Over the past 5 years, Kenya has grown to be the leading exporter of avocado in Africa. The growth in commercial farming of avocado has been attributed to a number of factors, not limited to the huge profit margin and the ever-expanding market, both locally and internationally, but also to the Avocado Society of Kenya, this is the principal association on matters of avocado in Kenya.
The association boasting of a membership of over 35,000 small scale farmers and over 500 corporates is comprised of farmers, exporters, and other value chain players, and the main breeds grown are Hass avocado, Fuete, Jumbo, and Pinkaton.
“We are members of the World Avocado Congress Committee. We represent Kenya in international forums on matters of avocado,” says Mr. Muthomi Ernest, CEO of Avocado Society of Kenya.
The association is geared towards increasing production and ascertaining quality to ensure the country’s competitive edge in the international market, now exponentially growing in Asia and the European Union.
Currently, the avocado farm acreage in Kenya stands at 30,000 hectares, with cultivation mainly robust in Central and Rift Valley regions, and expanding to Western and other regions in the country. Moreover, over the past five years, the exports have almost doubled, currently standing at 100,000 metric tons up from the initial 55,000 metric tons.
“As a result of the awareness created by the society, the price of avocado has also improved. The farmers have better bargaining power. This year, 1kg of avocado is selling between Ksh100 to Ksh130 at the farm,” says Muthomi.
He further intimated that Kenya is the leading exporter of avocado in Africa valued at Ksh26 billion and expected to grow in the next 10 years to 100 billion.
Price is the main motivator of the society’s members, signaling the growing shift from traditional commercial crops like coffee and tea in the Rift and Central Kenya. The society has also created a conducive environment to ensure the members gets value for their membership.
“The society holds events to bring together players in the industry. The Avocado Africa Expo, which is an international event, bringing together avocado players across the African continent and foreign markets has been held five times,” says Muthomi. Next year’s event will be held at Sarit Centre, in May, from 27th to 30th.
Additionally, the society holds an annual Avocado Excellence Award to celebrate the best in the country. “We also have regional farmer field days where we bring farmers together and address issues that they have,” Muthomi highlighted encouraging farmers to join the society and reap benefits.
The society also links farmers to financial institutions. Besides, they are geared to launch an Avocado Farmers Sacco Society, dedicated to avocado farmers’ financial needs.
“The future of avocado farming and export is bright and set to grow exponentially. We see this bringing in about 100 billion in the next 10 years. It will be big.”