Mango farmers in Lower Murang’a County are expecting a bumper harvest, amid indications that they will surpass what they harvested and sold over the last two years.
In the year 2023, the Lower Murang’a mango farmers’cooperative society managed to harvest 310 tonnes, while in January/February 2024 they managed to sell 839 tonnes of the produce.
In the selling window opening from December 15 to February 2024 the cooperative society anticipates to harvest and sell 1500 to 2000 tonnes of mangoes from their 1200 members drawn from across 10 wards in Lower Murang’a.
Consequently, the farmers will reap big as the county government has partnered with three leading fruit processing companies; which will buy the fruits at Sh18 per kilo.
The fruit processing companies that have an agreement with the county include Sunny Mango Kevian Limited and the latest partnership has seen Machakos Vert Limited come on board.
The cooperatives chairperson Fredrick Kinyanjui said, “As you can see the trees are unable to hold the fruits owing to the abundance and that is why we have to support them to avoid breaking the branches.”
Last season I managed to harvest 10 tonnes, but all indicators show that this season I will harvest not less than 30 tonnes from my 800 mango tree fruits.
The scenario is replicated in all farms, making the season’s produce phenomenal as compared to the last two seasons, added Kinyanjui.
Kinyanjui started growing mangoes 10 years ago through trial and error and over the years he ascertains to have gained the expertise and experience of growing the fruit.
So dedicated and passionate is he that in 2023 the county government of Murang’a recognized his efforts and awarded him the best subsidy in mango farming during the Madaraka day celebrations.
Kinyanjui observes that growing mangoes (Mangifera indica) is lucrative and easy since they require less management and will produce the first fruit in 3 to 5 years depending on the soil and the ecological conditions of the area.
“In red soil you can harvest your mangoes in just 3 years, whereas it will take you 5 years to harvest the fruits grown in sandy ad black cotton soil,” he states.
However, Kinyanjui was quick to add that before embarking on mango farming a farmer must consider the variety that the market requires as there are local varieties like Dodo, Boribo and Batawi and exotic varieties like the Apple mango,Tommy and Kent.
In his farm, the father of three has planted 12 mango varieties. “I grow apple varieties, dodo, sensation, kent, sabin, Ngoe maji, alphonso, keit among others, but only four of these varieties are in demand namely dodo, apple mango, ngoe and kent,” he said.
He went on to say that some mango varieties are more susceptible to pests and diseases than others.
Mangoes are susceptible to a fungal disease known as anthracnose before flowering, the mango weevil and fruit fly and a farmer has to be on the look and timely apply pesticides to counter the effects of the pests and disease on the fruit.
“While planting observe a spacing of 7m by 7m and ensure the soil is fertile by mixing the top soil with compost manure, annual rainfall of 850 to 1000mm is sufficient because once the plant is well established it can tolerate long seasons of drought,” noted Kinyanjui.
He encouraged other farmers to consider venturing into mango farming as there still is a huge gap in the market.
He adds that one can grow mangoes and still plant other crops like beans, sweet potatoes and even napier grass to prevent soil erosion.
“Rope in the young people who are tech savy and they can also through use of technology venture into more markets, get more farming techniques and earn a livelihood from it,” he concluded.
By Florence Kinyua
