Kiambu inks avocado export deal with Israel

Avocados displayed for sale at a street in Mombasa. /FILE
Avocados displayed for sale at a street in Mombasa. /FILE

Kiambu farmers are set to benefit from a deal that will see the county export avocado to Israel.

The agreement, signed between the county and Israeli company Guri Avocados, is envisioned to end farmers' woes in the wake of crop failure.

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The region has been reporting low yields of maize, beans and potatoes; forcing many farmers to resort to avocado production.

Poised to become a major horticultural export in the near future, the avocado business already constitutes about 17 per cent of the total exports mostly to the European Union.

But under the Kiambu deal, that could go higher as there is a huge ready market in Israel under the umbrella of Guri Avocados.

"Farmers shall sign contracts with the Israeli company covering all aspects of the avocado value chain. They will be granted the best seeds to guarantee the best fruit," Kiambu governor William Kabogo said.

The deal also provides for the establishment of a modern avocado seedling nursery equipped with state-of-the-art technologies.

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The facility shall be based at Waruhiu Agricultural Training Centre - which is managed by the county.

"We shall witness the setting up of the institution of an avocado handling yard which shall include but will not be limited to a grading hall equipped with grading machines," the governor said.

Guri Avocados managing director Amram Cohen said the company is committed to promoting farmers.

"All avocados harvested by farmers contracted by the company shall be purchased - including the lowest grade of the crop. Additionally, farmers shall be paid as promptly as possible after supplying their produce,"

Cohen said.

Israel ambassador to Kenya H.E Yahel Vilan, who was also present at the signing of the MOU, noted that Israel was keen on doing business with Kenya.

Farmers in Kiambu county shall acquire seedlings at the nursery at subsidized rates while the remaining shall be sold outside the county at market prices.

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In July, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a tour of Kenya that there will be more bilateral trade links between the two countries.

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