Malawi Mangoes, support to fruit farm development in Malawi
Since 2011 Malawi Mangoes has transformed unused lake side land into premium, irrigated 320 ha of farms and trained 5,000 low income local community members to become high quality mango growing entrepreneurs. Thay have elevated university graduates and aspiring professionals into factory leaders in a 10,000 square meter certified processing facility. Malavi Mangoes made a 5-month, 5 mango variety season a reality and created the first fruit export market from the Warm Heart of Africa.
Malawi Mangoes’ inclusive business model is to source large volumes of fruit from a mixture of smallholder farmers and its own Rainforest Alliance certified plantations. The company works with local communities to graft material of preferred mango varietals to local trees, thereby increasing the yield, quality and saleability of the mango puree product; Malawi Mangoes then guarantees to buy all the mangoes grown on these trees. In an area where less than 15% of the population has regular employment.
A large majority of the Malawi Mangoes team comes from the small villages surrounding our farm and processing facility. Most often their only other work options are in the informal sector. Adding them into the formal economy is important. It opens up opportunities such as loan applications for land or house procurement, side business creation for added income and also ensures they can add to their pensions. 40% of the employed team are women. They shine across the worker spectrum from process supervisors and field educators to mango pickers and planters.