MVC Founder Story: Green Valley Farms

When Maxon Magugu planted Green Valley Farm's first mango orchard in 2019, he saw an opportunity to build a business around a crop he believed offered strong long-term potential for Malawi. Six years later, what started as a small orchard had grown into a thriving mango business with more than 9,000 trees in the Kasungu District. In 2025, Green Valley became one of 11 farms supported through the Malawi Value Chains (MVC) Matching Grant Facility (MGF), a co-investment fund helping export-oriented mango and macadamia farms and enterprises invest in the infrastructure and equipment needed for long-term growth.

Figure 1: Maxon Magugu at Green Valley Farm

Maxon first became involved with the MVC project in 2024, by attending a training on farm management, financial management, pruning, crop nutrition, and pest and disease management. The training provided practical skills that Maxon and his team were able to apply directly on the farm, helping improve orchard management and productivity.

“EVERY TIME WE PARTICIPATED IN A TRAINING, WE GAINED NEW SKILLS AND TRANSFERRED THEM TO THE PEOPLE WORKING ON THE FARM. IMPROVEMENTS IN PRUNING, NUTRITION AND ORCHARD MANAGEMENT HAVE ALL CONTRIBUTED TO INCREASED PRODUCTION AND BETTER QUALITY FRUIT”- MAXON

Maxon's dedication to improving his farm and adopting new practices was reflected in Green Valley's production figures. The farm supplied just one metric tonne (mT) of mangoes in 2022. Production increased to five mT in 2023/24, nine mT in 2024/25, and 17 mT in the 2025/26 season (latest). As production grew, Green Valley established a strong relationship with Malawi Mangoes, a large independent grower and processor with international markets, which now serves as its primary buyer under an equitable buyer-supplier agreement that MVC facilitated between Malawi Mangoes and members of the Nyanja Fruit Growers Co-operative.

As his orchard expanded, Maxon increasingly faced a challenge common to many small and mid-sized farms in Malawi. While the farm had access to local water sources, it lacked the infrastructure needed to irrigate the orchard effectively. This limited both production volumes and fruit quality, particularly during key stages of the growing season.

"WHEN THE TREES ARE FLOWERING, THEY NEED MORE WATER. WITHOUT SUFFICIENT MOISTURE IN THE SOIL, FRUIT ABORTION RATES RISE SIGNIFICANTLY, AND WE CAN LOSE UP TO 40% OF OUR EXPECTED YIELD IN A SEASON." - MAXON

The lack of irrigation infrastructure limited the farm's production potential, but securing finance for the investment proved difficult. Many commercial lenders are hesitant to fund medium to long-term agricultural projects and prefer to work with established, and generally well capitalised, firms and farms.

Through his participation in MVC trainings, Maxon learned about the MGF and recognised the opportunity to tackle his farm's irrigation challenges. Following a successful application, the MGF supported the installation of a water tank, tankstand and solar-powered pumping system, helping the farm to significantly improve access to reliable water for the orchard. Together, this infrastructure is designed to supply approximately 200 litres of water per tree every six days, enabling a more reliable water supply throughout the year.

Figure 2: Green Valley Farm: Installing Irrigation Equipment (Solar-pumping system)

Having supplied 17 mT of mangoes in the most recent season, Maxon hopes the new irrigation infrastructure will more than double production over the coming years while continuing to improve mango quality and consistency. His ambitions, however, extend beyond Green Valley itself. He hopes to support other farmers in Kasungu by sharing the knowledge and skills gained through working with MVC, helping more growers improve productivity, access new opportunities and benefit from the continued growth of Malawi's mango supply chain.

"WE ARE PUTTING IN PLACE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WILL SUPPORT US FOR MANY YEARS TO COME," HE SAYS. "THE TRAINING HAS HELPED US BUILD OUR CAPACITY, AND EVERY SEASON WE CONTINUE TO LEARN AND IMPROVE. WE STILL HAVE A LOT WE WANT TO ACHIEVE, BUT WE ARE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION." - MAXON