Kenya Prisons to boost avocado trade

The Kenya Prisons has embarked on an ambitious agricultural plan to boost the production of avocado with an eye for the export market by multiplying and distributing seedlings to agricultural communities.

On target is the Hass variety which is exclusively for export market and whose prices in the international market are higher compared to most fruits.

The Director of Prison Farms Patrick Kariri on Friday said the Institution had earmarked 18 flagship rehabilitation centres across the country that will be involved in spearheading the campaign as well as production of agricultural products.

"Of the 133 prisons across the country, we have set aside 80 whose main involvement is purely in agricultural production. And of the 80, we have set up 18 rehabilitation centres to be centers of excellency in promoting the Government's Big Four Agenda of attaining total food security," Kariri said.

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Kariri said the avocado planting campaigns were also part of the afforestation campaigns that are geared toward aiding the government achieve the 10 per cent tree cover across the country by 2022.

Kariri was speaking in Nyamira County GK Prisons on Friday where he led County Commissioner Amos Mariba, Nyamira Assembly Speaker Moffat Teya and Agriculture Executive Peris Mongare in issuing seedlings of avocado to local farmers.

Kariri said the Nyamira Prison which is yet to become a fully fledged rehabilitation facility for convicts is among the 18 flagship centres whose main role will be to boost the agenda of attaining food security for the country.

In the last financial year, prison farms generated around Sh700 million from an investment of Sh53 million, according to Kariri.

For instance in Nyamira, the prison has a multiplication nursery for avocado seedlings that will supply farmers from all the 20 wards with seedlings.

"Currently, we have 100,000 seedlings which we are issuing to farmers in the county and we are projecting that more will be produced for planting," the officer said.

The Nyamira prison will on its own plant more than 20,000 avocados on its 20 acres of land.

However, the director could not state the scale of planting of the crop that the prisons department has undertaken across the country.

Mariba told farmers the country already has a negotiated export market in Asia and that the demand for avocados was not matching the low supply available.

"The government has a secure market for all the produce from Kenya. We are projecting that avocado will be competing with tea in the export market and the initiative by the Kenya Prisons to supply seedlings to farmers and increasing it's own production will see the fruits even overtake the tea trade," Mariba said.