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: 12 November 2019; Hits: 9466

Regulator, farmers agree to stop avocado harvesting to avoid trading of immature fruits

mwongi sunny avocado field 2

Horticultural Crops Directorate (HCD) in agreement with Avocado society of Kenya is set to ban avocado harvesting starting mid-this month aiming at protecting immature crop from the current rush by traders seeking to capitalise on high prices of the commodity the international market.

This is feared to increase the price of the fruit in the local markets. Currently, a four-kilogramme packet has so far shot up 200 per cent to Sh600, up from Sh200 in March as buyers scramble for limited supply.

“We have agreed with the regulator that we close harvesting of the crop on November 15 to protect our international market from unscrupulous traders who would want to harvest immature crop for sale,” said Ernest Muthomi, chairperson of the Avocado Society of Kenya.

According to him, ban on harvesting of Fuerte variety will be lifted on February 15 followed by Hass on March 15.

RELATED CONTENT: How to grow avocados for export

Kenya’s avocado market in the Middle-East was hit last year following the export of low-quality crop.

The price in Dubai dropped by almost half in March 2018 as immature crop hit the value.

The Directorate of Horticulture indicated that the price of a unit of avocado dropped from 35 dirhams (Sh945) previously to 16 dirhams (Sh432) in March.

According to the directorate, Hass and Fuerte are off-season and farmers may be attempted to harvest immature fruits in order to meet the high export target.

The main season for Kenya avocados is March to September with Fuerte avocadoes available from February and Hass variety being available from March. However, it is worth noting that given the tropical climate and different avocado growing zones in Kenya, there are fruits throughout the year although in smaller quantities outside the main season period.

“I cannot say farmers and traders in avocadoes are affected because this is a situation I want to believe they are aware of and we cannot lower our standards by exporting substandard fruits that will ruin our reputation in the global market,” said Josephine Simiyu, Regulations and Compliance Manager at Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) which houses HCD among other bodies.

Figures by AFA indicates that avocados contribute about seven per cent of total fruit export to the global market in Kenya hence the need to regulate the sector keenly to uphold the country’s reputation in the international market.

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: 12 November 2019; Hits: 6849

Vihiga farmers build banana processing plant, provide market for growers

banana plant

A group of over 40 farmers from Vihiga County has put up a banana processing plant at Serem Market to provide market for other growers in the area who were selling their produce to middlemen at Sh200-400 a bunch of 60 kilos but now will earn up to Sh900 selling to the group.

The farmers brought together under Hamisi Horticultural Development Group (HHDG) are processing bananas into flour and making a variety of products that include cakes, biscuits, crisps, doughnuts, bread, ugali and, chapatis that attract more income.

It is a revolution that has transcended boundaries and won admiration beyond Vihiga County.

“The aspect of value addition has been the best thing that has ever happened to our group. We are not only increasing the shelf life of our bananas, we are also realizing more income that we did when we were selling the bananas raw. Every single member of the group now has had their lives transformed and fortunes change with this value addition venture. We are glad we discovered it,” said Margaret Amimo, the group’s secretary.

The group now buys at least 20 bunches of bananas from farmers every week to process the products an initiative that has been identified as the key components in helping the country win the war on food security.

“We have seen real impact and enthusiasm among our women members in embracing this value addition venture we are engaged in because women can see impressive results. Such innovations need to exist to spur more women to dedicate more attention to agriculture since they form the bulk of the food producers in this country,” said Amino.

The secretary is an inspiration to other members as she grows over 200 stems of the high yielding, disease tolerant tissue culture bananas realized that there were limitless opportunities in banana production.

Her championing of tissue culture banana farming in the area has seen her and the group feted in several awards.

Though the group has not started contracting farmers, the idea looks appealing in order to secure the growers’ loyalty who is still at ‘first come first serve’ basis.

“We would like to enter into a mutual agreement with banana farmers who are interested to supply us with the produce. This will enable us get the first priority from them when the crops are mature for harvest,” said Amino.

Caption: workers at Khwisero Banana Processing Plant Co-operative. Photo /ISAAC WALE | NMG.

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: 11 November 2019; Hits: 4142

Nairobi online farmer’s market links growers with busy office and home consumers

mango fruits

Enric Farm Fresh, an online farmer’s market in Nairobi is targeting busy office and home consumers in the city to cash in local markets which provides huge horticulture produce sales as compared to export markets to offer direct market to smallholder farmers in the country.

According to a 2015 study report on Fresh Vegetables Market in Kenya by Research Solutions Africa (RSA) Ltd, what producers cannot sell to buyers at farm gate is usually consumed at the household level or sold in small quantities in local markets. In some cases, this can cause considerable losses for farmers who are poorly connected to buyers and markets.

“Farmers have little to no knowledge regarding consumer preferences, or quality grading standards. This is why we started the company with a passion for local farming to link farmers to homes and businesses consumers by offering home and office delivery services,” said Mr. Erick, COO and Co-founder of Enric Farm Fresh.

This comes at a time the RSA report also indicates that about 95 per cent of horticultural production goes to the domestic market and five per cent to the export market, a good indication that smallholders who form the bulk of horticulture producers have a wider market potential to explore.

However, producers generally have limited access to price information and therefore little bargaining power with buyers. Enric Farm Fresh, therefore, exists to bridge this gap for the farmers it works with.

“We carefully source each and every last bite from our contracted farmers and deliver to consumer’s door each week, with recyclable and returnable packaging,” said Erick.

These fresh produce include fruits and vegetables.

Enric Farm Fresh’s concept of an online farmer’s market began with a vision to find an efficient way to bring super fresh, natural food from farms in their own area to busy people who work all week and don’t have time to get to their farmer’s market at the same time empowering smallholder farmers in rural areas.

In this, the company enables customers shop for their fresh produce right online at the comfort of their homes or offices and have them delivered to them anywhere in Nairobi

To woo its customers, the firm allows menu changes weekly according to what is fresh, local, and in-season. With this, a customer gets more control of what goes in shopping box, and they can make up to five substitutions in every delivery.

There is also chance for consumers to customize their schedule months ahead of time.

Enric Farm Fresh can be reached on +254 700 021 630 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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