Banana Value Addition and Processing

Banana Value Chain in Kisii and Nyamira Counties

Long description

Nyangorora Banana Processors, Limited began as a farmer’s field school under the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO). In 2006, NBP was registered as the Nyangorora Banana Youth Group based in Kisii Town, Kisii County, Kenya. It was founded on the following guiding principles:

Provide employment and professional development to underemployed youth,Women and Physically Challenged people in Kisii and Nyamira Counties
Improve the livelihoods of local smallholders by reducing post-harvest losses and offering fair trade prices for raw materials.
Develop the local economy by popularizing Kisii bananas throughout Kenya.

After several years of steady growth in production capacity and management capability, the youths felt that the group was facing organizational limitations. Thus in 2009, they established Nyangorora Banana Processors, a Chapter 486 Kenyan limited liability company. From 2003-2011, NBP produced wine, cakes, biscuits and banana crisps, and sold them at trade fairs all over Kenya. Production at this time was limited and labor intensive. In 2012, NBP acquired machinery from Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (KIRDI) and purchased additional production equipment, improving production quality while greatly reducing costs. NBP now owns all of its production and storage assets, and uses KIRDI facilities for production and training. Currently, NBP buys a specific, specially-cultured species of cooking banana from farming households mainly along the Gusii Highlands in Kisii and Nyamira counties. They offer fair trade prices that are an average 40% higher than average prices offered by traders. NBP is able to pay higher prices through their low-cost