Mango farmers and traders form a lobby to pursue their interest

Local traders, farmers and other stakeholders in the mango sector have launched an association to represent their interest.

Dubbed “Association of Kenya Mango Traders (AKMT), it has over 50 members registered before its launch with membership expected to hit over 200.

The lobby has traders drawn from various big urban markets from across the country including Wakulima, City Park, Ngara, Kangemi, Kawangware, Githurai, Kongowea among others.

“The launch of this association is expected to mainstream these gains in empowering mango farmers and further ensuring the mango sector remains a key income earner for not only the farming households but also county and the national governments’ economy,” AKMT CEO Linah Mukami said.

She added that the association will immediately pursue various interest among them working with county governments to abolish multiple and high tax points, helping farmers address issues of fruit flies and mango weevils.

It also plans to work with the county government to ensure better market structure, address poor feeder roads at the county level and promote the awareness and increased consumption of mangoes in the country.

The association’s chair Julius Njuki said they will also seek to address the self-imposed ban on mango export to the European Union, adding that they have managed to significantly reduce fruit fly cases.

“The current production stands at 400,000 -500,000 metric tons annually. Working with development organisations like TechnoServe we have managed reduces the post-harvest losses from 50 per cent of the annual production in 2015 to 25 per cent in 2018,” Njuki said.