Farm Africa’s Maendeleo Agricultural Enterprise Fund (MAEF) helps small innovations become big successes that can benefit thousands of rural farmers and their families. And our partnership with Mwailu Enterprises in Kitui county, Kenya, is no exception.

Struggling to make ends meet

62-year-old grandmother Cecilia would frequently see her maize crops wither and die, leaving her with neither food nor income.

“I had land but I had no income. We were planting a lot of maize but still we were not getting enough to eat let alone enough to sell.”

She started growing sorghum as an alternative. But instead of growing the traditional red variety sold at the market, the team from Mwailu Enterprises has helped her to start growing a white variety that grows faster and produces a bigger yield.

Sustainable income through a functioning market

The team at Mwailu buy Cecilia’s sorghum directly from her, and do the same with hundreds more farmers in the area, before selling it in bulk to major brewing companies. With Mwailu making a small profit from every pound, they have a big incentive to help sorghum farmers access high-quality seeds and train them to grow as much as they possibly can. So that everyone benefits!

Cecilia receives a good price: from three harvests she has earned over $1,800 from growing the white sorghum to sell to Mwailu. And her life has changed dramatically for the better.

When we interviewed her for this story we asked Cecilia how the project had changed her life. She laughed, pointed at a huge water tank on top of a beautiful stone house and said:

“We have plumbing, water everywhere in the house, my grandchildren are going to good schools and I can hire people to help me on my farm. My life has completely changed.”

Please give $180 to help give another group of farmers the training and support they need to grow themselves out of poverty.