New markets lead to new opportunities

Less than a year ago Mutulu was living below the poverty line, along with three-quarters of the population of Makueni district in eastern Kenya. Now, he is one of more than 400 farmers selling vegetables in supermarkets in the UK such as Tesco and Sainsbury’s.

“I and my wife come from a family of farmers and we never went to school beyond primary school because we could not afford the school fees,” he says.

“Before, I cycled 10 km each day to sell my produce to middle men and they gave me low prices and sometimes did not even buy my produce.”

A farmer with a box of vegetables in the early days of the VegCARE project
A farmer with a box of vegetables in the early days of the VegCARE project
©CARE

Now Mutulu educates his children and is saving money thanks to VegCARE – a business partnership that has helped over 400 farmers gain access to markets and on average doubled their incomes in six months.

Their baby corn is sold in Tesco and Sainsbury’s and their aubergines, chillies and okra are destined for the tables of the Asian community in the UK.

“When VegCARE came and said that they would market our produce for us, most people doubted them. I was one of the first in the Kwa Kyai scheme, which now has over 300 farmers who decided to join VegCARE.

“Now I have a consistent market outlet for my baby corn and the prices are agreed in advance. This has given me more income and has enabled me send my daughter to high school and my son to college. I have also been able to open a savings bank account and help my wife to start a small side business. My life has certainly changed and everyday I encourage others to join the VegCARE,” says Mutulu proudly.

The partnership’s roots are in a project, initially piloted by CARE, which showed that if smallholders were given access to markets they could and were willing to invest in farming. The project was a successful initiative, but was not commercially viable, so CARE linked up with Vegpro - the 3rd largest vegetable buyer and producer in the region.

Through the partnership, Vegpro’s supply to the market from smallholder farmers increased as their incomes and livelihoods improved.

Initially Vegpro bought the produce and did not get involved in production. CARE pre-financed the production and provided technical support to the farmers. Now a rural enterprise has been formed to take over the activities and is known as VegCARE.

It is a new type of partnership, born out of an aid project that was aimed at helping farming communities in the long term – and giving them ways of making a sustainable living for themselves, their families and their communities.