NAIROBI, Kenya \u2014\u00a0Had he been asked 10 years ago to venture into avocado farming, Samson Musembi, 62, would have laughed off the idea.<\/p>\n
However, the father of five now wishes he had started earlier.<\/p>\n
Musembi, a retired primary school teacher from Karangita village in Thika sub-county, 40 kilometers (24 miles) northeast of Kenya\u2019s capital, Nairobi, has planted Hass avocado trees on two acres of land.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just didn\u2019t wake up one morning and decided to venture into avocado farming,\u201d he told Zenger News.<\/p>\n
He learned of the fortune-making venture in 2017 when random buyers knocked at his door to buy the few avocado fruits that he had in his compound.<\/p>\n
He learned of\u00a0Kakuzi Plc<\/a>\u00a0from these visits, which buys avocados from farmers and exports them to foreign markets.<\/p>\n \u201cI later visited Kakuzi farm in Thika town, where I learned more about avocado farming. When I came back home, I had already made up my mind: stop tea farming and focus on avocados.\u201d<\/p>\n He now sells his produce to Kakuzi and China.<\/p>\n When Kenya and China\u00a0signed a trade deal<\/a>\u00a0in 2019, which opened up the Asian market for fruits from Kenya, many farmers shifted to avocado farming.<\/p>\n Ernest Muthomi, the chief executive of the\u00a0Avocado Society of Kenya<\/a>, said they had registered thousands of members across the country.<\/p>\n \u201cChina\u2019s move spurred an avocado boom in many parts of Kenya,\u201d he told Zenger News.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have witnessed many farmers abandon traditional cash crops (such as tea, sugar, and coffee) to start avocado farming.\u201d<\/p>\n Muthomi said Kenya is recognized globally in avocado farming.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the first quarter of 2021, we exported more than 26,000 tonnes of the fruit to Europe, Middle East, and China.\u201d<\/p>\n He said Kenyan farmers have access to seven major export destinations globally: China, the European Union, Russia, and the Middle East.<\/p>\n Benjamin Mutuku Tito, the Agriculture and Food Authority directorate head, said that the increased sales show how soon avocado will be the next main export for Kenya.<\/p>\n \u201cThe sales (in the first quarter) were record-breaking,\u201d he told Zenger News.<\/p>\n \u201cIt all goes down to the efforts we\u2019re putting in this new venture of avocado farming. There has been a lot of improvement in the last five years in this sector, and the best is yet to come.\u201d<\/p>\n Kenya produces 115 metric tons of fruit every year, according to the\u00a0Market Acces Upgrade Program<\/a>, an initiative of the European Union and the East African Community.<\/p>\n Kenya\u2019s Agricultural and Trade Cabinet Secretary, Peter Gatirau Munya, said most avocado farmers are encouraged to plant Hass avocados that take three years to mature and are more nutritious.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the agreement that was signed in 2019, China will be taking 40 percent of our avocado exports annually,\u201d Munya told Zenger News.<\/p>\n \u201cMore Kenyan farmers need to embrace this opportunity and make good use of it. We are breaking the traditional cycle of relying on tea, coffee, and flower exports.\u201d<\/p>\n It is the same script with different players in Uganda, which borders Kenya to the west.<\/p>\n Here, the Agriculture, Animal, Industry, and Fisheries ministry is\u00a0rallying<\/a>\u00a0farmers to start avocado farming due to the new vast global market for the fruit.<\/p>\n \u201cThe global market is yearning for our Hass avocado,\u201d says a report on the ministry\u2019s website.<\/p>\n Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations says\u00a0coffee<\/a>\u00a0is Uganda\u2019s principal export crop.<\/p>\n However, the current trend of many farmers shifting to avocado farming may turn the tables.<\/p>\n On Lake Victoria\u2019s shores in Mayuge district in Uganda is the famous 2,500-acre\u00a0Musubi Farm<\/a>, one of the largest farms in Uganda, exporting avocados to the international markets.<\/p>\n \u201cWe ventured into Hass avocado farming in 2018, after many years of planting sugarcane,\u201d Mustafa Bett, a co-owner of the farm, told Zenger News in a phone interview.<\/p>\n \u201cMy partner and I can confidently say that we can never look back again.\u201d<\/p>\n Musubi Farm has employed hundreds of people and is the main avocado exporter from Uganda.<\/p>\n \u201cOur target is to export 50,000 tons of Hass avocados annually, which should translate to $1billion annually. Currently, our largest market is in East Africa, Europe, and the Middle East,\u201d Bett told Zenger News.<\/p>\n Jackson Mayanja, 46, from Mbarara, western Uganda, abandoned coffee farming and planted avocados trees on his five-acre land.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is my sixth year, and I harvest at least 600 fruits per tree each season from June to September, depending on the weather,\u201d he told Zenger News.<\/p>\n \u201cOne acre takes a maximum of 166 trees. Now you know why I quit coffee farming.\u201d<\/p>\n He said Uganda is blessed with fertile soil for avocado farming.<\/p>\n \u201cKenya is doing well internationally in avocado sales, but I have to warn them that we are coming for that top spot.\u201d<\/p>\n Plans are underway to produce one million avocado trees which will be available to farmers at a subsidized price, according to the report on the website of Uganda\u2019s Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries.<\/p>\n However, experts caution that the two countries should tread carefully in their rush to seize the international avocado market.<\/p>\n Njagi Mutwiri, an agricultural expert, is worried about the increased fruit flies affecting avocados and other fruits in East Africa.<\/p>\n \u201cThis region is always affected by the unpredictable rise in temperatures, which is conducive breeding of fruit flies,\u201d he told Zenger News.<\/p>\n Mutwiri advised avocado farmers to proceed with moderation and factor in unforeseen challenges.<\/p>\n