•County Commissioner Patrick Mukuria said the theft is being propagated by unlicensed avocado buyers who have set up illegal buying centres in the village.
•It is however perpetrated by local youths who mostly use the money to fuel their addiction to alcohol.
Image: Alice Waithera
Administrators from Murang’a County have been urged to crackdown on unlicensed avocado buyers who have been accused of propagating farm-gate theft of the fruits.
County Commissioner Patrick Mukuria on Saturday said many avocado farmers been counting huge losses owing to the theft that is mostly perpetrated by local youths who then use the money to indulge in alcoholism.
The worst hit are farmers from Kandara and Gatanga sub-counties which are also the main avocado-producing areas.
Mukuria said that as the harvesting season progresses, the thieves have been invading farms at night only for farmers to find their trees bare in the morning.
The night-time theft that is done in a hurry sees immature fruits harvested occasioning farmers further losses.
But the county commissioner noted that local chiefs are well aware of the unlicensed buyers operating in their areas.
He ordered them to ensure those who have opened buying centres in the villages are arrested, prosecuted and the centres shut down for contravening Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) regulations.
Image: Alice Waithera
“Avocado has become a cash crop for our farmers but the increased stealing can discourage them and adversely affect the sector,” he said.
He said his security team will not allow unscrupulous traders to exploit farmers and that they will ensure the law is strictly followed and all involved are punished.
Avocado farmers last year petitioned the county assembly to put in place laws that would protect them from theft and streamline the sector.
The farmers said they were being forced to spend nights guarding their farms and could not even go to church on Sunday as the thieves invade their farms when they are not around.
One of policies adopted prohibited buyers from transporting avocados using open pick-ups to preserve quality and required them to issue receipts to farmers in order to provide proof of the source of avocados.
Murang’a County is the largest producer of avocado fruits in the country and many farmers have been investing in it as the fruit, especially the hass variety, gains international popularity.
In February this year, Murang’a Avocado Farmers’ Cooperative Union commenced the construction of a Sh70 million aggregation centre that will enable them to pack and export their fruits.
Chairman Mwaniki Gitau said the center being constructed in Kandara is expected to be completed by the end of the year and will ensure the union exports export quality fruits that fetch good prices.
"They have already established buyers from Mexico, Dubai, China and Egypt," he said.
Last season, the union that is an umbrella cooperative for numerous avocado farmers’ groups exported 350 metric tons of avocado, generating Sh2 billion.
With 92,250 avocado farmers who produce over 500 metric tons of avocados Mwaniki said they aim at raising their annual earnings to over Sh6 billion.