Avocado farmers from Murang'a pocketed Ksh8.8 billion for the year 2020 according to a recent report.
This constitutes more than 50 percent of the total amount raked in by all avocado farmers in the country.
Last year farmers in Kenya earned Ksh14.7 billion from international markets up from Ksh5.4 billion in the year 2017.
The lucrative earnings resulted from farmers in the region doubling down on the number of trees.
This comes after the World Bank promised to establish a Ksh100 million avocado processing plant in the country.
Agriculture Food Authority (AFA) reported that the country produced 72 million tonnes of avocados in 2020 up from 68 tonnes the previous year.
This as a result earned the country Ksh10 billion more.
Harvesting in the country opened on Tuesday last week and farmers have been adviced against selling a single fruit for less than Ksh12.
This is to counter the increased demand for the product in overseas markets.
Gatanga Avocado Farmers association chairperson Peter Kamande attributed the increased earnings to the high demand.
He stated that avocado trees planted in the region between 2015 and 2017 in partnership with the county governments had contributed immensely to the high yield last year.
"I have more than 120 avocado trees that were planted between 2016 and 2018 out of which 100 are mature. Last year I sold avocados worth Ksh220,000 up from Ksh150,000 in 2019," Kamande stated.
He stated that 227,062 farmers affiliated with the Murang'a County Avocado Cooperative Union have benefited from free seedlings distributed by the county government since 2015.
"Murang'a fruits have attracted buyers in international markets. We have come together and resisted middlemen who were used to offer us low prices," Joseph Wanjohi, the chair of Avocado Marketing Agents Association stated.
He urged farmers to ensure they harvest mature fruits to avoid compromising standards.
-1710390248.jpg)
