Increasing Access to Post Harvest Technologies to Women Farmers

This report by the Stockholm Environment Institute examines the barriers women farmers in Kenya face when accessing post-harvest technologies for mango production. Using service design methods, including Customer Journey Mapping and ecosystem mapping, the study identifies how power imbalances with brokers and a market preference for quantity over quality discourage technology adoption. The report evaluates several technologies—ranging from fruit fly traps to pulping machines—and concludes that technology alone is insufficient without holistic support for business development and the creation of reliable quality-based markets.

• Mango production in Kenya saw a significant increase of over 400% between 2001 and 2012, yet more than 25% of the crop is lost during and after the harvesting process.
• Women farmers experience a significant power imbalance with brokers, who often control the grading, counting, and final pricing of mangoes, leading to perceptions that brokers 'cheat' and reduce the farmers' profits.
• The current farming strategy prioritizes quantity over quality because the majority of mangoes are sold to the processing industry, where higher quality does not reliably yield higher prices.
• Pre-harvest technologies like fruit fly traps are viewed as effective but are limited by the need for collective adoption; if neighboring farmers do not use them, the traps on a single farm are less effective.
• Harvesting tools and crates are often seen as poor investments because they are expensive and the resulting quality improvements are not consistently rewarded by brokers, especially for local and national markets.
• Cold storage is recognized for its ability to prevent forced sales at low prices and reduce waste, but adoption is hindered by high costs, lack of electricity, and the need for collective governance.
• Value-addition technologies, such as mango pulping machines for juice and concentrate, are seen as a way to bypass brokers and increase shelf-life, but farmers lack the business knowledge and market access to implement them successfully.
• Mango fruit yoghurt is considered a viable use for overripe mangoes, but it faces severe thresholds including the high cost of milk, lack of tap water, and short shelf life.
• The report recommends holistic support beyond the provision of hardware, including funding, maintenance training, and the development of a national cooperative franchise to create a brand and market for processed mango products.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2017). Increasing Access to Post Harvest Technologies to Women Farmers. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/increasing-access-to-post-harvest-technologies-2017.pdf

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Increasing Access to Post Harvest Technologies to Women Farmers. 2017. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/increasing-access-to-post-harvest-technologies-2017.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Increasing Access to Post Harvest Technologies to Women Farmers |date=February 2017 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/increasing-access-to-post-harvest-technologies-2017.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2017increasing, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Increasing Access to Post Harvest Technologies to Women Farmers}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2017}, month = feb, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/increasing-access-to-post-harvest-technologies-2017.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }