Food vendor turns supplier of mangoes

A food vendor, popularly known as “chop bar” keeper in Ghana, has become the main supplier of fresh mangoes and mango seedlings at Somanya in the country’s Eastern Region.

“For so many years, I operated a “chop bar,” but most people never paid for the food. I therefore decided to invest the little money I had to cultivate mangoes when ADRA (Adventist Development and Relief Agency) introduced the project,” Doris Tetteh, the food vendor recalled.

Doris was one of 1,000 farmers in the Yilo and Manya Krobo Districts of Ghana that USAID and ADRA-Ghana supported with input credit in the form of improved mango seedlings, corn seeds and fertilizers to help improve their households’ access to food, shelter, education and health. The farmers also acquired skills in plantation establishment techniques, disease prevention and management, harvesting, post-harvest handling, and marketing. They were also trained in mango grafting to enable them to produce their own high yielding and early bearing planting materials.

Doris started with 2 acres of mangoes and intercropped it with corn for domestic use. She used the money from the sale of the extra corn harvested to expand the farm each year. Over six years, Doris has 26 acres of mangoes. She also established a nursery to provide mango seedlings for sale to other farmers in the area.

Doris harvests 200 tons of fresh mangoes a year, earning a gross income of $100,000. She also produces over 12,000 mango seedlings annually valued at $18,000. From the proceeds, Doris has purchased a pick-up truck for delivering the fruits to processing companies and customers. She has also acquired a tractor for her farming operations and it is hired out to other farmers when it is not needed on her farm. Doris has also built a modern house in Accra, the capital city of Ghana, and has rented it out. She has also begun diversifying into livestock farming and has 17 cattle and 70 sheep and goats.

“I have acquired a tractor, own a house in Accra, and leased land to expand my farm,” Doris said, adding that, “Now I have a reliable source of income and that has given me peace of mind.”

The remarkable improvements in the living standards of Doris and other USAID-assisted farmers have urged many non-client farmers and organizations to establish large acreages on their own, making the two districts the most important mango producing area in Ghana.