Farmers in Kirinyaga county will earn Sh15 million from the sale of hass avocado seedlings this year.
Governor Anne Waiguru said the groups of growers were funded by the county government through the first round of the national agricultural rural inclusive growth programme, to establish avocado seedlings nurseries last year.
She said the county government will spend Sh15 million on seedlings which will be bought from the round one groups. The seedlings will then be distributed to the second round of beneficiaries who will in turn start propagation of hass avocado seedlings.
The governor was speaking in Kimunye and Kamiigua in Kirinyaga East on Tuesday where the county government purchased seedlings worth Sh2.5 million from farmers groups.
“We want to be the leader in avocado seedlings production where our farmers will be selling quality seedlings to other farmers within and outside our county. Through our Wezesha Kirinyaga programme, we will also be building avocado aggregation centres. We will also have an avocado processing plant where avocados for local and export market will be processed,” Waiguru said.
She flagged off 60,000 seedlings to be distributed to 30 groups of farmers that are beneficiaries of the second round of the programme.
The governor said so far, the county government has supported 314 groups under the Wezesha Kirinyaga empowerment programme to implement diverse agricultural value chains including, dairy, avocado, tomato, poultry and pig production.
“When we support farmers to diversify their agricultural activities, we create multiple income streams for them and reduce overreliance on one particular crop,” she noted.
Waiguru said due to the rising demand for avocado in the local and export market, avocado farming presents an immense investment opportunity for growers.
She said her administration was committed to supporting farmers to increase production and access to the market.
The county’s current annual avocado production is estimated at 15,000 metric tonnes worth around Sh300 million. With the county government’s interventions, the production is expected to rise to 21,000 metric tonnes which will be fetching the farmers around Sh700 million.
"Avocado farming is not only expected to lead to improved household incomes and the county’s economy, but also to contribute to the achievement of the food security pillar of the country’s Big Four Agenda," Waiguru said.
The Economic Survey of Kenya 2020 indicates that export earnings from fruits increased by 3.1 per cent from Sh12.8 billion in 2018 to Sh13.2 billion in 2019, accounting for 9.1 per cent of total earnings from horticultural exports.
Avocado has a fair share among leading export crops with around 68,000 tonnes having been exported in 2020. Kenya is ranked among the eight top exporters of the crop whose demand is extremely high in the European countries and Middle East.
A hass avocado tree can yield between Sh8,000 and Sh9,000 worth of fruits annually. Avocado growers are expected to reap more as prices are expected to rise in the coming years and so the more trees a farmer will be having the more returns they will be getting.
-Edited by Skanyara
