERS Anita Msabeni Environmental sociologist
Kenya National Federation of Agricultural Producers Email: [email protected] Tel: +254 733 765922 +254 20 6008324 or 6000355
Daphne Muchai Agricultural Extensionist
Kenya National Federation of Agricultural Producers Email: [email protected] Tel: +254 733 973831 +254 20 6008324 or 6000355
Griphase Masinde Agriculture Extension and Gender
Ministry of Agriculture Email: [email protected] [email protected] Tel: +254 722 527481 +254 20 2098045
Samuel Ondieki Matoke Livestock Extension
Ministry of Livestock Development Email: [email protected] Tel: +254 721 175492 +254 734 527835
Violet Njeri Gathaara Researcher - Socio-economics
Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) - Kabete Email: [email protected] or [email protected] Tel: +254 722 678482 +254 20 4444144
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LIST OF ACRONYMS ACBI Agricultural Capacity Building Initiative AGDP Agricultural Gross Domestic Product ASAL Arid and Semi Arid Lands ASDS Agricultural Sector Development Strategy CDF Constituency Development Fund DAO District Agricultural officer ERS Economic Recovery Strategy EU Egerton University EUREP-GAP European Retailers Principles-Good Agricultural Practices FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations GDP Gross Domestic Product GTZ German Agency for Technical Cooperation HCDA Horticultural Crops Development Authority IAR4D Integrated Agricultural Research for development ICRA International Centre for development oriented Research in Agriculture
ICRAF International Centre for Research in Agro-Forestry
IIRR International Institute of Rural Reconstruction
JKUAT Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology LATF Local Authority Transfer Fund KADI Kamurugu Agricultural Development Initiative KARI Kenya Agricultural Research Institute KEBS Kenya Bureau of Standards KEFTNA Kenya Fruit Tree Nursery Association KENFAP Kenya Federation of Agricultural Producers KSL KENFAP Services Limited KEMPMA Kenya Mango Producers and Marketing Association KEPHIS Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Services KIRDI Kenya Industrial Research Institute KIT Royal Tropical Institute KU Kenyatta University KUSCO Kenya Union of Savings and Credit KWTF Kenya Women Finance Trust MDGs Millennium Development Goals MoA Ministry of Agriculture MoLD Ministry of Livestock Development MoW Ministry of Works NMVCC National Mango Value Chain Committee MVC Mango Value Chain NEMA National Environmental Management Authority NGOs Non Governmental Organizations PSDA Private Sector Development in Agriculture RKK Rwika Kio ni Kindu SH Stakeholder SUCAPRI Strengthening University Capacity in Rural Innovations ToRs Terms of Reference UoN University of Nairobi UNDP United Nation Development Programme USAID United States Agency for International Development WHO World Health Organization
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TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................ i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................................... iii 2010 KENYA ICRA TEAM MEMBERS ................................................................................. v LIST OF ACRONYMS ............................................................................................................. vi LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES AND PHOTOS ..................................................................... viii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ....................................................................................................... ix 1 INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES ........................................................................... 1
1.1 IAR4D Partnership in Kenya ..................................................................................... 1 1.2 Purpose of the study ................................................................................................... 1 1.3 The mango value chain ............................................................................................... 1 1.4 Beneficiaries of this report ......................................................................................... 3 1.5 Specific objectives of the study .................................................................................. 3 1.6 Methodology .............................................................................................................. 4
2 MANGO PRODUCTION AND MARKETS IN KENYA ................................................ 5 2.1 The agriculture sector in Kenya ................................................................................. 5 2.2 The mango industry in Kenya .................................................................................... 5 2.3 Mbeere District ........................................................................................................... 6 2.4 Mango outlets in Kenya ............................................................................................. 7 2.5 Fresh Fruit Mango Value Chain ................................................................................. 9 2.6 Processed mango juice value chain .......................................................................... 10
3 MANGO VALUE CHAIN ACTIVITIES ....................................................................... 13 3.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 13 3.2 Direct Chain Functions ............................................................................................. 14 3.3 Indirect Chain Functions .......................................................................................... 19
4 LINKAGES ANALYSIS ................................................................................................. 25 4.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 25 4.2 Direct Chain Actors .................................................................................................. 26 4.3 Indirect chain actors ................................................................................................. 29
5 ORGANIZATION OF CHAIN ACTORS AND CAPACITY STRENGTHENING ...... 35 5.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 35 5.2 Organization of functional/interest groups in the mango value chain ...................... 35 5.3 Organization of the Chain ........................................................................................ 43
REFERENCES ......................................................................................................................... 47 ANNEX 1 TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR THE 2010 KENYA IAR4D TEAM ............ 51 ANNEX 2 GUIDING QUESTIONS ................................................................................. 55 ANNEX 3 LISTS OF PARTICIPANTS STAKEHOLDERS WORKSHOP .................... 59
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LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES AND PHOTOS FIGURES Figure 1.1 Context and relationships of mango value chain situation Figure 2.1 Map of Mbeere District Figure 2.2 Flow of mangoes and processed products from the farmer to various outlets Figure 2.3 Flow of fresh mangoes from the farmer to various outlets Figure 2.4 Flow of mango as the processed juice Figure 4.1 Network of interactions between different chain functions Figure 4.2 RKK interactions/linkages with other chain functions Figure 4.3 Mango market shares of various wholesale markets in Nairobi Figure 4.4 Information flow among mango value chain actors Figure 5.1 Organization of mango producers at local level Figure 5.2 Organization of mango producers at group level Figure 5.3 Organization of mango producers at regional level Figure 5.4 Organization of mango producers at national level Figure 5.5 Organization of Agents Figure 5.6 Organization of service providers Figure 5.7 Current organization of mango value chain committee TABLES Table 2.1 National Mango production Table 3.1 Mango production trends between 2004 and 2008 in Mbeere District Table 3.2 Typology of mango farmers in Mbeere after verification Table 4.1 Stakeholder relationships matrix in the mango value chain PHOTOS Photo 2.1 Open roadside stall
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Despite the central role that agriculture plays in the Kenyan economy, the agricultural sector continues to face major challenges mainly due to productivity, land use, markets and value addition. The challenges are exacerbated by the unfavourable institutional framework currently governing the sector. The laws and regulations under which the agricultural sector operates are administered by different departments and ministries of the Government, including those dealing with water, lands, the environment and local authorities, besides the Ministry of Agriculture. To streamline the challenges in the sector, the Government through its policy document “Vision 2030” aims to promote an innovative, commercially-oriented, and modern agricultural sector through adding value to farm and livestock products before they reach local and international markets. This will be accomplished through: (i) transforming key institutions in the sector to promote growth; (ii) increasing productivity; (iii) introducing land use policies for better utilisation of high and medium potential lands; (iv) developing more irrigable areas in arid and semi-arid lands for both crops and livestock; and (v) improving market access for smallholders through better supply chain management. Some of the initiatives taken by the agricultural sector include multi-stakeholder approaches such as the “Integrated Agricultural Research for Development” (IAR4D) in trying to solve the complex challenges facing the sector. The IAR4D-Kenya initiative is a collaborative effort between 8 organizations in Kenya - the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), the Kenya National Federation of Agricultural Producers (KENFAP), the Ministries of Agriculture (MoA) and Livestock Development (MoLD), University of Nairobi (UoN), Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Kenyatta University (KU) and Egerton University (EU) on the one hand and the International Centre for development oriented Research in Agriculture (ICRA) in the Netherlands on the other. The purpose of the initiative is to build capacity for IAR4D in Kenya. During the period January – April 2010 a team of five members underwent IAR4D training in Wageningen, The Netherlands. As an integral component of the ICRA programme, the team conducted a study on the mango value chain (MVC) in Mbeere District in Kenya. The challenge revolved around the issue of Inter- and Intra- Organizational/Institutional linkages and capacity strengthening in the Mango Value Chain. The study also looked at the markets, information flow, technology, service provision and policy as other factors influencing the MVC. The results of the study show that, although there is a wide market potential for mangoes from Mbeere, the producers are not organized. The small-scale farmers, who are the major producers (70%), have few trees of different varieties on their farms. This makes it difficult for them to market their produce unless they do it collectively. They are further constrained by poor road net work and lack of modern market structures which usually makes it difficult for collection of the mangoes by the agents, who are the main buyers. Thus a big proportion of the fruits are sold at throw away prices or end up rotting on the farms. There is need therefore for the producers to organize themselves into production and marketing groups to operate together at shared and reduced costs. The local authority, which is charged with the development and maintenance of rural road network and the physical markets structures in the area, was found to be rather weak in terms of capacity for infrastructural development. The report recommends that the local authority takes initiative to develop the necessary infrastructure to save the producers from incurring heavy losses of their produce.
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The study also found that while there are various stakeholders/actors along the mango value chain including producers, agents/buyers, service providers, input suppliers, processors, wholesalers, exporters and consumers (end users),their linkages are weak. Most of them operate in isolation and lack information at various levels along the chain. For example, the producers lack information on markets, producer prices and appropriate agro-chemicals. Lack of market information and prices is a loophole the agents are strongly exploiting, while lack of information on the appropriate agro-chemicals has resulted in the use of sub-standard chemicals thus affecting the quality and quantity of yields. The extension service providers also lack information on changing market needs and are not able to advise the producers appropriately. Bringing various stakeholders together through different forums would strengthen the linkages and improve information flow along the chain. Although there are registered and certified nursery operators in the district, majority of the farmers still use low quality planting materials purchased from roadside, uncertified nurseries. This was attributed to the low to fair prices offered by these roadside nursery operators. A nursery operators association, the Kenya Fruit Tree Nursery Association (KEFTNA) has been formed to streamline the issue. From this study it has emerged that markets are not the main area of concern, as previously perceived. The major problems are; lack of organization and weak organizational linkages among and within the different stakeholders/actors along the whole mango value chain. The actors also lack capacities in various areas including technical, financial and business management skills, as well as limited information flow along the chain. These have significantly contributed to the poor performance of the industry. For the enterprise to grow, the report recommends strategic interventions to be developed at every level of the Mango value chain. These include:
Capacity building and strengthening of different stakeholders and/or actors at different areas along the whole value chain;
Organization of the actors into organized working groups (farmers, agents/traders and processors)
Re-organization and strengthening of the major associations and/or committees representing the interests of the different stakeholders/actors in the chain including KEMPMA, KEFTNA and NMVCC.
Development of infrastructure; appropriate marketing structures at the various market centres, cold storage facilities and rural road net works to forestall heavy losses currently incurred by the producers.
These interventions should contribute to “the development of the mango value chain” driven by producers, agents/transporters, processors and traders as key actors in the chain. The improved processes at all stages of the value chain, from the farm to the consumer will make significant contributions to an efficient and effective enterprise, with increased profitability at the small-scale scale production level and at the same time avail quality and safe mangoes and mango products to the Kenyan consumers at affordable prices.
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1 INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES 1.1 IAR4D Partnership in Kenya
“Integrated Agricultural Research for Development” (IAR4D) is considered here as a participatory and interactive process that results in collective action at different levels to achieve a shared vision of rural development. The approach is flexible and promotes innovation for dealing with complex issues in agricultural and rural development. It helps in identifying the processes needed to effectively and efficiently resolve complex problems and/or realize existing opportunities.
The IAR4D-Kenya initiative is a collaborative effort between 8 organizations in Kenya i.e., the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), the Kenya National Federation of Agricultural Producers (KENFAP), the Ministries of Agriculture (MoA) and Livestock Development (MoLD), University of Nairobi (UoN), Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Kenyatta University (KU) and Egerton University (EU) , and the International Centre for Development Oriented Research in Agriculture (ICRA) in the Netherlands. A multi-organizational Task Force, comprising of representatives of each of these organizations, oversees the initiative. The purpose of the initiative is to build capacity for IAR4D in Kenya. As part of this effort, 13 people were trained in IAR4D at ICRA in the Netherlands during 2005 and 2006, with associated field work in Uganda and Kenya respectively. Five more persons attended the ICRA IAR4D training programme on “Multi-Stakeholder Processes in Knowledge- Based Rural Innovations” during the period January – April 2010. This team of 5 persons was drawn from KENFAP (2 persons), KARI, MoA, and the MoLD. As an integral component of the ICRA programme, teams conduct field work on a priority research and development theme. In this case, the mango value chain was selected by the Task Force as the study theme, with a focus on Mbeere District. 1.2 Purpose of the study
The study therefore had a dual purpose: 1. To allow the 5 participants in the ICRA programme to better understand and utilize IAR4D
approaches, and 2. To generate and provide professional, practical, and useful information to key stakeholders
within the mango value chain, allowing them to achieve greater effectiveness in their concerted actions.
1.3 The mango value chain
The development of the mango value chain (MVC) in Kenya has been supported by the Programme for Promotion of Private Sector Development in Agriculture (PSDA), a bilateral programme jointly implemented by the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) and the Ministry of Agriculture in Kenya. The PSDA facilitated a description of the mango value chain and an assessment of the problems faced by the different stakeholders within this chain, documented in the “Report on the Mango
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Value Chain Development Stakeholders Workshop” (PSDA, 2007). This workshop identified widespread mistrust between stakeholders in the value chain, among farmers, among intermediaries, between direct value chain operators and support services, and between the public and private sectors. Current social interactions and cultural dimensions of business attitudes were factors considered to clearly hamper value chain development and improvement of the performance of the mango enterprise in Kenya. The 2007 PSDA report represented the starting point for the study team, and the above statement of constraints was considered to be the “problem statement” justifying the study. This current report is therefore expected to update information concerning the mango value chain strategy developed in 2007 by stakeholders. It is also expected to provide valuable input to the planning of the 4th phase of PSDA (2011 –2013). Figure 1.1 Context and relationships of mango value chain situation
Source: Team, 2010
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1.4 Beneficiaries of this report
The main users of this report are therefore expected to be:
1. The National Mango Value Chain Development Committee and associated value chain actors (that may take actions recommended in the report);
2. The PSDA Programme, (that may use the report for planning purposes);
3. The Kenyan IAR4D partnership (that may use the report to identify the need for IAR4D capacity strengthening within value chains in general, and the mango value chain in particular).
1.5 Specific objectives of the study
The expected outputs of the study were drafted by an ICRA consultant in collaboration with the PSDA. These expected outputs were then evaluated by the study team on the basis of feasibility, available time, and resulted in the following research areas and research questions:
1. Organization and linkages. How do chain actors need to improve or adjust their organization and interaction to build trust and synergy? Through, e.g.:
Organization of farmers and farmer groups
Formation of cooperatives/associations
Improvements to functioning of the current “mango value chain committee”
Improvements in linkages and information flow between key actors in the value chain
Other measures to build trust around a common vision and concerted action.
2. Capacity strengthening. What knowledge, skills, and attitudes are needed by the different chain actors to enable them to improve the competitiveness of the overall value chain? What practical activities or programme of activities can be implemented to improve individual and organizational capacities for concerted action?
The study was also to keep in mind the following factors influencing organization, linkages, and capacity strengthening needs:
3. Markets. What markets are accessible to the different types of mango producers in the study area?
Including local, regional, national and international markets; for
Mangoes (fresh fruit) and mango products (e.g. dried chips, powder, juice, etc)
4. Technology. What technical improvements are needed in the different points of the value chain to access the identified markets? E.g.:
In production, transport, processing
In terms of quantity and (especially) quality
To comply with industry standards (e.g. Kenya Bureau of Standards), etc.
5. Services. What services do farmers and other value chain actors need to be able to apply the identified technology and access identified markets?
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Input services (e.g. planting material, fertilizers, pesticides, etc)
Technical services (e.g. information on production practices, processing, etc.)
Market information services (e.g. prices, products)
Financial services (credit, etc.)
Business development services (e.g. market information, legal services, etc).
6. Policy. What policy changes at local government level could help improve the ability of farmers and other value chain actors to improve their livelihoods? E.g.:
Taxation (e.g. local government tax applied to product movement)
Costs of moving goods by road within the country
Policies on land use and conservation, etc.
1.6 Methodology
To gather information on the mango industry in Mbeere District, both secondary and primary data was collected. The secondary data from various sources was reviewed and, together with information gained from a reconnaissance visit to the district agricultural office, were used to develop key research questions for the different stakeholders along the MVC. The questions were then used to develop a checklist to collect primary data from the various stakeholders in the chain, using semi-structured interviews. The team interviewed input providers, farmers, agents/buyers, processors, supermarkets, researchers, and other service providers. The farmers and farmer groups were selected with the help of extension officers from the Mbeere South District agricultural office. Focus group discussions were held with farmer groups. A workshop was also held in Embu to verify, confirm, collate and gather more information from the various stakeholders mentioned, which also now included representatives of input suppliers and financial institutions. At this workshop, challenges to the industry were discussed along with strategies to address these constraints. After the team had synthesized this information, a further workshop was held with stakeholders and interested persons at national level, including KENFAP, KHDP-USAID, ICRAF, MoA, KEBS, JKUAT, Equity Bank, KADI and the PSDA. Following these discussions, the team finalized the report.
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2 MANGO PRODUCTION AND MARKETS IN KENYA 2.1 The agriculture sector in Kenya
Agriculture is the mainstay of the Kenyan economy and is the basis for the development of the other sectors. It directly contributes 26% to the GDP and indirectly a further 27% through linkages with agro-based and associated industries. Overall, the agricultural sector employs over 80% of the total labour force, generates 60% of foreign exchange earnings and provides 75% of industrial raw materials. About 80% of Kenya’s population lives in the rural areas where three quarters of them are engaged in agricultural activities. The sector is dominated by smallholders who account for approximately 75% of the total output, absorbing over 50% of the labour force. Growth in the agricultural sector is closely linked to the overall economic growth in Kenya. It is estimated that a 1% increase in the agricultural sector results in a corresponding 1.6% GDP growth in the overall economy (Government of Kenya, 2008, 2009). The Government, through its policy document “Vision 2030”, aims to promote an innovative, commercially-oriented, and modern agricultural sector through adding value to farm and livestock products before they reach local and international markets. This will be accomplished through: (i) transforming key institutions in the sector to promote growth; (ii) increasing productivity; (iii) introducing land use policies for better utilisation of high and medium potential lands; (iv) developing more irrigable areas in arid and semi-arid lands for both crops and livestock; and (v) improving market access for smallholders through better supply chain management.
The agricultural sector is made up of four major sub-sectors, namely, industrial crops, food crops, horticulture, and livestock and fisheries. Horticulture, which comprises mainly fruits, vegetables and cut flowers, has recorded significant export-driven growth in the past five years and is now the largest sub-sector. Among the fruits, mango has been the third most important fruit in terms of area and total production after bananas and pineapples respectively (FAO, n.d).
2.2 The mango industry in Kenya
The mango is one of the most important fruit crops in the tropical and subtropical lowlands. The crop is native to India, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Malaysia, but can be found growing in more than 60 other countries throughout the world. The mango is best adapted to a warm tropical monsoon climate with a pronounced dry season (over three months) followed by rains. Information from other countries indicates that crops cultivated for a long time over an extended area show a high degree of diversity due to varied environmental influences. In Kenya, the crop has been cultivated in the Coast Province for centuries. It was first introduced into the country by ivory and slave traders who brought seed into the country during the 14th century. Since then it has spread to most parts of the country including Eastern, Central, North Eastern, Western and South Nyanza Provinces (Griesbach, 2003, citing www.mangoes.com). Two types of mango are grown in Kenya, the local and the exotic or improved varieties, with higher percentage of improved mango varieties being grown in the districts of Thika, Embu,
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Mbeere North and South, Meru Central, Makueni, Machakos and Meru South. The exotic or improved varieties, which are grown for both local and export markets, are usually grafted on local mango varieties. The local varieties, which include Ngowe, Dodo, Boribo and Batawi, tend to have high fibre content, and are commonly referred to as “stringy”. This characteristic makes them unpopular for fresh fruit consumption. The exotic varieties include Apple, Kent, Keit, Tommy Atkins, Van Dyke, Haden, Sensation, Sabre, Sabine, Pafin, Maya, Kenston and Gesine (Griesbach, 2003). This great diversity of mango fruit types permits considerable manipulation for various purposes and markets: juice, chutney, pickles, jam/jelly, fresh fruit, canned and/or dried fruit etc. Given the multiple products, it is therefore a potential source of foreign exchange for a developing country. It is also a source of employment for a considerable seasonal labour force. In addition to income opportunities, the mango is noted for combating nutritional disorders. During the last 20 to 30 years, commercial mango production was developed based on locally adapted and newly imported cultivars. This has seen the area under mango cultivation in Kenya rise from 500 ha in 1970 to approximately 30,000 ha in 2008 (Table 2.1). The production has risen from approximately 254,000 tonnes with a value of Ksh 3.1 billion in 2005, to a production of 448,000 tonnes, with a value of Ksh 6.4 billion in 2008 (HCDA, 2008, cited by USAID Projects Officer). As of 2003, the mango production areas in Kenya included Eastern Province (54% of the production), Coast (22%), Nyanza (4.5%), and Central (3.5%), with the rest coming from other parts of the country. (Griesbach, 2003; FAO, n.d.). According to Tschirley and Ayieko (2008), 63% of the mangoes reaching wholesale markets in Nairobi are from Machakos District and 6% are from Embu District, both in Eastern Province. Table 2.1 National mango production, 2005 – 2008
Year Hectares (Ha)
Production (MT)
Value (Kshs. ‘000)
2005 23,915 254,413 3,125,055 2006 25,271 248,531 3,682,965 2007 26,409 384,461 5,792,991 2008 28,794 448,631 6,399,598
Source: MoA Annual Report, 2009
2.3 Mbeere District
Mbeere District is located in the arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) in Eastern Province. The district covers a total area of 2,092 square km with a population of approximately 200,000 people, distributed within four administrative divisions: Gachoka, Mwea, Evurori and Siakago (see figure 2.1). The district is endowed with both surface and sub-surface water resources. It has five major rivers namely Tana, Rupinganzi, Thiba, Thuci, Itibua and Ena. It has 3,751 hectares of natural forests: Kiangombe (2,104 Ha), Kianjiru (1,004 Ha) and Kiambere (643 Ha) (Mariene, 2004).
The district falls away from Mount Kenya along a northwest-to-southeast gradient. The slope is broken by a few hills. The altitude ranges from around 500m above sea level in the south west part of the district to 1,200m in the north east. The topography of the district and the nature of the
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soils cause transportation problems during the rainy season when roads are virtually impassable due to the slippery terrain and numerous gullies form by runoff water on the steep sides of the hills and valleys. The district experiences a bimodal pattern of rainfall with the long rains between April and June and the short rains from October to December. The rainfall is, however, not reliable and ranges between 640 and 1,100 mm per year with most parts of the district receiving about 550mm of rainfall per year. The district can be subdivided into several agro-ecological zones (fig. 2.1.) based on, among others, altitude, rainfall, and soil characteristics. The agro-ecological zones are directly linked with the major enterprises in the district, which include cotton, mangoes in the higher latitude, higher rainfall areas, and tobacco and livestock in the drier, lower altitude areas. The current production area under mango is approximately 1500ha (largely within agro-ecological zone LM3), with a yield of 4 tons per ha. The potential area for mango production is estimated at 5,000ha with a yield of 20 tons/ha (DAO 2010).
Figure 2.1 Agro-ecological zones map of Mbeere District
Source: Kinuthia, Z. Warui, D. and Karanja, F. 2009 2.4 Mango outlets in Kenya
Mango output in Kenya has increased steadily over the past decade as yields have improved to a level of 10 tonnes per hectare in 2003 (FAO n.d). Mango is marketed either as fresh fruit or processed into various products such as juices and mango chips to the various local, regional, and international markets.
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The bulk of the mangoes (over 98%) are for domestic markets and about 1-2% are for export, with a value of approximately Ksh 150 million per year (KIT, Faida MiLi and IIRR, 2006; PSDA, 2007), although export quantities have varied over the last 10 years. The main export markets for fruit are the Middle East, where the main competitors are Pakistan and India (KIT, Faida MlLi and IIRR, 2006). The capacity of Kenyan exporters to be competitive and access foreign markets depends mainly on their ability to sustain a reliable supply of fruits that meet increasingly stringent quality and safety standards. Mango quality is a key constraint due to mango fruit flies, the mango weevil, mango rust, maturity of the fruit and the variety, which all affect the fruits, and may disqualify them for exports. However, Kenya’s high fruit season does not clash with other producer countries, giving them a “window of availability” in Europe (Snodgrass and Sebstad, 2005). Nevertheless, given the relatively small proportion of fruit exported, this report focuses on national markets, both for fresh fruit and processed into juice. Figure 2.2 Flow of mangoes and processed products from the farmer to various outlets
Source: Team, 2010 Brokers collect the mangoes from producers and then supply the main open markets, the export market, and institutions (FAO, n.d; various correspondents). Once consignments are delivered to the markets, wholesalers buy and sell to retailers who then sell to consumers in kiosks, other retail
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retail markets, green groceries, and roadside markets. Processors often acquire the bulk of mangoes directly through brokers and at a small scale from the producers. The two most dominant market types are the “modern” (supermarket chains) and “traditional” (open air markets, kiosks, street vendors, and others) retail sectors. The “traditional” system continues to handle most of fresh mango produce and is frequented by the huge numbers of medium- and low-income households. It is also the sector that would most directly benefit from increased public investment in market infrastructure (Tschirley and Ayieko, 2008). At the high end of the market, the supermarkets sell high quality mangoes to the upper income consumers. This outlet, however, only accounts for less than 5% of the mangoes distributed in Kenya. In 2003, the open market accounted for 56% in urban centres and more than 70% in rural areas, while kiosks accounted for 36% of mango sales (FAO, n.d.). 2.5 Fresh Fruit Mango Value Chain
The mango value chain and its constraints have been extensively described in previous publications ( FAO, n.d.; Kingo’ri, 1997; Sebstad and Snodgrass, 2005; PSDA, 2007; Tschirley and Ayielo, 2008; Gregoratti, 2009). In the following sections, information from these sources has been complemented by key informant and focus group interviews carried out by the team. Farmers have taken up mango production for income generation, moving from local to improved varieties. Most of them sell their mangoes at local markets which include open air markets, for example Kiritiri, Gachoka, Siakago and Ishiara trading centres, kiosks and roadside stalls (see photo 2.1 and fig. 2.3). The farmers find it difficult to transport huge volumes from their farms to the markets or collection centres where available. Some farmers have embraced collective marketing at established collection centres where the mangoes are purchased by agents (sometimes also referred to as “middle-men” or “brokers”). However, this only accounts for about 5% of the farmers. When supplies are not enough, the agents are forced to move from one individual farmer to another to meet the supply. This increases the agents’ operational costs, eventually affecting both the buying and selling prices. The agents sell the mangoes to wholesale markets in urban areas, for example Wakulima Market in Nairobi, although some of them sell directly to retailers including supermarkets, hotels, institutions like prisons, hospitals, schools, and kiosks. Most of the institutions purchase the mangoes on credit, ranging from one to three months, forcing the agent to pre-finance the business. The agents operate in a climate of uncertainty and encounter all sorts of risk. They search for the mangoes, visit sellers, and negotiate deals individually. This is time-consuming. They have little working capital, relying mainly on their own funds. Poor transport infrastructure means long, arduous trips that can jeopardize the quality of the mangoes and can translate into heavy losses for the trader. At times they do not sell the mangoes on delivery at the wholesale markets and are thus forced to incur additional costs and further losses (source: discussions with 4 agents during multi-stakeholder workshop and key informant interviews).
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Photo 2.1 Open roadside stall (Embu Mbeere road)
Photograph: Team, 2010 The main challenges that face marketing of fresh mangos, according to farmers in Mbeere District include:
Lack of cold storage facilities - fruits are sold in the open and get destroyed by the sun Poor infrastructure; both markets and road network Poor handling and/or transportation systems i.e. in open pickups/lorries and sometimes
in gunny bags, leading to spoilage Seasonal gluts Taxes in form of cess (a levy of Ksh 50 is imposed at local markets and roadsides for
sale by the local authority): some farmers sell up to ten fruits for Ksh 5 only and hence make little or no profit (source: interviews with farmers individually and at the multi-stakeholder workshop)
2.6 Processed mango juice value chain
Middlemen, individual farmers or farmer groups sell approximately 5% of the fresh mangoes to processing industries such as Kevian Kenya limited, Sunny Mango processors, and Milly processors. These are processed into mango jam, mango juice and concentrates, mango preserves like chutney and pickles, and flavours (Figure 2.3). According to the owner of Kevian Kenya Limited, his plant processes about 40 tonnes of fresh mango per day (first into pulp, and then into juice), and he hopes to expand the processing plant. The mango juice is sold either directly to different outlets and consumers or through distributors who in turn sell to the various consumers. Other processors focus on processing purchased pulp (imported, mainly from South Africa, or from other, national processors) into juice.
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Figure 2.3 Flow of fresh mangoes from the farmer to various outlets
Source: Team, 2010 The Kevian manager cited several challenges and /or constraints facing the processors, including:
Mango quality: over-ripe and mangoes of different varieties which cannot be uniformly processed and/or infested with mango pests and diseases. The problem is further compounded by poor selection of varieties and poor post-harvest handling.
Low volumes: affect optimum processing capacities. Importation of concentrates, which provides competition for local mangoes. Taxes: high levies including license fee, electricity, poor roads, high packaging and
advertising costs, inconsistent water supply all increase operational costs. Poor coordination of producers: producers are not organized into groups to provide
enough volumes to processors at shared transport costs. Free markets and unfair competition: subsidized production in competitor countries has
led to “dumping” of products into the country, at prices too competitive for local mango. The processors see a growing demand of the mango in its various products. To capture the market there is a need to set standards for local products, educate consumers, improve technology, and strengthen organizational capacity and institutional framework for a level playing ground.
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Figure 2.4 Flow of mango as the processed juice
Source: Team, 2010
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3 MANGO VALUE CHAIN ACTIVITIES
3.1 Introduction
A value chain outlines the physical flows of production and commercialization and the enabling national and international institutional environment needed for an effective value chain development (contextual issues like trade agreements, national policy and regulatory environment and supporting markets, research and training and assistance). Roughly, we can distinguish two types of chains; chains in which coordination is undertaken by buyers – ‘buyer-driven – and those in which producers play the key role – ‘producer-driven. (Melle, C. et al., 2007) Value chains provide potential benefits for both rural producers and urban consumers. The metaphor of the “chain” emphasizes the fact that most goods are produced by a sequence of interlinked actors and activities. Producers receive particular attention, as they are perhaps the most apparent manifestation of the value chain. Receiving less attention, but of equal importance, are traders. A value chain also acts as a supply chain – one in which the actors know each other well and form stable, long-term relationships. They support each other so they can together increase their efficiency and competitiveness. They invest time, effort and money to reach a common goal of satisfying consumer needs. That enables them to increase their profits. A supply chain is a set of linkages between actors where there are no binding or sought-after formal or informal relationships, except when the goods, services, and financial agreements are actually transacted. We are all part of a supply chain: as consumers, we buy mangoes from a retailer, who gets them from a wholesaler, who buys them from a trader, who gets them from a producer. Servicing the supply chain itself are a multitude of other players: those who provide transport, processing, finance, packaging, quality control, book keeping, among others. There are also governments and private agencies that provide information on prices and quantities, which set the rules that govern the market, etc. At each stage in the chain the price of the product goes up. That is because each actor in the chain adds to its value – by growing, harvesting, sorting, grading, packaging, processing, labelling, transporting, storing, and putting it on shelves for us to buy. Each of these steps costs money, which the actor recoups by charging for the service (KIT and IIRR, 2008) In analyzing the elements of the value chain, we distinguish in this report direct and indirect functions or activities. By “direct chain functions”, we refer in this report to those activities that directly link the producers and final consumers. Such activities include the fruit production, transport, processing, marketing, etc. In “indirect functions” we include those functions that are needed to support these direct functions: provision of credit, inputs, technical advice, etc., as well as infrastructure and regulation, etc. It is important to note that each of these functions can be provided by a number of different individuals, organizations or “stakeholders”, and that one stakeholder can perform one or several functions. In this chapter we analyze the activities in the MVC, rather than the stakeholders per se.
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3.2 Direct Chain Functions
Fruit Production District figures show that the area under mangoes has increased significantly in recent years, but that production has fluctuated considerably (Table 3.1). In addition, the value of the crop appears to have been relatively stable till 2007, and to have dropped drastically in 2008. Table 3.1 Mango production trends between 2004 and 2008 in Mbeere District
Year Area under production (ha) Production (tons) Value (million KES) 2004 470 2350 23.5 2005 580 2900 22.9 2006 684 5340 24 2007 670 6300 25 2008 684 4140 13 TOTAL 3088 21030 108.4
Source: DAO, Mbeere District According to the District Agricultural Office (DAO) Mbeere, over 75% of the mangoes produced in the district come from smallholder farms. Local varieties such as Ngoe, Dodo, Batawi and Boribo, which are of low quality fruit (fibrous and containing a large seed) of limited marketability and which develop large dense canopies, have dominated mango production for many years. From the early 1980s onwards, however, improved varieties such as Kent, Tommy Atkin, Apple, Van Dyke and Sensation were introduced to address these limitations. The improved varieties are superior in terms of quality, early maturity and production volumes. These improved varieties, however, have higher costs of production as compared to the local varieties as they require enhanced crop husbandry practices. These practices include pruning, fertilization and spraying against common diseases. There are many reasons why farmers find it difficult to apply these practices, including the cost and the limited availability of inputs, variable (uncontrolled) quality of products available, lack of training in their use due to the limited advisory service providers, and the risks of loosing any investment due to drought and/or lack of buyers at harvest time (Sebstad and Snodrass, 2005).. According to surveys conducted by Snodgrass and Sebstad (2005), the average production from participating farmers in KADI’s project area is some 11,000 fruits per year, from an average of 73 trees/farm. From this production farmers obtained an average income of only Ksh 6,000 per year. These figures support the conclusion that – even when receiving technical support - a large part of the harvest remains unsold. It is estimated by the DAO that more than 60% of mangoes produced in Mbeere District do not leave the district; they are consumed locally and some go to waste. Of the remaining 40%, most are destined for the national fresh fruit market or for national processors. A small proportion (less than 2%) is exported internationally through intermediaries such as the brokers “Find Us in Africa Limited” and “Azuri Limited”. Farmers transport their mangoes to the local open-air markets by matatu (local minibus) and in gunny bags. This mode of transportation and packaging lowers the quality of the fruit. At the open market the price ranges from 5 to 10 shillings for 10 small, local variety mangoes (about 2 kg). Improved varieties fetch higher prices. There is a production glut in the local markets during the peak season, which has a bearing on the prices. Most farmers sell their fresh mangoes
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individually due to lack of organized farmer marketing groups. Brokers/agents also purchase mangoes from some of the farmers and farmer groups for sale to various markets. The farmers feel that the agents offer low prices for their mangoes and that they are not reliable. The informal agreements between them and the agents are usually not binding. Generally the farmers feel the agents are not trustworthy and are exploitative. On the other hand, the agents are of the view that the mangoes produced are of low quality as most of them are infested with the mango weevil, rust, and mango jelly disease. In addition, agents claim that the farmers harvest mangoes prematurely or overripe. Another problem the agents face is low production volumes forcing them to move from one farmer to another, in search of mangoes. This coupled with poor roads and high transportation costs (hire of vehicles) increases their operational costs. With higher operational costs the agents cannot pay higher farm gate prices as demanded by the farmers. The agents feel that farmers should get organized to formal groups for higher production and quality (Source: interviews with farmers, brokers/agents). The team’s tentative hypothesis before going out to the field was that:
Farmers with between 0 and 10 of local varieties mango trees grow mangoes for home consumption or local sale in the village or on the roadside, and do not put any efforts on orchard management. These farmers number about 60-70% of the total.
Farmers with 10 to 50 trees have improved varieties; they are interested in good management of their trees. They sell ad hoc through brokers. Some of these farmers are members of marketing groups. These farmers number about 20% of the total.
Few farmers, about 5%, have above 50 improved varieties trees. Some of these are absentee land owners that have contracts with buyers and they practice intensive crop management.
This hypothesis was discussed with the District Agricultural Officer (DAO) and the Divisional Agricultural Extension Officers of Kiritiri and Gatchoka. Following these discussions the typology was revised to that shown in Table 3.2. Under this verified working hypothesis, farmers with less than 30 trees were regarded as “small-scale” (home consumption and local marketing); those with 30-60 trees were regarded as “medium scale” commercial growers, mainly selling to agents on an ad-hoc basis; and those with more than 60 trees were regarded as “large scale”, selling mainly on contract or with direct access to markets outside the district.
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Table 3.2 Typology of mango farmers in Mbeere District after verification F
arm
T
ype
No. of Mango Trees
Use Market Technology Proportion %
remarks S
mal
l- S
cale
0 – 30 trees home consumption
non commercial
local marketing
sell some mangoes – village, roadside
limited number of
brokers
None Local varieties
dominant Limited crop
husbandry – -pruning -pest control
Above 50% All are resident farmers
Taking up technologies through group activities
Med
ium
-S
cale
30 – 60 trees
Commercial selling to traders/brokers
(ad hoc)
Improved varieties
crop husbandry –pest control
interested to improve
35% Some are absentee farmers
Member of marketing groups
5%
Lar
ge -
Sca
le
60 and above 1/6 acre
commercial Contract with buyers/brokers
Have direct access to
external market channels (outside the district)
improved varieties
crop husbandry – intensive pest
control good agronomy
practices
15% Some are absentee farmers
Sorting/grading, bulking and transportation For onwards sale, the mangoes need sorting, grading and bulking before being transported to processes or wholesale markets. In Mbeere District, these activities are normally undertaken by agents (as they preferred to be called; others also refer to them as “brokers”, intermediaries or “middle-men”). Very few farmers engage in these tasks, according to farmers interviewed. Agents advise the farmers when to harvest, and sometimes take their own personnel to pick the fruit. They then collect the mangoes from different producers and transport them to the main open markets, exporters and institutions. During and after harvesting, the highly perishable fruit must be handled with the greatest care. The fruit is removed from the tree by cutting the fruit stalk about 2 cm from the fruit. This will prevent the latex (exuded from the cut stalk) adhering to the skin of the fruit, staining it and rendering it unattractive. To avoid physical damage, the picked mangoes should be carefully placed into clean wooden or plastic containers and never into gunny bags. If there is a delay in the transfer of the fruits to a store or packing shed they should be kept in a sheltered place to minimize sunburn, loss of moisture and accumulation of dust. Because mangos are harvested during the summer months, fruit temperatures may exceed 35°C. This has a detrimental effect on the shelf life of the fruit. It is therefore advisable to move the packed fruits into cold storage as quickly as possible to help them lose this inherent heat (Griesbach, 2003). The team did not hear of any cold storage facilities for mango in Mbeere.
Wholesale/Distribution The nearest urban outlet for mangoes from Mbeere District is Embu, where there are a few wholesales who mainly deliver to supermarkets and kiosks in the district. However, most of the
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mangoes are handled by agents, who deliver the mangoes to wholesalers in larger urban areas such as Nairobi. The farmers handle the mangoes within the local markets in the district (source: interviewed farmers). Wholesale/distribution is the function of receiving goods from agents and large farmers, which are then resold to retailers and large, regular buyers such as schools, restaurants and prisons. Each commodity is sold in complete wholesale units (such as 100 mangoes), so consumers planning a big family event may also buy here. Retailers then sell to consumers in kiosks, other retail markets, green groceries and roadside markets. About 28 tonnes of mangoes enter Nairobi each day between December and March. The wholesale function takes place only within particular market places. Wakulima Market remains the main wholesale market in Nairobi, with about 80% of the mango volume, although due to congestion and poor maintenance – and hence increased costs for agents – other markets are growing in importance. Nevertheless, these new markets suffer from lack of infrastructure (often just being bare spaces, with poor hygiene. Development of wholesale market facilities is therefore critically required (Tschirley and Ayieko, 2008) Those involved in the wholesale function are usually well informed about the buying and selling prices, handling and transport practices in their marketplace. Sometimes the wholesale function also involves providing credit to traders/agents and retailers so they have working capital, or direct employment of travelling “buying agents” to purchase produce for them (KIT and IIRR, 2008).
Processing The great diversity of mango fruit types permits its use for various purposes and markets. Mango processing entails the transformation of mango fruits into different semi-finished and or ready-to-use products. Such products include: juices, jam, jelly, nectar, concentrate and wine. Mangoes can also be used as salad component, a salad appetizer, pickles, candied mango pulp, ice cream component, mango scoops or tidbit, mango shake and chutney. Mangoes processing is done for the following reasons:
to decrease post-harvest losses and extend shelf life to create variety and hence widen the market to add value, thereby generating extra income to create new investment and employment opportunities to improve the nutritional quality of mangoes e.g. through pickling to support local small-scale industry through the demand for equipment required for
processing, preservation and packaging (KIRDI, 2009).
In Kenya, mango juice is the most common product. The fruit is first pulped into concentrate and then made into mango juice. Processors include Kevian Kenya Ltd., which sells juice under the trade name of “Pick and Peel”, and Sunny Processors, that produce mainly pulp, exporting the majority (Sunny Processors, 2010), and others such as Milly and Truefoods. These processors are located in and around large towns as Nairobi, Thika and Mombasa. Some processors, e.g. Del Monte, import the concentrate from outside Kenya and then convert into juice for the Kenyan market. The juices are packaged in Tetra Pak carton packages and plastic bottles and sold locally. Coca-Cola has introduced a plan to locally procure mangoes with a view to producing soft drinks
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in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and TechnoServe who will provide farmer organisation, technical and business services (Njiraini, 2001). However, there are doubts about the future competitiveness of local production for juice. First, fruit juice production requires large scale, low cost production. For mangoes, other countries such as Mexico have already taken the lead in this respect (FAO, 2001). Second, processing of the mango fruit presents many challenges as far as industrialization and market expansion is concerned. These challenges include:
Trees are alternate bearing, and the fruit is only available for about seven months in a year. The crop is bulky and has a short storage life, thereby making it difficult to process in a continuous and regular way.
A large number of varieties with their individual properties affects the quality and uniformity of processed products.
Interested entrepreneurs may not know where to get the processing equipment and better linkages need to be created between the technology providers and users.
At the same time, those investing in mango production may not have the necessary processing skills and may not employ qualified personnel as they may consider them too expensive to hire. Mango processing in Kenya also faces competition from cheap imitation fruit drinks and imported fruit juices and concentrates, as well as from other products.
The majority of Kenyan consumers may not be aware of nutritional and health benefits of consuming mango products or other natural fruit products as compared to synthetic or imitation products (KIRDI, 2009; KEVIAN, 2010).
Mango quality required in processing: no blemishes, bruises (mechanical damage and diseased mangoes good size, appearance, taste and flavour firm fruit good texture and low fibre content desired processing ripeness physiologically mature fruit high sugar, acid ratio attractive pulp colour high recovery rate during processing.
The above are influenced by:
variety of mango pre-harvest technologies postharvest handling (food safety) (Source: Chege, KARI). processors often acquire the bulk of mangoes directly through brokers and at a
small scale from the producers (FAO, n.d., Team interviews, 2010). The team found that in Mbeere District only limited mango processing has been taking place. A few individual farmers and farmer groups have been involved in processing fresh mangoes
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into juices and dry mango chips in the recent past. One of the groups that interacted with the team for example, the Rwika Kio ni Kindu (RKK) farmer group, was involved in processing fresh mango fruit into mango dry chips. The members are aware that the mangoes can also be processed processed into mango flour, flakes and “leather” (mango roll or mango taffies, prepared from mango puree and pulp). The aim of the RKK group was to increase the shelf life and marketability of the mangoes by adding value. They also hoped to improve their returns by selling by selling the value-added products themselves, while at the same time avoiding being exploited by agents/brokers. The processing, however, proved to be unsustainable due to high capital requirements; the necessary machines and sheds/stores require high investment costs and the processes require huge volumes of water which were not available at the moment. Farmer groups are further constrained by the stringent standard requirements (food and safety) established by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), and the high fees for certification. Similar constraints were reported by King’ori (1997) more than 10 years ago. It seems the constraints are difficult to overcome by local groups. Retail The retail function involves selling goods in whatever quantity a consumer wishes to buy at one time. It also offers goods at convenient times and in convenient locations, including small neighbourhood markets and roadside kiosks. Retail includes a wide range of entrepreneurs, from prosperous stallholders in major markets, to itinerant peddlers who circulate between a few remote villages. In between are retailers at roadside stands and small markets in villages or urban neighbourhoods. They sit for hours in the sun and rain, selling goods in the small quantities that poor consumers can afford. The larger retailers buy in wholesale units from established wholesalers. Small-scale retailers often buy in smaller amounts from these larger retailers. The smallest sell in tiny piles on a table beside their houses, or carry a tray of goods on their heads from house to house. In many countries, retailing is an important source of employment for those with few other opportunities. Many retail traders also work part-time, selling on credit at their workplaces or spending the rest of the workday preparing goods for sale, in housework or farming. Retail as a function provides the service of consumer targeting. It moves the goods to a convenient location and offers them in the amounts that consumers prefer. So, retail as a function has a specific role in the value chain, specializing in a specific set of functions to get the produce from the farms to the cities (KIT and IIRR, 2008). In selling fruits and vegetables, security (theft and personal safety) tends to be a problem for kiosks and especially market retailers, with about half of them suffering regular small-scale theft, and a quarter having experienced thefts of larger amounts of money (Tschirley and Ayieko, 2008). Locally, the retail function is handled by the producers themselves. They transport their mangoes to the local open air markets by matatus (public transport minibuses) in gunny bags. This mode of transportation and packaging lowers the quality of the fruit. At the open market the price ranges from 5 to 7 Kenya shillings per improved variety fruit, compared to 20-30 KSh in Nairobi when bought from retailers. Most farmers sell their fresh mangoes individually due to lack of organized marketing farmer groups (source: farmer interviews). 3.3 Indirect Chain Functions
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In this report, we refer to “indirect chain functions” as those activities involving the provision of services and goods to the main chain actors. Such services give support to the production, processing and marketing (wholesale and retail functions). These services are provided in different forms, ranging from building organizational skills through training, provision of technical advice and training on mango production and post-harvest handling. Other services include developing business plans, especially for farmers/producers and to some extent small-scale processors at the local level. Such other services as credit provision, research for improved production technology, input (agro-chemical) supplies, and policy/regulatory framework are essential for the proper operation of the mango value chain. A variety of organisations or stakeholders are involved in supplying one or more of these services.
Organizational Services These involve organizing the chain actors. For example, farmers and traders need to organize themselves if they want to improve their businesses. As individuals, most farmers and traders are too small to make a difference. But if they team up with their colleagues, they can support one another to strengthen skills and technologies, upgrade products and services, learn about consumer demands, gain access to finance, negotiate with clients, lobby with government authorities, etc. Association of the chain actors in business organizations is a first necessary step to improve chain relations. The chain will only function well if all actors in the chain respect the roles and needs of the other chain actors. However, this can only happen if there is open dialogue and exchange of views to create mutual understanding. Coordination in the chain is key, as chain actors become specialized in their businesses. They need effective coordination of their relationships and interactions. This helps to tailor the farm products to the demands of the consumer, and to minimize any losses, damage, or inefficiencies that may occur at any stage of the value chain. Chain coordination is achieved through continual communication between the chain actors. This can be steered by the business organizations of farmers and traders, but it may also be taken care of by a chain facilitator or a service provider. The aim is to create a new level of cooperation which will banish any mistrust that may prevail. Farmers find it easier to relate with traders whom they have known and dealt with for a long time (KIT and IIRR, 2008). In the current study, the team observed that although some efforts have been made to initiate some organized structures among the producers, organizational services remain an issue as the chain actors are still largely disorganized. The majority of farmers are not organised in groups, although valuable efforts to organize the producers at the local level have been undertaken by KADI, often under the umbrella of national value chain projects or programmes such as USAID’s Business Development Services Programme, UNDP’s Growing Sustainable Business Initiative, and the current GTZ-MoA Private Sector Development in Agriculture Project (PSDA) The team did not observe any effort to link mango farmers groups at division, district or provincial level. At a national level, the Kenya National Federation of Agricultural Producers (KENFAP) operates to support farmer organisation. One of its activities has been to establish KEMPMA- the Kenya Mango Producers and Marketing Association, although this association can be considered to be still in its infancy.
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Nursery Services Nurseries provide the improved planting material needed to produce fruit desired by the market. In Mbeere District, there are both private nurseries and those operated by organisations such as the Kamurugu Agricultural Development Initiative (KADI), originally established by the Catholic Church, and Embu Prison. From 2008, it is a government requirement that all fruit tree nurseries are registered with the Horticultural Crops Development Authority (HCDA) and inspected by the Kenya Plant Health Inspection Services (KEPHIS). However, the team observed a number of roadside nurseries – suspected to be unregistered - offering planting material at low cost, and farmers admit to buying from these to save money.
Input Supply Services Input suppliers play a significant role through the supply of agro-chemicals – fertilizers, pesticides, and planting materials. They are supposed to provide proper advice on application rates as well as proper chemicals. Many farmers, however, seem not to have much confidence in the majority of the agro-chemical input suppliers (Box 3.1). Box 3.1 Farmers dissatisfied with input supply
“Many of the agro-chemical suppliers are not reliable. They sell fake chemicals at inflated prices. When we use these chemicals, we do not gain anything. It seems they are just interested in our money and not the welfare of the farmer. The government should help us get rid of these people” – Mbeere farmer during the local stakeholders’ meeting in Embu on 30/03/2010.
Technical Advisory Services These services are mainly directed towards improved production of the mango, with advice on the proper use of fertilizers and pesticides, planting of suitable mango varieties, and other agronomic practices. In Mbeere, advisory services are offered to producers by both public and private organisations. However, due to limited capacity, the government agents have not performed very well, leaving the major work in mangoes to a private service provider –KADI. KADI has trained the farmers on various aspects of mango growing, from nursery establishment through value addition and marketing. In general, farmers have a favourable opinion about KADI (see Box 3.1).
Box 3.2 Farmers appreciate KADI
“KADI people are the only people who have tried to help us. They give us mango seedlings; they send their people to teach us on mango production and how to sell and also to make different things (processed products) from the mangoes. The only problem is where to sell those things because some of us don’t know Nairobi, where we are told we can sell our mangoes and the products at good prices”. [Asked about government extension services], “Some of them come around once in a while, while others are our fellow farmers and we are suffering with them because they also do not know what to do with their own mangoes” (Farmers from Gachoka Division).
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Infrastructure Services Poor roads, telecommunications and rural infrastructure raise the costs and risks of transport, and increase post-harvest losses. The high costs of transport increase the margin that is needed for marketing and lowers the price that the producer gets at the farm gate. In addition, the facilities at market places leave much to be desired. Access roads, areas for loading and unloading, storage facilities, security and sanitation could be greatly improved (KIT and IIRR, 2008). In Kenya, the development and maintenance of rural infrastructure, and especially access roads and facilities at the market places is the responsibility of the local authorities. They receive government funding through the Local Authorities Transfer Fund (LATF) and also collect cess and stall fees from farmers and traders respectively. Unfortunately, many local authorities have abdicated this responsibility causing farmers post-harvest losses through poor roads and market place structures – and Mbeere District is no exception. Interviewed farmers do not see a practical benefit from the levied cesses.
Financial Services Limited access to formal financial services such as loans and insurance is a barrier to agricultural development among many small-scale producers and other chain players in the agricultural sector. Producers, buyers, and sellers are always in need of money for their businesses. If they know one another well, they often give each other informal credit. Depending on the market conditions, these loans flow either up or down in the chain. At harvest time, when there is plenty of produce, traders may take farm products on credit. However, in the lean season, when there is little supply, traders may offer advance payments to farmers in exchange for the right to buy their products. These supply chain credit flows serve to keep the business moving, which is in the mutual interest of both buyer and seller. Formal financial institutions seem to play virtually no significant role in facilitating agricultural trade at local level. Banks such as the Equity Bank, the Cooperative Bank and the Kenya Commercial Bank who do offer such services have few clients among farmers, who are generally considered not to be “bankable” as they have no collateral (or do not wish to use their major asset, their land, as a collateral, as they would fear the risk to lose it to the bank), and do not have established business plans (see Box 3.2) Traders often do have bank accounts, but they also find it difficult to obtain loans, also because of a lack of collateral. Micro-finance schemes such as those offered by the Kenya Women Trust Fund (KWTF) and Faulu Kenya may be a solution to some, but their outreach is limited, often to the cities only, and they operate with relatively high interest rates. The limited availability of formal capital for agricultural trading is one of the key factors restricting the size of business transactions and the growth of enterprises (KIT and IIRR, 2008).
Box 3.3 Farmer frustrations with financial services
“Those bank people are very proud and can frustrate you forever. If you go there today, they tell you to bring your title for security. When you take, it takes years before they give you an answer. And where the answer is good, they ask you to give them your business plan. Most of us do not understand those things, so we give up. Again the money you pay back if you get the loan is too much and if you fail, they sell your land and other things to get their refund. So we fear going to them. I wish there was somebody to give money without taking us through circles. We would be very happy to develop our shambas”. Farmer from Kamurugu area.
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Business Development Services Because of low levels of educational attainment, entrepreneurial skills are relatively undeveloped. Basic skills for business, like accounting and planning, are rare. Particularly small-scale farmers, lack commercial knowledge to market their produce on their own account (KIT and IIRR, 2008). Team discussions also revealed that many of the farmers in Mbeere District lack skills to develop business plans, which could help them negotiate with financial institutions for credits. Organizations like KADI have been at the forefront in training farmers in business development skills at the local level. At the national level, KENFAP, which deals with the formation of and capacity building of farmer groups, has a branch in Mbeere. The Kenya Mango Producers and Marketing Association (KEMPMA) might work with the existing service providers but the association is still in its infancy at the moment.
Research services These are the services that generate new/improved technologies to help farmers maximize on production and incomes. Players in this area include both public research institutions, of which the main one is the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), and private organisations such as KADI. KARI, through its Horticultural Research Programme at its Centre in Thika has had a lead role in introducing improved mango varieties in the country. There is also a KARI Regional Research Centre at Embu. However, few farmers in Mbeere District have had direct contact with them. Farmers associate most of the mango activities with KADI. The World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) also has a programme on Tree Genetic Resources and Domestication, whose activities include the introduction of promising mango varieties from outside Kenya. At a more strategic level, organisations involved in mango research include the universities. Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), for example, has conducted studies on post-harvest conditions and the physiological changes in fruit (interview with Christine Onyango).
Policy/Legal/Regulatory Services It is important for trade and business to have some participation in decision-making over government policies. Policies influence business through taxes, permits, sector policies, trade tariffs, subsidies, etc. Often these decisions are taken without due consideration of the points of view of farmers and traders. When farmers and other chain players get organized to achieve policy influence, it is likely that the trading conditions will improve for mutual benefits (KIT and IIRR, 2008). In the current study, the team noted that there are a number of important actors who formulate and implement policy/legal issues both at the national and the local levels. For example, at the local level, the Mbeere County Council (local authority) has by-laws through which it is supposed to establish and maintain the physical infrastructure in the area. Yet this is not happening and it has cost the mango farmers and other farmers considerable loss during post-harvest handling.
At the national level, the Horticultural Crops Development Authority (HCDA) and the Kenya Plant Health Inspection Services (KEPHIS) have the regulatory roles of ensuring that farmers use
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high quality planting materials and also export high quality fresh mangoes. However, the team noted that the capacities of the organizations on the ground are still fairly weak and require strengthening. Many farmers do not know much about these organizations and about what they can do (farmer interviews).
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4 LINKAGES ANALYSIS
4.1 Introduction
Linkages are interactions between individuals, organizations, or groups, which allow the exchange or transfer of information, resources, or power. These linkages include structural mechanisms that are formal and institutionally recognized, e.g. direct supervision or authority; committees; liaison positions and operational mechanisms which may be informal or temporary e.g. meetings, training events; contracts, partnerships; publications, broadcasts; joint activities; friendships. Factors that can influence the effectiveness of a linkage include:
1. Intensity and formality of contact 2. One way or two way contact 3. Stakeholders’ awareness of other stakeholders’ functions 4. Relevance of services 5. Urgency 6. Timeliness 7. Accessibility 8. Quality of communication 9. Control over the relationship 10. Mandate of representatives 11. Legitimacy 12. Reliability of services
These criteria can also be used to negotiate improvements in existing linkages, linkage mechanisms and develop new relationships. Figure 4.1 Network of interactions between different chain functions.
Source: ICRA n.d.
There are many reasons why linkages and linkage mechanisms may not work, including:
1. Weak management capacity 2. Inappropriate organizational structure 3. Unfavourable reward systems 4. Constraints on time and money 5. Inappropriate planning 6. Little or no monitoring and evaluation of the process of interaction.
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7. Different organizational cultures, expectations and operating procedures (ICRA, n.d) 8. Unfavourable and/or weak policy/regulatory environment
The team examined the nature of interactions between these different functions. 4.2 Direct Chain Actors
Mango fruit production About half of the mango farmers in Mbeere District are classified as small-scale, about 40% as medium scale, and a small percentage (15%) as large scale (see typology in chapter 3). From the interviews, the team concluded that all farmers require information on:
1. Selection of appropriate varieties 2. How to access quality planting materials 3. Knowledge of harvesting techniques and maturity time (optimum harvest period) 4. How to adopt to climate change 5. Advice on chemical products and their use 6. Markets intelligence information 7. New technological innovations.
The farmers often work in isolation for their mango production and orchard management. A few of these farmers sell directly to rural assemblers/agents who bulk the mangoes and transport them to urban wholesalers. Some of the small-scale farmers, however, have formed groups to harmonize their mango production. These groups deal with cultivation, small-scale value addition, and marketing of the products. The groups also practise collective procurement of inputs and marketing, thereby strengthening their bargaining power on prices. Through the groups, the farmers also strengthen their financial status by providing credit facilities through group banking and loans. Generally, groups have more relations with different organizations as compared to individual, small-scale farmers. These interactions are either one way or multidirectional with some strong and others weak. Diagram 4.2 below shows the relations of one farmer group, the Rwika Kio ni Kindu (RKK) with other actors. The farmers and farmer groups interviewed indicated that they receive most of their technical advisory service from the ministry of agriculture extension staff and private extension service providers like Kamurugu Agricultural Development Initiative (KADI). They are provided with information on mango production and orchard management, pests and diseases management, post-harvest handling and processing, in trainings. Usually, the extension service providers contact the farmers and farmer groups in a top-down approach; in very few occasions do the farmers seek the service providers. There is therefore oversupply of information on technical issues compared to information on group formation/dynamics, collective marketing and business skills. There is also an apparent duplication of efforts among the extension service providers
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Figure 4.2 RKK interactions/linkages with other chain functions
Source: discussion with RKK members Owing to the unfavourable environment farmers face at the district and national level, farmers have joined in the Kenya Mango Producers and Marketing Association (KEMPMA). KEMPMA is supposed to be the farmers’ voice in the mango industry. By bringing mango farmers together, the association hopes to get a better bargain on prices and lobby for favourable policies for the mango producers. The association is still in its infancy, though, with officials at the national level but is in the process of establishing grass root (district level) networks. By organizing farmers together they hope they can bargain better on prices and lobby for favourable policies for the mango producers. Sorting, bulking, and transportation During discussions with agents it was revealed that they generally buy the fruits directly from individual farmers by visiting the farms, in some few cases, they buy from organized groups. They transport the produce mainly to the urban markets, although sometimes they sell directly to retail and to processors. Agents buying directly from farmer groups or collection centres have lower transaction costs because they can purchase sufficient volumes and therefore do not have to move from one farm to another. Findings show that agents require information on:
1. Where to acquire large volumes of high quality mangoes – contacts of farmer groups and collection centres
2. How to handle mangoes on transit – packaging of fresh mangoes to avoid injury/deterioration of the fruits during transportation to the markets
3. Wholesale market prices 4. Market outlets 5. Contacts and locations of mango processing companies
The agents are quite dispersed, negotiate deals individually, and do not have formal assembly
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forums where they can discuss how to address the challenges they encounter like lack of cold storage infrastructure/facilities, cost competitive transportation systems, and poor road networks. In as much as there are regular interactions between the farmers/farmer groups and agents, the agent has an upper hand in price setting, the quality, and quantity of the mangoes marketed. There is a lot of mistrust of the farmers towards the agents whom they say exploit them. Farmers said the agents do not inform them where they sell the products and at what price and they also do not provide the farmers with their contacts so that they can get in touch. This one-way communication path puts the farmer at a disadvantage, as they are not provided with necessary information on product quality, price and market outlets. The agents are not willing to enter into formal contracts/agreements with farmers to ensure their reliability in trading. To foster good working relations there is need to bring farmers and agents together and encourage regular interactions. (Source: team interviews) The relationship between agents and processors is mainly based on the supply of mangoes. Rarely do agents and processors interact with producers to educate them on their standards so as to reduce the rate of wastage of mangoes supplied. To strengthen the sorting, bulking and transport function there is need to improve and strengthen linkages between producers, processors, and wholesalers. Timely information dissemination on product quality requirements should be improved. The local authorities only interact with the agents when collecting cess and market fees. This one-way relationship however needs to be multidirectional where the local authorities need to plan together with agents when budgeting and prioritizing for rural development projects, including maintenance of rural access roads and market structures. Processing There are several companies involved in mango processing in Kenya, including Kevian Kenya Ltd. in Nairobi and Thika, Sunny Processors Ltd. in Maragua, and Delmonte in Thika. Processors require high quality mango fruits from the agents or from the farmers they interact with directly.
The quality of mango is influenced by the variety, pre-harvest technologies, and post-harvest handling. This information is usually communicated to agents who are the main suppliers of the mangoes to the processors. Processors generally operate in isolation, although there have been attempts by Kevian Limited to bring the other processors together to have a common platform. This has not been successful as most processors feel they are doing well as individuals. Wholesale/distribution/retail The major wholesale distribution function for mangoes is done in main urban centres. In Nairobi, Wakulima Market dominates the flow with 78%; Kangemi is second with 15%, Kibera third with 5% and finally Gikomba with 2% (figure 4.3). Other upcoming wholesale markets are Korogocho and Githurai which have not been adequately surveyed. Wholesalers buy from agents to sell to retailers and sometimes to processors. Figure 4.3 Mango market shares of various wholesale markets in Nairobi
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78
155 2
0
20
40
60
80
100
Wakulima Kangemi Kibera Gikomba
Wholesale MarketM
arke
t S
har
e %
Mango
Source: Tschirley, D. and Ayieko, M. 2009 The wholesalers have formed cartels to discourage new entrants and to control the market by determining the prices and volumes/packing. The cartels control the supply entering the market and determine which traders are allowed to sell. This locks out other chain actors in making the chain more efficient and profitable. Wholesalers however can join hands to lobby and invest funds for the physical upgrading/expansion of infrastructural development of the wholesale markets. (Source: team interviews). The bigger fresh mango retail volumes are from the wholesale markets to the various urban retail sections. Due to challenges of dealing with wholesale markets some agents/traders sell their produce directly to retailers, bypassing the wholesale markets. The retail markets comprise open-air markets, supermarkets, green grocers and kiosks. 4.3 Indirect chain actors
Organizational services The Social Services Department (Ministry of Gender and Social Services), the Department of Extension and Training (Ministry of Agriculture), and KENFAP and KADI are engaged in group formation and capacity building. These organizations tend to work in isolation from each other, resulting in duplication of services and even in over-engagement of the groups that have been formed. This results in the groups spending too much time on similar activities promoted by the different organizations. (Source: team interviews) It was noted that the linkages between GTZ/PSDA and the extension service providers, public (MOA) and private (KADI) and farmers /farmer groups are strong. GTZ/PSDA supports capacity building through the extension providers as well as linking them to other stakeholders and dissemination of relevant mango information. (Source: team interviews) Input supply services The main input services for the mango value chain are the nurseries that provide planting materials and the agrochemical dealers who supply agrochemicals and fertilizers. The nurseries require information on prices, quality and application regimes of inputs, sources of “mother blocks” (clean material), and information about other nurseries. Nurseries are also concerned about lack of adequate water supply, high transport costs, and expensive and irregular labour. Nursery operators have formed an association, KEFTNA, which will deal with issues of quality, nursery registration, and inspection and inputs. The association also aims at building trust with producers and other actors such as KARI, KEPHIS, KEFRI and HCDA, to facilitate better flows
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of relevant information. Technical advisory services The private service provider KADI carries out training of farmer groups on nursery establishment and maintenance, good agricultural practices, basic value addition like drying mango into flakes/crisps and making mango flour, as well as on collective marketing. They source and link farmers to buyers. KADI, for example, linked farmer groups in Mbeere District to the distributor/exporter “Find Us in Africa”. This company, unfortunately, is not buying from farmers any more because of issues of quality and standards. Private service providers work in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture in reaching out to the producers and nursery keepers in educating them. Policy, legal and regulatory services (local and national) The departments and bodies charged with policy and regulation work as independent entities. These include: KEPHIS, MoA, HCDA, NEMA (National Environment Management Authority), and KEBS. They do not undertake joint planning or implementation of activities with other actors in the mango chain. They particularly do not work with the fruit producers and traders yet the rules and regulations affect them significantly. They also do not consult one another to scrutinize areas of overlaps and success, challenges, or recommendations forwarded by each of them. During the interviews it came out clearly that these government bodies should collaborate and widely share their information related to planning, budgeting, implementation, and accountability. This would give room for them to be scrutinized and held accountable. Small-scale producer groups and processors find the certification standards by KEBS that inspects and certifies processing facilities too stringent and expensive. Feedback from KEBS also takes too long. The farmers say that KEBS is biased in its application of standards and regulations, referring to the many substandard products in the country. This discourages set up of cottage industries and makes local industries uncompetitive. Research services The producers and nurseries indicated that research services are not accessible to them. Citing KARI as an example, they said this is a one-sided relationship where the farmers reach out to the research institute. Research services provide information and technologies on:
Varieties – suitable for processing, export, and fresh market; Crop management – spacing, pruning, chemical application for optimum productivity; Variety compatibility information and recommend the best varieties.
The producers, input suppliers, and processors propose that the research institutes should improve their dissemination methodologies. The brochures given by the research services are not the best tool and the information is not disseminated on time. Sometimes researchers transfer the technologies through training of farmer groups and in collaboration with the MoA and KADI. (Source; team interviews) Lately, the research service providers are more driven by economic factors and lack a bottom-up approach: farmers and nurseries do not understand research priorities. To ensure appropriate research there is need to improve participation in decision-making mechanisms. Producers and nurseries do not consider university researchers as valuable researchers on mango production issues; they are considered to be isolated and far from the producers in the research they conduct.
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The research institutions do not work together and end up duplicating the studies undertaken. The bureaucratic processes and levels within the research institutions lead to inappropriate research and untimely dissemination of the findings. The linkages between the farmers and the certified nurseries, HCDA and research require strengthening, considering that the national and the export markets for fresh mangoes as well as the processing industries require high quality mangoes. The variety and the quality of the planting material determine the quality and the quantity of the final product. Due to high prices of the seedlings, however, most farmers are not sourcing their planting materials from certified nurseries. Infrastructural development services Collaborative planning for investment in market infrastructure among the Ministry of Works (MoW), local government, and farmer and trader organizations is required. The time that these processes take is also an issue. The RKK farmers group, for example, applied to the Ministry of Public Works for approval of their building plans of a value addition shed, but they were still waiting for the decision six months later (source: RKK group, March 2010) At the local level, joint planning can be undertaken for the construction of kiosks and market sheds. Planning for maintenance of rural feeder roads should be done jointly with farmer groups, traders, and the constituency development fund committee (CDF). The Ministry of Water and Irrigation should also collaborate when planning for irrigation programmes. Figure 4.4 Information flow among mango value chain actors.
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Conclusion
Although there is great potential for collaboration and partnerships among the functions in the chain, the strength of the relationship between stakeholders is variable (see figure 4.4). A number of factors have affected these relationships, including:
1. Lack of good will and trust in the public sector due to politics 2. Lack of recognition of individual institutions/organizations strengths and abilities in
the growth and development of the mango industry 3. Poorly organized structures and defined mandates of the institutions/organizations
within the mango value chain. For example, the national mango value chain committee has not put in place rules and regulations, and is still loosely organized.
4. The unreliability and secretive operations of the buyers/agents (brokers) within the mango value chain.
5. Selective allocation and utilization of development resources within the district 6. Wrong prioritization and choice of line of operation by different stakeholders/actors
especially the producers along the mango value chain (one stakeholder wants to do everything)
7. Limited financial capacity at the farm level 8. Leadership and power wrangles, leading to formation of many amorphous groups 9. Poor information flow among the various stakeholders along the mango value chain.
If stakeholders carrying out all these functions worked hand in hand, it would be possible to establish a mango tracking mechanism, thereby enabling the chain to assess the value addition at each stage and eventually identify areas that require interventions. There is need for a process/partnership broker to initiate and support a structure to facilitate the interaction of all the functions in the mango value chain. Through this structure, decision-making mechanisms should be clearly defined to enable accountability and responsibility of each level of function. This structure should be responsible for market intelligence/data collection, decision making in transport, varieties, establishment of collection centres and market structures, and cold storage/facilities. The actors (producers, traders, processors, wholesalers) in each of the chain functions need to form associations and formalize their activities. They need to register officially, agree upon statutes with written rules and regulations, elect legitimate leaders, and install an office with an address and telephone number. These associations will be used to guarantee good business conduct by registering members and giving them an identity certification. The underlying drive for formalization is to improve the actors’ relations amongst themselves. It increases their access to formal financial services such as bank loans, micro-credit, and insurance (KIT and IIRR, 2008). To improve the flow of information among the interest groups, communication structures need to be established. This may involve Internet portals and web pages, enhanced use of telecommunications (e.g. text messaging) and use of both print (bulletins, newspaper articles) and audiovisual channels (radio & television) for sharing out information. This may also accelerate the speed at which information is shared out and its accessibility.
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Table 4.1 Stakeholder relationships matrix in the mango value chain
Stakeholders Research Certified Nursery
Input supplier
Farmer Transport/Middlemen
Processors Extension providers
HCDA KEMPMA KEBS KEPHIS GTZ/PSDA Local authority
Exporter Credit
Research xxx xx xxx xxx xxx xxxx x x x Certified Nursery
xx xx x xxx xx xx x x
Input supplier
xx x xx x x xx
Farmer x x xxx x x x xxx x x Transport/ Middlemen
xx x x x x xx
Processors x xxx x x x Extension providers
xx x xxx x
HCDA x x xx x x xxx KEMPMA x x xx x
KEBS x xx KEPHIS xxx
GTZ/PSDA Local
authority x
Exporter Credit
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5 ORGANIZATION OF CHAIN ACTORS AND CAPACITY STRENGTHENING 5.1 Introduction
This chapter reviews the organization of the various stakeholders and stakeholder groups in the mango value chain at different levels. These stakeholder groups range from producers, traders, transporters, processors, service providers, and all those involved in both direct and indirect activities in the mango value chain. First, we review the organization of individuals and individual organizations within one interest or stakeholder group (e.g. farmers, processors). Subsequently we review the organization between interest or stakeholder groups, which at present is represented by the National Mango Value Chain Committee (NMVCC). 5.2 Organization of functional/interest groups in the mango value chain
Producers Most of the producers are small-scale individuals with 0 to 30 mango trees. They represent more than 75% of the mango growers. They are largely working individually and have little if any organizational arrangements. There are some few organized groups, however, like RKK, Kamurugu Fruit Farmers, and Gachoka, formed mainly for marketing purposes. Figure 5.1 Organization of mango producers at local level
Source: Team 2010 The potential benefits of farmer groups include cooperative marketing (stronger bargaining position with buyers), joint purchases of inputs, organization of technical advice/demonstrations, and farmer-to-farmer information exchange. There are also some disadvantages to farmer groups,
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as was noted in previous surveys. These include much time spent in meetings, a loss of autonomy in negotiating sales, dependency on the group, and the tendency of agents to avoid organized groups, thinking that purchases will turn out more expensive (Snodgrass and Sebsted, 2005). Farmers interviewed in the current study indicated that lack of trust between farmers is a main reason for not forming more groups. Another feature is that although women may dominate production and sales, groups tend to be dominated by men (Snodgrass and Sebsted, 2005). Figure 5.2 Organization of mango producers at group level
Source: Team, 2010 Figure 5.3 Organization of mango producers at regional level
Source: Team, 2010
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At a national level, the formation of KEMPMA – the Kenya Mango Producer and Marketing Association – has been facilitated through KENFAP, but to date, it is still weak on the ground. It needs to be strengthened by increasing its membership base, and the creation of structures that can can link farmers groups at regional and national levels, so that representation can be taken to higher levels, and information can flow effectively between these different levels. Figure 5.4 Organization of mango producers at national level
Source: Team 2010 Recommendations:
Producers need to be encouraged to join the already existing marketing groups or form new ones and aggregate into strong producer marketing groups and/or cooperatives.
KEMPMA needs to be strengthened at national and especially at regional levels, to improve information flow/representation from local to national levels, and information flow from national levels (stakeholders) to local level.
Agents/ Transporters Agents buy and transport to the wholesalers and processors. They buy from individual producers and to a smaller extent from a few organized groups. Agents also sort, grade and package the produce. According to agents interviewed, this is the reason why farm gate prices are usually low. Heavy losses are incurred during transportation, due to the poor modes of handling, transportation and packaging of the fruits. Agents operating in Mbeere District tend to work in isolation and secrecy, which has resulted into suspicion from the producers and mistrust amongst themselves. The benefits of cooperating and/or organizing themselves into a trade association are obviously not seen to outweigh the perceived disadvantages.
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Figure 5.5 Organization of Agents
Source: Team, 2010 Recommendations:
The PSDA through KEMPMA should seek ways of organizing agents, to
o Identify common interests and objectives among agents
o Build trust among themselves
o Agree on a code of practice in dealing with farmers, to improve relations between farmers and agents
o Improve farmer’s knowledge of saleable products.
Wholesalers and retailers The wholesalers handle mango in bulk and are mainly located in Siakago Town, Mbeere District, in Embu Town and other major towns in the surrounding districts. Some of the agents also double up as wholesalers. The main wholesale outlet for fresh mango is Wakulima Market in Nairobi, which receives bulk supplies of mango from the agents/transporters. Sometimes some large-scale producers also act as wholesalers themselves. As noted in Chapter 3, infrastructure in Wakulima Market is deteriorating and many new markets lack suitable and hygienic facilities. Under the Vision 2030 policy, there is a stimulus package to improve market infrastructures in all constituencies. It is not clear to the team if wholesalers are adequately involved in this process, but the suspicion is that they are not sufficiently well organized to lobby effectively for their interests in terms of infrastructure needs for storage,
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marketing and distribution. We also believe that if wholesalers were better organized they could interact more effectively with agents and distributors. Recommendations:
The PSDA, HCDA and/or KHDP should invest in capacity building and organization of wholesalers to enable them to:
o Work more closely as a group with Municipal/City council to improve market facilities structures for proper storage and handling
o Agree on standards for handling/ packaging by agents, to minimize losses
o Represent wholesalers as an interest group on the NMVCC.
Processors Processing is done at two levels: large and small-scale. Large-scale processors include Kevian Kenya Ltd, Del Monte, Sunny Processors Ltd. The small-scale (cottage) processors who are based at the local level handle a very small amount of mango. The processors do not have any association that brings them together. According to the Manager of Kevian, he has tried to get processors together to enable them to more effectively lobby in the government to reduce investment costs (levies, cost of utilities such as electricity, water, etc.), discourage subsidized imports, etc. But, so far, he has had little success. At the local level, some groups like RRK have taken the initiative and started micro-processing the mango into various products (flakes, powder and chips). However, they are limited by financial and technical capacity to comply with market needs and food safety standards. These processors lack necessary technical and business skills, and do not employ qualified personnel as they consider them too expensive. Recommendations:
The PSDA and/or KHDP, through the HCDA, should look into the possibility of organizing processors to enable them to jointly:
o Effectively voice the interests of the industry and lobby government agencies for a favourable business environment;
o Identify standards for fruit, packaging and transport for agents and producers;
o Publicize quantities and quality of projected fruit requirements of the industry, to enable better planning by producers;
o Establish procedures for contracting with producers;
o Better advertise and popularize the benefits of mango products;
o Represent the interests of processors on the NMVCC.
Nurseries The PSDA has sensitized nursery owners to form an association, the “Kenya Fruit Tree Nursery
40
Association (KEFTNA)”. This association is meant to ensure that the producers get clean planting material of the preferred varieties. Although the association has been registered, it lacks a strong membership base, hence it needs strengthening at all levels. Recommendations:
In Mbeere, KENFAP needs to take measures to popularize KEFTNA and encourage the nursery owners to register. This will improve the quality of planting materials (seedlings) most of which are currently supplied by the unregistered nurseries.
KEFTNA needs to actively campaign among farmers to sensitize them of the importance of buying seedlings from certified nurseries.
Service Providers There are various service providers offering services ranging from input suppliers, extension, and research, financial and infrastructural development. During our discussion with the producers who are main clients of these services, it was clear that the service providers have individual interests and they hardly work together. This leads to duplication of efforts and sometimes confusion to the producers. Figure 5.6 Organization of service providers
Source: Team, 2010 Extension/ technical advisory service providers Extension services to the mango producers in Mbeere are mainly provided by the Ministry of Agriculture, through divisional agricultural extension offices and frontline extension workers, and KADI (Kamurugu Agriculture Development Initiative). The team learnt that although KADI is the main extension provider, they sometimes carry out joint activities with the Ministry of Agriculture for the mango producers. The services provided include farmers’ training in production and post-harvest handling. KADI also has a nursery from where farmers can obtain seedlings.
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Although the technical knowledge of frontline extension workers is adequate, they need exposure to and capacity building in agribusiness and value chain concepts. They need to have a more complete view of the mango value chain: available markets, product standards, etc. They also need capacity building in group development and management. To enable these extension workers to effectively voice their needs and liaise with suitable capacity building organizations, they need to be better organized. Recommendations:
PSDA, KENFAP and the MoA Agribusiness Department need to continue and intensify capacity strengthening of extension workers, in particular for group development/management, business development, and value chain concepts.
Through the MoA (Department of Extension Research and Training), the PSDA should look for ways of organizing and supporting public and private advisory service providers, so that these can interact more effectively as a group with research services, other service providers, farmers and agents, and also be represented on the NMVCC.
Input Suppliers The input suppliers play an important role in availing the necessary inputs along the value chain. They provide primary inputs (as fertilizers and agrochemicals.) to primary producers, and packaging and other materials. to the processors. According to the farmers, local agro-chemical dealers do not supply the required chemicals on time and not in the right quantity and type. The agro-chemical dealers need to be updated on the right chemicals and right time of application to be able to give the farmers the correct information. Recommendations;
PSDA should seek ways of working with the Agrochemical Association of Kenya (AAK) to organize dealers at the district and/or provincial level (or strengthen existing mechanisms, if these exist), and build their capacity to provide suitable agrochemicals and the corresponding updated technical advice on how to use these inputs.
This organization would also allow suitable representation of this interest group on the NMVCC, which is lacking at present.
Infrastructural development The local government is a key stakeholder in the mango value chain and has an important role to play in provision of services related to infrastructure development. These include development of access roads and market structures. However, as the team findings indicate, these services to a great extent are lacking. Mango marketing suffers a lot of losses due to the poor rural access roads and the market infrastructure. This is despite the fact that the local government collects a cess from all players in the mango value chain when mangoes are transported across district boundaries, and when they are sold at roadsides or markets.
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Recommendations: PSDA should interact with local government authorities to facilitate the construction
of storage and display facilities at local markets, and liaise with farmers groups to establish mango collection centres within the district.
Local government representation should be encouraged to participate on the NMVCC.
Financial services During the local stakeholders workshop the different actors mentioned lack of adequate finances as the main challenge in developing their part of the chain. During discussions, the stakeholders discovered different opportunities of financial services at their disposal, Equity Bank, constituency development funds (CDF), local authority transfer fund (LATF), and microfinances such as Kenya women Finance Trust (KWFT). What is required for the stakeholders, especially producers groups, is organization to access the funds, and also to have access to business development services to prepare adequate business plans. The Equity Bank representative pointed out that producers and other stakeholders could easily access credit from any of its branches at reasonable rates. Recommendations:
KEMPMA and KENFAP need to publicize the availability of financial support (CDF, LATIF, bank loans, microfinance organizations to farmer groups.
PSDA should encourage KENFAP and the MoA Agribusiness Dept. to provide business development advisory services to farmers groups to support them in developing suitable business plans to access finance.
A suitable representative of financial services needs to be included on the NMVCC.
Policy and regulations The government gives policy guidance in terms of rules and regulations to ensure output of marketable and safe products from the producers and processors. The role of the Horticultural Crops Development Authority (HCDA), a government corporation in the Ministry of Agriculture, is to ensure quality of fresh mangoes produced and marketed. Some of its services include: registration and inspection of fruit tree nurseries to ensure supply of clean planting materials; establishment of quality standards for mangos for local and export markets; spearheading national and overseas market and product promotions. The Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Services (KEPHIS), also a government parastatal, offers phytosanitary services to ensure that clean and healthy products enter the market. They carry out certification of the fruit tree nurseries. The Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) offers regulatory services by setting quality standards of processed products. They certify these products (without which they cannot be sold), and also perform regular inspections in the market outlets. However, their registration fee and stringent registration requirements discourage upcoming micro-processors like RRK.
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Recommendation: The regulatory services (KEBS) should be represented on the NMVCC.
5.3 Organization of the Chain
The National Mango Value Chain Committee The main stakeholders recognized the need for a national coordination mechanism during the stakeholders’ workshop held in 2007, and consequently formed the “National Mango Value Chain Working Committee” (NMVCC) to help steer development of the chain. This report endorses the need for such a national coordination mechanism. Since its formation, however, the NMVCC has achieved little, as the selected members are yet to meet. In discussions during the national stakeholders’ workshop held on 15th April 2010, the team put forward the view that the MVCC non-performance could be attributed to:
The selection of the members not being representative for all important interest groups of the direct and indirect chain actors;
The members that are currently on the committee not necessarily representing their specific interest groups (processors, agents), as they were selected or volunteered, and not elected by their respective group members.
The committee not being housed properly (not “anchored” in any particular organization), hence nobody having taken the lead even though GTZ/PSDA had offered to facilitate the operations of the committee.
The committee not being given a clear mandate and terms of reference (TOR), which affected commitment of the members.
Organization of the mango value chain committee (representation of interest groups)
Figure 5.7 Current organization of mango value chain committee
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The April workshop concluded that there was need to re-invigorate the committee, giving it a new face and a clear mandate. An interim committee representing the nine institutions and/or organizations in the NMVCC was constituted to develop Terms of Reference for the new NMVCC and also to clearly highlight the action points resulting from this report, including the new structure of the Committee. Recommendations
The NMVCC should be re-invigorated. The desirability of converting this committee into a “council” (such as the National Potato Council), or a “forum” should be considered by the concerned interest groups.
The new body should be clearly located within an organization that can act as secretariat and convener, with a responsible person clearly nominated as coordinator. Suitable organizations might include:
o KENFAP (advantages: similar role with the National Potato Council, national mandate; possible disadvantage is that it might be seen as overly aligned with farmer interests, rather than other groups).
o MoA, Horticulture Division or HCDA (advantage: has national mandate for horticultural development; possible disadvantage is that it cannot be seen to be responsible for lobbying against government policies).
o PSDA and/or KHDP (advantages: financial and technical support; possible disadvantage is that these are time-bound projects/programmes, not permanent organizations and so would not be sustainable).
o TechnoServe (advantages: current role of linking farmers to industry, strong in business development services; possible disadvantage is that it might be seen as overly aligned with a particular processor/soft drink company).
o JKUAT/KU (advantages: could support agribusiness focus in university programmes, responsibilities for capacity development; possible disadvantage is that its core function is teaching rather than industry development).
The new body should include representatives of all major interest groups (direct and indirect chain actors) described in this report. Several of these groups will need support for internal organization, to allow them to elect able representatives to the body.
The new body should have clear Terms of Reference, including, for example, the ability to:
o Identify and promote shared interests, explore and reconcile conflicting interests of the different interest groups in the MVC
o Promote adequate coordination between the activities of different chain actors
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o Promote information flow among and between different chain actors, both vertically (i.e. from local to national level and vice-versa) as well as horizontally (between interest groups at local, district, provincial and national levels). This could involve an industry newsletter, website, etc.
o Identify key capacity strengthening needs for the body itself, as well as key interest groups from the MVC
o Promote organization of the different interest groups in the MVC
o Lobby for favourable government policies to develop the MVC.
Mango production as an economic enterprise in Mbeere District has a great potential for growth. From this study it has emerged that markets are not the main area of concern, as previously perceived. The major problems are lack of organization and weak organizational linkages among and within the different stakeholders/actors along the whole mango value chain. The actors also lack capacities in various areas including technical, financial and business management skills, as well as limited information flow along the chain. These factors have significantly contributed to the poor performance of the industry. However, for the enterprise to grow there is need for strategic interventions to be developed at every level of the mango value chain. Therefore, this study has come up with a number of strategic recommendations at different levels of the value chain. These include:
Capacity building and strengthening of different stakeholder and/or actors at different levels along the whole value chain
Organization of the actors into organized working groups (farmers, agents/traders and processors)
Re-organization of the major associations and/or committees representing the interests of the different stakeholders/actors in the chain including KEMPMA, KEFTNA and NMVCC.
Development of infrastructure: appropriate marketing structures at the various market centres, cold storage facilities, and rural road net works.
These interventions should contribute to “the development of the mango value chain” driven by producers, agents/transporters, processors and traders as key actors in the chain. The improved processes at all stages of the value chain, from the farm to the consumer, will then make useful contributions to an efficient and effective enterprise, with increased profitability at the small-scale production level, and at the same time avail quality and safe mangoes and mango products to the Kenyan consumers at affordable prices. Ultimately, the interventions will contribute to poverty alleviation and lead to wealth creation for the resource-poor mango farmers most of whom are women, job creation especially for the youth (pro-poor- growth), as well as improving the nutritional status of the Kenyan population. This will also contribute to the country achieving the standards of the World Health Organization (WHO) of improved living standards and the Millennium Development Goals 1 and 2 of reducing extreme poverty among the rural folk of Kenya.
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REFERENCES Chegeh, B.K., 2010. Value Chain Concept in Mango Production in Kenya, KARI-Thika: A presentation during a local stakeholders’ meeting on Mango Value Chain in Mbeere held on 30/03/2010, held at KARI-Embu. FAO, 2001. The world trade in mangoes and mango products and opportunities for Kenya partnerships for food industry development - fruits and vegetables (PFID-FV). Available at http://www.allaboutmangoes.com/mango%20production/MangoKenya.pdf FAO, n.d. Value chain analysis: a case study of mangoes in Kenya. Food and Agriculture Organisation, Rome. 11 pp. Government of Kenya, 2008. Vision 2030. Nairobi Government of Kenya, 2009. Agriculture Sector Development Strategy. Nairobi Gregoratti, C. 2009. Global nuts and local mangoes: a critical reading of the UNDP Growing Sustainable Business Initiative in Kenya. Published online in Agriculture and Human Values. Available at: http://www.springerlink.com/content/n62136t25j424351/ Griesbach, J. 2003. Mango growing in Kenya. World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Nairobi Kenya, 117 pp.
Kinuthia, Z. Warui, D. and Karanja, F. 2009. Mapping and characterising water points in Mbeti South location, Mbeere District. Institute of Economic Affairs, Nairobi.
ICRA 2010: Stakeholders – Key Concept (ICRA Notes), Wageningen. The Netherlands ICRA 2010: Stakeholders – Stakeholder analysis (ICRA Notes), Wageningen. The Netherlands King’ori, B., 1997. Review and planning workshop on the development of a fruit processing extension approach in Eastern Province, held at Izaac Walton Inn, Embu: 24-26th. Nov. 1997: Internal Paper No. 21: GTZ - Integration of Tree Crops into Farming Systems Project. ICRAF, Nairobi. 25 pp. KIT, Faida MaLi and IIRR, 2006. Chain empowerment: Supporting African farmers to develop markets. Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam; Faida Market Link, Arusha; and International Institute of Rural Reconstruction, Nairobi. 212 pp. KIT and IIRR, 2008. Trading up: Building cooperation between farmers and traders in Africa. Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam; and International Institute of Rural Reconstruction, Nairobi. Mariene, C. T. 2004. The land use changes and dynamics: Project working paper number 46 Nairobi, Kenya. International Livestock Research Institute. Moturi, M.C.Z. Ngunjiri, P.W. Otieno, D. and B. Nyambane, 2010. Processing and technology infrastructure towards unearthing the gold in mango, KIRDI: National Mango Conference at Kenyatta International Conference Centre: 11th to 12th February, 2010, Nairobi, Kenya.
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Mumero, 2005. Cited in N.O. Madigu, F.M. Mathooko, C.A. Onyango1, E.M. Kahangi and W.O. Owino, 2009. Physiology and Quality Characteristics of Mango (Mangifera indica L.) Fruit Grown under Water Deficit Conditions. In Proceedings of the Asia-Pacific Symposium on Assuring Quality and Safety of Agri-Foods. Eds: S. Kanlayanarat et al. Acta Horticulture. Vol. 837. Njiraini, J. 2010. Coca-Cola To Incorporate Farmers Into Supply Chain Mediahouse: East African Standard. Available at: http://www.marsgroupkenya.org/multimedia/?StoryID=278195 PSDA, 2007. Report on the mango value chain development stakeholders workshop held at Wida Highway Motel, 21st – 23rd March 2007. Promotion of private sector development in agriculture. Kenyan Ministry of Agriculture and Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH, Germany. Sebstad, J. and D. Snodgrass, 2005. Assessing the impact of the Kenya BDS and the Horticulture Development Center Projects in the tree fruit subsector of Kenya: Baseline Research Report. Micro Report No 33. USAID, Washington. Sunny Processors, 2010. Available at: http://www.alibaba.com/member/sunmango/aboutus.html Tschirley, D. and Ayieko, M. 2008. Assessment of Kenya's domestic horticultural production and marketing systems and lessons for the future. Tegemeo Institute of Agricultural Policy and Development, Egerton University, Nairobi, Kenya. 42 pp. Van Melle, C., Coulibaly, O, and K. Hell, 2007. Agricultural Value Chain Development in West Africa – Methodological framework and case study of mango in Benin. IITA, Cotonou, Benin.
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ANNEXES
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ANNEX 1 TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR THE 2010 KENYA IAR4D TEAM IAR4D Partnership in Kenya In 2004, a group of 9 organizations formed a partnership for “Integrated Agricultural Research and Development” (IAR4D) in Kenya. The 9 organizations are: the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), the Kenya National Federation of Agricultural Producers (KENFAP), the Ministries of Agriculture (MoA) and Livestock Development (MoLD), The University of Nairobi (UoN), Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Kenyatta University (KU), Egerton University (EU), and the International Centre for development oriented Research in Agriculture (ICRA). Selected personnel from these organizations attended the IAR4D programme offered by the International Centre for development oriented Research in Agriculture (ICRA) in the Netherlands, to build capacity for IAR4D in Kenya. Five people were trained in 2005; a further 8 in 2006, and another 5 persons are currently undergoing training during the period January – April 2010. This 2010 team of 5 persons is drawn from KENFAP (2 persons), KARI, MoA and the MoLD. Following guidelines from the Task Force of the Kenyan IAR4D initiative, the team will conduct the mango value chain study whose terms of reference (TOR) are described here, as an integral part of the ICRA 2010 IAR4D programme. The study therefore has a dual purpose:
1. To allow the 5 participants in the ICRA programme to better understand and utilize IAR4D approaches; and
2. To provide professional, practical and useful information to key stakeholders within the mango value chain, allowing them to achieve greater effectiveness in their concerted actions.
The Mango Value Chain The development of the mango value chain in Kenya has been supported by the programme for Promotion of Private Sector Development in Agriculture (PSDA), a bilateral programme jointly implemented by the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) and the Ministry of Agriculture in Kenya. A description and assessment of the mango value chain and assessment of problems faced by the different actors within this chain was well documented in the “Report On The Mango Value Chain Development Stakeholders Workshop”, produced in 2007. This 2007 report represents an important starting point for the study team. Currently, the PSDA would like to update the mango value chain strategy developed in 2007 by stakeholders. This will provide valuable input to the planning of PSDA 4th phase (2011 –2013). In addition, the mango value chain is being considered as one case study selected for capacity building within the scope of a separate project also being implemented by the Kenyan IAR4D partnership later in the year. The output of the team is also therefore expected to identify priority areas where the capacity of the mango value chain actors needs to be strengthened – particularly from an IAR4D (systems) viewpoint. Main Beneficiaries of the report The main users of the team’s report will be:
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1. The National Mango Value Chain Development Committee, and associated value chain chain actors1 (who can take actions recommended in the report);
2. The PSDA Programme, (who will use the report for planning purposes); 3. The Kenyan IAR4D partnership (who will use the report to identify the need for
IAR4D capacity strengthening within value chains generally, and the mango value chain specifically).
Main output of study The main output of the study will be a report (approximately 50-60 pages, with appendices as needed) updating the 2007 analysis. The focus of the study will be
1. Organization and linkages. How do chain actors need to improve or adjust their organization and interaction to build trust and synergy? Through, e.g. Organization of farmers and farmer groups; Formation of cooperatives/associations; Improvements to functioning of the current “mango value chain committee” Improvements in linkages and information flow between key actors in the
value chain. Other measures to build trust a common vision and concerted action.
2. Capacity strengthening. What knowledge, skills and attitudes are needed by the
different chain actors to enable them to improve the competitiveness of the overall value chain? What practical activities or programme of activities can be implemented to improve individual and organizational capacities for concerted action?
The study will also keep in mind the following as factors influencing organization, linkages and capacity strengthening needs:
Markets. What markets are accessible to the different types of mango producers in the study area? Including local, regional, national and international markets; for Mangoes (fresh fruit) and mango products (e.g. dried chips, powder, juice, etc)
Technology. What technical improvements are needed in the different points of the value chain to access the identified markets? E.g. In production, transport, processing; In terms of quantity and (especially) quality; To comply with industry standards (e.g. Kenya Bureau of Standards), etc.
Services. What services do farmers and other value chain actors need to be able to apply the identified technology and access identified markets? Input services (e.g. planting material, fertilizers, pesticides, etc) Technical services (e.g. information on production practices, processing, etc.) Market information services (e.g. prices, products); Financial services (credit, etc.)
1Importantstakeholdersincludethemarketplayer“AzuriNutritiousFlours”(www.azuirhealth.com);KevianKenyaLtd(processor);SunnyProcessorsLimited;KamurunguAgriculturalDevelopmentInitiative(KADI),technicaladvisorsandprovidersofplantingmaterial;Kenya Mango Producers and Marketing Association (KEMPMA); standard and solutions, Fineline k. Ltd and others. JKUAT (Dept of Food Science) also has ongoing work on mango post-harvest handling and processing (contact Christine Onyango, member of the Kenya IAR4D group).
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Business development services (e.g. market information, legal services, etc). Policy. What policy changes at local government level could help improve the ability
of farmers and other value chain actors to improve their livelihoods? E.g. Taxation (e.g. local government tax applied to product movement), Costs of moving goods by road within the country, Policies on land use and conservation, etc.
Geographic Focus of the Study The team will focus on the mango production areas within the districts of Mbeere South and Mbeere North. The team will be based at Embu for the majority of the study period. However, the team will also need to interact with transport, processing, marketing and other actors that operate more at a regional and national level to be able to analyze the complete chain as described above. Study Period The study will take place in Kenya during the period March 15-April 22, 2010, during which time the team will work exclusively on the study. This period will be preceded by a week of planning in Wageningen, The Netherlands.
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ANNEX 2 GUIDING QUESTIONS
Guiding questions for farmers 1. Which of the value chains have potential for growth and handle the highest volumes?
1. Give a brief background/history of the group a. Name of group b. Number of members c. Activities undertaken by group – with more emphasis on mango industry:
varieties, quantities, crop husbandry etc d. Contacts – leaders names, emails and telephone numbers
2. Where do you sell the mangoes you produce? a. What are the prices b. Why do you prefer this market? c. Are there alternative places you can sell your mangoes? d. Why don’t you sell you mangoes in these markets?
3. How much mangoes (quantity) do you produce in a season? a. Of all this produce how much do you sell? b. What happens to the mangoes you don’t sell c. What else do you do to the mangoes apart from selling it fresh (value addition,
etc) 4. What other products can be made from mango 5. Tell us the problems/difficulties you encounter in mango industry (from production
through to marketing)
2. Stakeholders and their roles 1. Which people/organizations do you work with or deal with to improve your mango
industry ( from production to marketing) i.e. extension, training, market, input supply, research
2. What does each one of them do? What is their role? 3. Do you know how or if these people/organizations/actors work together 4. How effective are they? 5. Are there any difficulties you encounter when interacting with these
people/actors/players/institutions 6. Who provides the information you need?
a. Is it good? 7. What needs to be improved for the information and interactions to be better?
3. Capacity strengthening 1. What should be done to improve the way mango is produced and sold in Kenya? 2. What should be done to make sure you get all the information you need? 3. What should be done to make sure all the people/actors work together and well? 4. What do you think is the future of the mangoes in Mbeere? 5. What policies/rules and regulations affect the mango industry? 6. Are there any other services that you think should be introduced or improved? 7. What technologies need to be developed to improve the mango industry?
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Guiding questions for farmer associations (KEMPMA/MVC) Organizational functioning and performance
1. Membership base 2. Governance, leadership and internal democracy 3. Management of human and financial resources 4. Collaboration and alliances 8 Default risks 5. Service provision to members
Guiding questions for institutions
1. Give us a little back ground about your institution 2. What services do you offer to the mango farmers? 3. Who else benefits from your services?
4. How is the organization of the mango farmers from the production through to
marketing? 5. How does your organization interact with other people/institutions dealing with
mangoes and who are they? 6. What are main interests of each of these people? 7. How are these organizations/institutions/actors linked? 8. What type of products do you handle (fresh, juices, dried etc)? in what proportions and
quantities? 9. Which of these line of products (e.g. fresh and juices) has potential for growth? 10. How do you sell these products and who are your customers? 11. How do the farmers get information from you? 12. What type of challenges/constraints do you encounter with the mango (production-
marketing) 13. How you do address these challenges? 14. What do you think should be done to improve the situation and by who? 15. How do you see the future of the mango industry in Kenya in the next 20 years?
Guiding questions for the supermarkets
1. What do you look for when you are ordering/purchasing fresh mangoes for sale? 2. Where do you get your fresh mangoes from? (What volume do you get from individual
farmers, farmer groups, or contracted suppliers and at what interval)? 3. How much do you require and at what intervals? 4. Do these suppliers meet your market demands? 5. Between processed and fresh mango which has future for expansion/growth? 6. What kind of information do you give to your fresh mango suppliers to ensure they give
you the required mango quality? 7. How is this information conveyed to them? 8. Who takes care of the transportation? 9. What would you like to see happen to improve the fresh mango supply chain? 10. How do you get feed back from your customers?
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Guiding questions for Mbeere Ministry of Agriculture Divisional Staff 1. Which of the value chain have potential for growth and handle the highest volumes?
1. Give a brief of the mango industry in Mbeere 2. What are the other agricultural enterprises in the district? What are the other means of
livelihoods? 3. What ranking can you give the mango among the agricultural enterprises? 4. What proportion of farmers can be classified as small, medium and large scale?
2. Chain types and the type of farmers
1. Which are the market segments of the mango in the district? a. Fresh mango b. Processed –juice c. Export d. Dried e. Which other mango products
2. Which of these segments has opportunity?
3. Stakeholders and their roles
1. Who are the key players in the mango industry? 2. Do these players work together? 3. How are their relations 4. With whom and how do you collaborate to address any challenges in the mango
industry 5. Which are some of the challenges? 6. How can they be addressed?
4. Capacity strengthening
1. In which areas do the players require capacity building/strengthening to improve to their performance?
2. What policies affect the mango industry? 3. Are there any other services that you think should be introduced or improved? 4. What technologies need to be developed to improve the mango industry? 5. What is the future of the mango?
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ANNEX 3 LISTS OF PARTICIPANTS STAKEHOLDERS WORKSHOP
LIST OF PARTICIPANTS MBEERE LOCAL STAKEHOLDERS MEETING DATE: 30TH MARCH 2010
VENUE: KARI – EMBU PARTICIPANT NAME ORGANIZATION EMAIL/ADDRESS TELEPHONE JAMES AMOS NTHIGA NEW SITE TREE PLANTING GROUP 0721 578150 JAMES JOSEPH WACHUGA MURARU-MUKANGO GROUP 0727 645803 ROSE MUTHONI KITHAKA KAMURUGU FRUIT GROWERS SELF
HELP GROUP 0723 712 066
SAMUEL MUCHOKI KEMPMA 0727 217974 ROSE N. GIKOMBO MBEERE COUNTY COUNCIL 0718 437292 MERCY WAMBETI MBOGO FARMER O724 714197 CECILIA W. NJIRU MUKANGO 0720 420389 MARAGART MBAKA FARMER 0723 705585 JOSPHINE M. NJIRU MUKANGO STEPHEN NJUE FARMER 0714094553 JOB MURITHI KAGUNDU BUYER/AGENT 0720455742 PETER N. MITARU FARMER 0723496774 SILVANO MWANIKI KANYARIRU FARMERS GROUP 0723858168 FRED NJERU MOA 0720538824 B.K. CHEGEH ACBI 0724657555 ANITA MSABENI ICRA 2010 TEAM /KENFAP [email protected] 0733765922
ANN WANGECHI WHOLESALER 210 SIAKAGO 0724464156 JOSPHAT K.KIMACHI KIRITIRI JUICE JOINT 0722614061 ESTON NJERI KARI-EMBU [email protected] 0720850211 LEONARD NJERU MUKERA FARMER [email protected] 0722641816 FERDINARD NJIRU NJAGI FARMER 2124-60100 EMBU 07251533870/0724655967 HARRISON NYAGA MOA 0723442767 DAVID MWANIKI FARMER 0734276141 J.M. RUTERE MOA [email protected] 0722406738 GERALD NJUKI RKK 0751247221/0723161091
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JOYCE M. WAMBUA RKK 0723660040 F. NYAGA KABEBA FARMER EVANS NGATIA BROKER/BUYER 0715524562 JACOB NJUE AGENT 0731461239 MILKA RUTERE RETAILER MERCY N. NYANJUI TRANSPORTER NA NCY KAMINCHU AGRO-CHEMICAL DEALER EUNICE NJERI RETAILER 0721577657 VINCENT MWANIKI TRANSPORTER 0721766167 DANIEL NJOGU FARMER-KADI 0725730203 G.V. MASINDE ICRA 2010 TEAM/ MOA [email protected] 0722527481 S.O.MATOKE ICRA 2010 TEAM/MOLD [email protected] 0721175492/0734527835 VIOLET GATHAARA ICRA 2010 TEAM/KARI vga@[email protected] 0722678482 PETERSON MURIUKI FARMER JAMES KANYARU WHOLESALER EUNICE NGARI FARMER
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LIST OF PARTICIPANTS NATIONAL MANGO VALUE CHAIN STAKEHOLDERS MEETING: 15TH APRIL 2010 VENUE – OLIVE GARDEN HOTEL
Participant name Organisation/ Institution Email Telephone contacts 1. Peter Mbogo Kamurugu Agriculture Development Initiatives
((KADI) [email protected] [email protected]
0721608644, 0733566059, 0202310801
2. Prisca Githuka KENFAP Services Ltd [email protected], [email protected]
6001995, 0733713270
3. Marion Gathumbi Ministry of Agriculture- Horticulture Development [email protected] 0722649292 4. G.V. Masinde ICRA/ MOA [email protected] 0722527481 5. Daphne Muchai ICRA/KENFAP [email protected] 0733973831 6. Anita Msabeni ICRA/KENFAP [email protected] 0733765922 7. Samuel O. Matoke ICRA/ MOLD [email protected] 0734527835/ 0721175492
8. Richard Hawkins ICRA [email protected] 0714031124 9. Violet Gathaara ICRA/KARI [email protected] 0722678482 10. Peter M. Gitika KENFAP [email protected] 0722763188 11. Esther Muiruri Equity Bank esther.muiruri@equitybank.
co.ke 0722304712
12. Tabitha Runyona USAID- KHDP [email protected] 0724255744 13. Martin Mulandi USAID-KHDP [email protected] 0724255748 14. Dr. Kadja Kehlenbeck ICRAF [email protected] 0734813970 15. Ela Rohde ICRAF [email protected] 0714435840 16. Arshfod Ngugi GTZ-PSDA [email protected] 0725726689 17. F. K. Muthami GTZ-PSDA [email protected] 0722757406 18. C. A. Onyango JKUAT/IAR4D core team [email protected] 0733-730918 19. Lucy Mwangi KENFAP [email protected] 0722851433 20. Annastacia Kivuva MOA [email protected] 21. Onjolo Samuel Omolo KEBS [email protected]
[email protected] 0722315165 6948447
22. Dr. John Mutunga CEO-KENFAP [email protected] 0721222828
