Farmers court the sun to preserve fresh produce

Farmers court the sun to preserve fresh produce

By Bob Koigi
Vanguard farmers keen on increasing the shelf life of their perishables and taming farm loss are embracing the low-cost solar drying technique, a model that has equally gained grounds among companies and credited with preserving produce for up to six months.

Scenes of dried vegetables and mangoes are commonplace in supermarkets and retail stores in the country and have become a favourite among Kenyan middle class. The solar drying technique now being embraced by dozens of farmer groups has become a popular way of preserving food not just for the farmers but for the health-conscious consumers since it doesn’t involve addition of preservatives.

Sweet and dried Enterprises Limited, a cottage industry working with farmers in Tharaka Nithi County has predominantly relied on solar drying technology for its portfolio of flours and vegetables which the company supplies to outlets in the country while also exporting.

The enterprise which works with over 200 farmers, buys produce from farmers before taking them to the factory where the process of solar drying happens. The company has focused on indigenous food, vegetables and fruits including bananas, arrowroots, pumpkins, mangoes and sweet potatoes among others. Through these products the company has come up with products like porridge flour, pumpkin flour, sweet potato flour, arrowroot flour and dried fruits. “Our products are for those are conscious about their health. The drying process ensures that the Vitamins and vital minerals are retained with increased shelf life. The drying process also ensures that produce like the fruits retain their natural source of sweetness. Fruits like Mango flakes and banana flakes are among those that we make through the drying process,” said Mercy Mwende of Sweet and Dried Enterprises.

Azuri Health Limited, another company involved in selling of dried products has been working with farmers in adding value to their produce through solar drying. This not only increases the shelf life of these produce but also increases the income of the farmers. In Murang’a where the group has worked with many smallholder farmers in training them how to dry fruits and vegetables on their own, which they then sell to the company, farmers have developed prowess in making sliced mango fruits and dried vegetables which pick a higher price than the traditional produce.
The Murang’a, farmers use specially designed solar dryer that has a polythene dome that traps the heat with a fan extractor removing the hot moisture therefore assisting in full drying. Local innovations have come up to create low cost dryers as demand rises in the bottom tier of the economy which cannot afford the highly priced dehydrator which dries a large volume of produce but which is out of reach for many farmers.

The dryer is modeled to retain as much heat as possible within the polythene dome, with temperatures in the dome getting as high as 70 degrees. The black polythene traps the heat and beneath it is a layer of sand that sees the heat retained. An extractor fan takes away the hot moisture coming from the fruits and vegetables and completes the drying process.

The modest dryer is a far cry from the mainstream dehydrator designed to dry to a high quality, but which is beyond the means of many of the farmers, at a cost of around Sh28,000 from local suppliers such as the Vibrant Health Organization.

Preserving fruits and vegetables has many advantages, including the big addition in value that it creates. For example, two raw banana fingers weighing an average 200 to 240 grams will sell for Sh50 to Sh60. But the same volume of bananas dried sell for Sh150 at local health stores.

Farmers who dry their produce also manage to spread their earnings across the year, selling at times when prices are higher and improving their own family’s diet, by retaining some of their produce for times when fresh produce is hard to find.

It is estimated that 30 to 40 per cent of fruits and vegetables are wasted in farms and markets, because they perish before consumption. But dried fruits and vegetables last from 12 to 18 months.

With Kenya’s post harvest losses estimated to be about 40 per cent of all fruits and vegetables grown and 25 per cent of all harvested grains according to studies, researchers have now vouched on solar to tame the losses in the wake of dwindling food production while increasing incomes of smallholder farmers.

“If you look at the losses associated with pests and diseases, then compare that with what farmers loose due to poor harvesting and storage techniques you will realize that at the end of the food cycle, farmers are left with nothing. Yet simple and low-cost food preservation techniques like solar drying offers sustainable ways of saving our food from waste. They also allow farmers to sell their produce at a later date and at good market price,” said Ann Katana, an agriculture economist from the University of Nairobi.

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