Esther Magambo

Sustainability of Group Based Fruit Processing Enterprises in Kenya: the Case of Gatundu and Thika Districts Esther Magambo

Fruits are an essential part of human diet due to their wealth of vitamins. However, they are highly perishable and seasonal in nature. It is thus necessary to process them into different products to add value and increase shelf life. Processing is done at different levels from cottage to large scale industries as one way of increasing farmers' earnings from fruits. The government has over the years trained and supported farmer?s groups in this field. These enterprises are mainly group based at cottage level. The civil society organizations have also supported farmers with equipments for processing and capacity building. It has however, come to the attention of players in the sector that these group processing enterprises are not sustainable. The report presents an assessment of factors impeding sustainability of group based enterprises, ranging from group based dynamics to the kind and level of support given. It underscores the need to look into factors affecting sustainability of fruit processing enterprises, as a way of enabling farmers to earn more from their produce.