How Mango Farmers in Yatta Landed a Juicy Opportunity

It’s a humid afternoon in Nguutani, Yatta, in Machakos County. The sun is baking the skin, and the ground is hot, sandy, and dusty. But against this harsh and hostile weather is a community of loving and resilient people determined to drive socio-economic development, to fight poverty in all its forms, one mango fruit at a time.

This drive saw the coming together of over 800 farmers from Yatta and Masinga sub-counties to form the Yatta Multipurpose Farmers’ Cooperative Society (YMFCS). YMFCS membership is drawn from 11 clusters organised under the Genesis Community Development Assistance (GCDA), a non-profit community-owned development organisation in Nguutani. GCDA has been partnering with KCDF to bring real development to communities in Yatta. As a Kenyan community foundation, KCDF’s mission has always been to walk alongside communities to help them withstand adversity and see them flourish.

“Over the past 28 years, KCDF has offered grant funding, technical support, and capacity-strengthening opportunities to local organisations across Kenya,” says Grace Maingi, the Executive Director at KCDF.

The Near-Closure Experience in 2007

So, when GCDA ceased its operations in 2007 after a major donor had exited at the expiry of its programme, Genesis sought assistance from KCDF to revive its operations in 2023. They joined the project, “Strengthening the Community Foundation Movement as a Basis for Sustainable Development in Kenya,” implemented in a partnership between KCDF and the Mott Foundation and secured KES 800,000 in Mott Phase II funding, which helped to reboot their operations.

“The funds received from KCDF and Mott Foundation facilitated office renovations and monthly salary for one staff member for a year,” says Patrick Muli, the programmes manager at GCDA.

According to Ms Maingi, KCDF raises resources from individuals, corporations, governments, and foundations, and reinvests them in communities to support locally driven solutions.

The renovation changed the community’s mindset about the existence of Genesis. “The picture before the renovations was that this was a dying organisation, and people didn’t want to identify with us. As such, Genesis assets were threatened,” recollects Bishop Robert Mutemi, GCDA’s Executive Director.

Mr Muli, an effective mobiliser, teamed up with local opinion leaders to encourage community members to reactivate their self-help groups and clusters.

During this time, YMFCS shared that they needed to revamp their juice processing factory, but they were short of financing. In March 2023, GCDA introduced YMFCS to a matching fund in partnership with KCDF. A special members’ meeting was convened to discuss the matching fund, with members contributing.

The Rebirth Season

Over 800 farmers from Yatta and Masinga sub-counties, organised into 11 clusters under GCDA, raised KES 2 million, which KCDF matched, unlocking a KES 4 million investment. The programme “Strengthening the Community Foundation Movement as a Basis for Sustainable Development in Kenya”, which is implemented in a partnership between KCDF and the Mott Foundation, has been instrumental in nurturing a local philanthropy ecosystem, says Caesar Ngule, KCDF’s Programmes Director.

KCDF highlights the importance of strengthening local organisations to respond to their communities’ needs without relying on external funding. Mr Ngule explains, “We felt obligated to grow ourselves and cultivate similar successes nationwide. Through this initiative, we share our experience working with a range of actors—private sector partners, individuals, and government officials—even at the grassroots level—to foster local philanthropy.”

The funding facilitated the renovation of the YMFCS juice processing factory. According to society chairman Dr Raphael Muli, the first KES 400,000 instalment was used for waste storage and store construction.

According to KCDF’s Capacity Building and System Strengthening Coordinator, KCDF works with organisations like GCDA and YMFCS to identify capacity gaps and develop appropriate strategies to address them. This includes helping organisations build stronger governance, leadership, and financial management systems,” Mr Odera notes.

KCDF’s first two phases of the programme have yielded key insights that continue to shape its work. “Key among them is that strong foundations are vital—capacity building must go beyond project delivery to strengthen leadership, governance, strategy, and communications for long-term sustainability,” says Ms Maingi, KCDF’s Executive.

The Impact

Since production began in February 2024, YMFCS has sold 2,675.9 litres of juice, generating KES 374,626 in revenue. A majority of the farmers contributed mangoes as shares.

“We buy all the mango fruit from our farmers, and since the factory’s production is limited, we sell to other processors so that our members can benefit.” The processors pay directly to the farmers and a commission—KES 2 per kilo—to the cooperative. This way, the cooperative is able to earn some income.

The factory processes up to 600 litres of mango puree and 1,000 litres of juice daily. Yatta Coop Juice, a fresh, natural, sweet mango juice from the source, packaged in one litre, 500ml, 300ml, and 200ml bottles, retails at KES140, KES 70, KES 40, and KES 20, respectively. Yatta Coop Juice premium, a 450 ml natural mango juice with more puree targeted at hotels and airports, packaged in a glass bottle, retails at KES 200.

Five permanent staff members run the factory, while additional casual workers come in as needed. Limited by a 200-tonne pasteuriser, the factory operates below capacity, allocating fruit intake per cluster on a rotational basis. A 500-tonne pasteuriser is required to expand production and process various fruits, including mangoes, pineapples, guavas, and tomatoes.

YMFCS emphasises automation to minimise contamination. It has trained personnel for quality control and is Global GAP and Kenya Organic Agriculture Network (KOAN) certified. Additionally, 26 youths from the locality trained by the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI) assist farmers with disease identification, spraying, and pest control.

“The farmers pay the youths standard rates according to their services. This way, the cooperative has provided jobs for the youth,” Mr Maithya shares.

Future Plans

YMFCS intends to expand its fruit juice processing factory to accommodate more fruit varieties, diversify its market into exports upon international certification, and acquire a larger pasteuriser.

“Our machine can process mangoes, apples, pawpaws, tomatoes and other fruits. We want to cater for our farmers’ fruit and expand our scope as the market for fruit juices and puree is big,” Dr Muli says.

Market testing and product sampling have been conducted, with plans to introduce organic juice using organic preservatives and honey as natural sweeteners. Significant effort was invested in market sampling, as products were showcased at exhibitions and events to refine their taste based on consumer preferences, according to Mr Maithya. Earlier this year, the cooperative officially entered the market through local distributors and supermarkets.

The cooperative aims to meet EU market standards and expand its reach across Africa and Europe by the end of the year. “Our biggest challenge right now is the machines; when sorted, we can enter the international markets,” Mr Maithya asserts.

GCDA trained YMFCS members on business management and assisted them in creating a business plan. We also partnered with the county’s Department of Cooperatives to train them on governance and financial management, Mr Muli adds.

The YMFCS factory also partners with the Micro and Small Enterprises Authority, the county government, the Ministry of Lands and Housing, the Micro Enterprises Support Programme Trust (MESPT), KOAN, and CABI, among others.