Why avocado is ‘gold’ for Murang’a residents

For every ten households you count in Murang’a County, at least half have some tree nurseries or mature avocado trees on their farm. Here, avocado is like gold. 

Statistics show Murang’a County is the leading producer of avocados in Kenya, with more than 80 per cent of the produce destined for the export market. 

Kandara and Gatanga are the high producers of the fruit, with this year farmers  taking home Sh2.8 billion compared to previous Sh3.9 billion.

Having realised the potential of avocado, Governor Mwangi wa Iria made a deliberate effort to invest heavily in the fruit by securing viable markets for the produce.

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Formed cooperatives

Additionally, Iria organised avocado farmers into cooperatives according to their regions and sourced for contractual buyers for the fruit, locking out brokers who took advantage of the farmers by offering low prices.

This attention also attracted interest of all players in the avocado value chain.

There are now leading certified nursery operators in Murang’a, who sell seedlings to farmers, which has in turn led to increased production.

The main varieties in the county are fuerte and Hass, with few others planting pinkerton and hardy.

To transform the sector, this year, the county drafted regulations to control the venture but traders raised objections through petitions.

The regulations required players in the value chain to be registered by the county government and Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA).

The proposals are still before the county assembly awaiting debate.

In 2019, the governor flew to Columbia to market the produce. While on this mission, he was crowned the Avocado Ambassador owing to his passion for avocado farming.

In Kenya, he was made the national patron of the Avocado Society of Kenya.

But what is the experience of farmers on the ground?

James Kamau, a leading farmer in Kihumbu ini ward in Gatanga, says since he tapped into the export market, business has been good.

“The best produce fetches good money in the market. If you harvest quality avocados, you are sure of entering into a contract with exporters,” he says.

For the past five years, Kakuzi Ltd has been the largest buyer of avocados in the county. But the recent fiasco has dealt a blow to farmers.

Avocados from Kakuzi were banned by Tesco supermarkets in Britain following a human rights abuse case lodged before UK High Court by some former employees, who claimed to have been tortured. The case is still ongoing.

Another promotional strategy the governor has employed is distribution of seedlings to farmers.

So far, he has distributed more than 1.5 million seedlings to farmers.

Quality

Agriculture officer John Waihenya says more farmers are interested in avocado farming due to high returns, following government interventions. 

AFA has been conducting inspections of farms to ensure quality production of the crop by the growers.

Regulators Interim Director General Antony Muriithi says with the support of the county government, a lot has been achieved.

“Quality has been an issue but now there are improvements. We want to maintain world-class fruit in the market,” says Muriithi.

According to Avocado Society of Kenya Chief Executive Officer Ernest Muthomi, in 2018, Kenya exported 81,097,981 kilos of avocado, majority sourced from Murang’a.

“In Kenya Murang’a leads in production of avocado followed by Nyeri, Kiambu and Kisii counties,” he says.  

Elijah Kamau, a leading exporter of the produce, says buyers have interest in Murang’a avocado because of quality.

He says a team of experts visits the farms to check the avocados and ensure they are being grown in line with quality standards.

“The farmers are also divided into groups to ensure coordinated harvesting to meet the increasing demand in the market,” adds Kamau.