Girls for the future Project

Introduction

This report examines the impact of mango farming initiatives designed to empower families by enhancing food security, boosting income, and promoting environmental sustainability. The cultivation of grafted mangoes has proven transformative for rural communities, providing a stable income source while meeting nutritional needs. This initiative, launched in Homa Bay County, equips families with the resources, training, and support needed to establish and maintain mango orchards.

Program Goals

The project’s primary goals include:

1. Economic Empowerment: Enhance family income through the production of a high-demand cash crop.
2. Food Security: Improve access to nutritious fruit to support family health.
3. Environmental Benefits: Encourage sustainable agriculture by integrating fruit trees into local ecosystems, aiding soil conservation, and enhancing biodiversity.

Key Activities and Implementation

1. Distribution of Mango Seedlings:  community members received quality grafted mango seedlings that are higher yielding an early maturing.
2. Farmer Field School Training Programs:famers received experiential learning on orchard management,crop protection.
3. Post-Harvest Support: famers received trainings on value addition and marketing

Outcomes and Impact

1. Economic Empowerment

• Increased Income: Over 700 households have improved their incomes through the sale of quality mango fruits  reducing financial pressure in school fees ,health care and other vital household needs.

2. Food Security and Nutritional Benefits

• Improved Diets: Families now have better access to fresh, nutritious mangoes, enriching their diet. Mangoes are high in vitamins A and C, crucial for immunity and child health.
• Reduced Malnutrition: Due to availability  and accessibility of quality and nutritious mango fruits there has been considerable decline on malnutrition among children in the project area.

3. Environmental Impact

• Increased Biodiversity: Mango trees boost beekeeping during flowering leading to quality and quantity fruit production and honey flow .Other insects including beetles fruit flies also find home in mangos but must be managed to reduce damages on the fruits.

Challenges and Lessons Learned

1. Pest Management: Pest and disease have increased and have remained resistant to conventional control methods. Introduction of integrated management systems was effective.
2. Climate Challenges: Erotic rains due to global warming has had a negative impact on yields in selected areas .conducted more training on soil and water conservation techniques in Mango orchards

Future Directions

 Investment in Value Addition: Invest in value addition through Processing mangoes into dried fruits, juices, or jams to increase shelf life and value.

1. Strengthened Market Linkages: Expand market linkages and connections to facilitate easy off take of the fruits.

Conclusion

Fruit trees have  a key role in the climate change paradigm ,focus has been more on forest trees in forested land ignoring the role of fruit trees in global warming matrix .Grafted mangos provide nutrition, income and still impacts  on the global warming mitigation .The socioeconomic benefits therefore cannot be ignored ,there is need to expand this worthy cause  integrating it with bee keeping.