The Peanut Factory in a Box: How Busia is Reclaiming Value

Peanut farmers in Amagoro, Busia County, are finally seeing the benefits of local production. For decades, farmers across Western Kenya lived the same cycle of hard labour and heartbreak: they planted and harvested peanuts, sold them to intermediaries for a pittance, then later bought back processed peanut butter from supermarket shelves at a premium.

The value was always there — it just never stayed in the village. Until now.

The rise of the micro-factory

Irene Etyang founded the social enterprise Mamlo Foods. As a food scientist, she grew up watching her community struggle. Peanut farming demanded long hours and delivered little in return. Over time, she realised the challenge wasn’t effort — it was infrastructure. Farmers worked hard, but they lacked the tools and systems to earn more from what they produced.

That insight led her to build a micro-factory known as the “Factory in a Box.”

These micro-factories are solar-powered, containerised units that Mamlo deploys directly into farming communities. They allow farmers to process peanuts locally and take real control of the product. 

When farmers process their own peanuts, they gain power to negotiate pricing instead of accepting whatever middlemen offer. They also keep valuable by-products and put them to use — for example, peanut shells can serve as fuel.

Why “Factory in a Box” works

Mamlo Foods makes industrialisation local by decentralising it. The micro-factories sit close to farmers; for instance, Mamlo has units in Teso North and South. That proximity helps farmers deliver fresh produce directly to the factory, cut transport costs, and avoid the “middleman tax” that often eats into thin margins.

The micro-factories run on solar power, which protects production from the frequent outages that cripple many rural enterprises. Mamlo also uses smart solar dryers — a critical upgrade in humid Busia. Before farmers feed peanuts into the “box” for processing, they dry them using solar dryers.

These dryers dry nuts evenly and protect them from rain and pests, helping Mamlo meet international safety standards.

Helping farmers earn 

Etyang recognised a hard truth: many peanut farmers in Busia stayed poor because they didn’t own the value chain. Mamlo responded by bringing the factory to the farmers and helping them participate more actively in the market. In doing so, the company doesn’t just buy from farmers –  it turns suppliers into partners and changes how the system works.

For decades, the pattern stayed the same: crops left the village as raw produce, and finished products returned at a higher price. Farmers did the hardest work but earned the least. Mamlo flips that structure by processing peanuts locally, creating jobs, and raising incomes.

Local processing also reduces post-harvest losses. Since farmers shorten the time between harvesting and processing, they reduce damage from pests, rotting, and other common losses.

The right equipment, including solar dryers, also helps reduce aflatoxin contamination risk. Farmers and processors control quality better, making products safer, more consistent, and easier to sell. 

A template for rural wealth

The Busia model arrives at a critical time, as the national government pushes for County Aggregation and Industrial Parks (CAIPs). The “Factory in a Box” offers a simple, private-sector-led blueprint: instead of sending crops far away to factories, Mamlo brings the factory to the crop. That shift turns peanuts into a crop that can help farmers build economic independence

Mamlo Foods has also built a connected network of local facilities that share knowledge and markets. That makes the system repeatable across villages. The company strengthens shared logistics and infrastructure, keeping communities economically linked without stripping away their autonomy.

The results show what local processing can do for farmer income. Mamlo’s main products include roasted peanuts and peanut butter. A farmer who sells roasted groundnuts or peanut butter can earn two to three times more than one who sells raw produce at the local market. 

The bottom line

Mamlo Foods’ “Factory in a Box” in Busia reminds us that the future of African agriculture isn’t only about what grows in the soil — it’s also about what happens after harvest. Local processing has already boosted incomes and created jobs in Busia.

Mamlo’s vision focuses on durability: the company wants to keep the model strong by training local leadership and upgrading technology so small-scale groundnut farming and processing can thrive independently for generations.