Mazao Talks Podcast

Today we discuss how technology can help the world overcome the big food waste problem and create better food sustainability for all. We talk with Winnie Yegon who talks about how she pivoted from a career in art to one in agriculture working in food systems. She offers her experience and joy in the farming process and gives us a window into the day to day role of a agricultural economist.

Meanwhile Jason tells a story of how baby tomato was lagging behind and needs to ketchup. Get it?

This week we discover that $1m is actually not a lot of money that that it can go away pretty quickly when working at scale. We are joined by Mr Kiriinya Kithinji from WYLDE International to discuss the recovery strategy for agribusiness that were adversely affected by COVID 19. We redefine the meaning of "value" in value addition and measure the estimated impact of the EVERGREEN ship that got stuck in the Suez Canal.

In this episode Sheila leads a campaign to encourage the Ministry of Agriculture to migrate all their services to an online platform for greater access to farmers who may not be physically in Nairobi. We hear about the move by the government of Kenya to create the new Huduma Center for farmers which will be an all inclusive tech platform that can support the work of farmers from production all the way to finding markets.

Besides all this Mr Joshua Oluyali, from the Ministry of Agriculture  teaches us about famous Kenyan food export including Kenyan grown breakfast that's served at Buckingham palace and then he shares with us his vision of heaven in Kenya's agribusiness sector.

This week we speak to Dr Lusike Wasilwa who is the Director of Crop Systems at the Kenya Agricultural Livestock Research Organization. We learn that Kenya is 3rd in the world on Macadamia nut production even though our production is still well below our potential. Then we differentiate between Jua Cali the musician and the Jua Kali sector as we discuss the opportunity that exists in the value addition of this premium nut.

Next we also talk about Macadamia ice cream and its capacity to solve all of the world's problems one scoop at a time. 

In this episode we travel all the way to Amukura Ward in Busia County to speak with Quinto Oputan who is part of a group of small holder farmers who are farming chillies as a cash crop. We hear of the support from Busia County in brokering and managing agreement between aggregators and farmers.

We also debut a new voice in this podcast that of Doris who speaks to Eric Were a Plant Inspector from KEPHIS (Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service) . Eric Were shares with us best practices for farmers who are looking to play in the export market. He also talks about the pest issues that have affected export of chillies and ways that this issue can be overcome.

Today we are in Nakuru County to speak with Ruth Munyoro the founder and  director of Eat More Worldwide which is arguably Kenya’s’ biggest herbs and spices grower and exporter. She talks about opportunity, technical compliance issues of the expert market and how the time has come for more diversification in Kenya’s agriculture sector. In her words ‘pesa iko kwa mchanga”

In this episode we speak with Christine Misiko who is the Knowledge Management/Business and Partnership Development Expert at MARKUP Kenya. We talk about a wide range of topics including the internet is affecting farming in Kenya. In addition, Sheila makes a promise to plant her first macadamia trees and Christine gives all the secrets of how telephone farming is working for her.

This week we speak with Mercy Mwikali and Grace Wakio who farm French beans for export in the picturesque hills of Taita Taveta. They tell about their business and how they are working with other small scale farmers through an aggregator to export French beans to markets in Europe and beyond.

In addition, we also speak with Josephine Simiyu who is the Deputy Director of Regulations and Compliance at the Horticulture Crops Directorate. She explains the critical role that HCD plays in the sector as well as the opportunities that small holder farmers can take advantage of.

We also stoke a little controversy about whether or not ripe passion fruits float on water.

We discover that diversification is the theme of this season. This is the story of Edwin Ronoh a farmer from Sergoit Ward who is farming purple variety passion fruit on approximately 12 acres of land. His story is illustrating the current state of agribusiness in Kenya’s food basket county with more and more diversification happening especially across generation of farmers.

We also speak to Mr Patrice Ngenga from the Fresh Produce Exporters Association of Kenya (FPEAK) who talks about how Kenyan farmers can make the most of the export market.

In this episode, In this episode we speak to Mr Julius Maithya, CEO of the Makueni County Fruit Development and Marketing Authority, Mr Antony Kimeu Nzau a commercial mango farmer from Matiliku area and Mr Alex Muli from Goshen Exporters.

We are taking a deep dive into the entire mango value chain form the farm across to value addition and processing. We discuss how the Makueni County government has been able to stabilize fruit prices in the area and the direct increase in jobs created as a result of the Kalamba Fruit Processing Plant.

Mr Kimeu who has been a mango farmer in Makueni County for over 15 years,  describes to us how he has seen mango farming create a variety of jobs and the need for women and youth to get actively engaged in farming. Further Mr Muli speaks to us about the opportunity that the export market present to mango farmers as well as critical policy moves that can be made to amplify the work of industry stakeholders.

In this episode, we speak to Mr Maina Karuiru who is the National Coordinator of the MARKUP Kenya Project. We discuss the vision of MARKUP KENYA as well as the work that the program has undertaken in the 12 counties of Kenya where implementation is ongoing.

In addition, Mr. Karuiru discusses the key drivers of growth in mango farming that are fueling the stories of success in Makueni County. He also highlights the specific areas that can be improved in order to improve the outcomes and livelihoods for farmers.

Welcome to Mazao talks Podcast, a podcast that features stories of ordinary people working in agri-business. We feature contributions by farmers, budding farmers and agri-food experts and discuss business opportunities that are available in the farm produce value chain for the youth. This podcast is made possible by the European Union through the Market Access Upgrade Program (MARKUP), which is Implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). 

In this episode we introduce our hosts Jason and Sheila and give a quick overview of what we are about. 

You can connect with us on our social media platforms. We are @MARKUP Kenya of Facebook Instagram and Twitter.