Avocado Farming In Kenya: From Planting To Market

Avocado farming in Kenya general outlook

Avocado farming has risen to become one of the highest paying horticultural activities in Kenya. Avocado is now the leading fruit in terms export quantities. This is because of the increasing usage of the fruit all over the world. Even though avocado has been loved by many people for long, more are now becoming aware of its health benefits. Kenya produces some of the best avocados in the world. This is what has won it a high place in the avocado export market.

Avocado farming in Kenya

Where are Kenyan avocados sold?

Avocado farmers in Kenya are now smiling because of the high paying export market. Being one of the best avocado producers in Africa, Kenya exports to other African countries such as Egypt, South Africa, Ghana and Morocco. However, the largest export market for Kenya avocados is in the European Union followed closely by the Middle East. In the Year 2020, Kenya exported avocados worth more than KSh9 billion.

Avocado in the export market: Kenya avocado export quantity is rising

Best areas for avocado farming in Kenya

Muranga County is the leading in avocado farming. It is followed closely by Kiambu, Kisii, Nyeri and Meru. You can clearly see that most of these counties are the ones around Mt. Kenya. However, other counties have now taken up avocado farming after realizing how profitable it is. Uasin Gishu, Nandi, Bomet and Bungoma Counties have specifically invested a lot into avocado production and export. All these are counties that receive a lot of rainfall. However, other counties such as Kajiado and Nakuru that do not enjoy as much rain have also jumped into the bandwagon.

Best conditions for avocado farming

As you have noticed, most of the areas where avocado farming is taking place in Kenya are highlands. This is because avocados grow best under cool and wet conditions. Areas that receive low rainfall but have deep, fertile and well drained soils can also grow avocados commercially under irrigation. Different varieties of avocado will also have different yield quantities depending on the conditions in which they are grown. Generally, the soils must be rich in humus, be loam or sandy loam and a lot of water must be provided if the place does not rain often.

Avocado Farming in Kajiado, Kenya: Under irrigation

The best avocado varieties for farming in Kenya

The most outstanding avocado variety in Kenya is hass. Hass avocado is preferred in the export market because of its rich taste, high fat content and long keeping time. As such, this is the variety that you will find most avocado farmers in Kenya growing. The second best variety is Fuerte. It is the second most exported variety flowed by Pinkerton. Kenya also exports local avocados which are commonly called Jumbo in the market.

The hass avocado variety grows best in highland places with low temperatures and high rainfall. Fuerte and Pinkerton seem to be a bit tolerant to hot and dry conditions hence they can be successfully grown in lower lands. The local variety, Jumbo, grows in the hotter sides of Meru and Embu and do not need to be irrigated to produce high yields.

Where to get the best grafted avocado seedlings

Your success in avocado farming in Kenya will depend on the quality of seedlings that you plant. You must avoid buying seedlings from the roadsides as most of them are low quality and sometimes diseased. If you want to buy high quality avocado seedlings, ensure that you go to registered Nurseries such as Richfarm Kenya. You will buy them from between Ksh150 to Ksh300 depending on the size and age of the seedling. Buying bigger avocado seedlings has obvious advantages as they have 100% survival rate and are not usually affected by transplanting shock.

Grafted avocado seedlings for sale at Richfarm Kenya

How to plant avocados in your farm

The recommended spacing for planting your avocado trees is 5 by 5 metres. One acre of land will accommodate 150 avocado trees. This will give sufficient space for working around the trees and for proper sunlight penetration. Remember that the trees must be well pruned to ensure free air circulation within the orchard. We shall discuss this practice in detail below.

Preparing the avocado planting hole

The planting hole should be prepared well, preferably a few days before planting. The hole should be at least 2 feet wide and 2 feet deep (about 60cm wide and deep). The reason we do this is to loosen the soil in which we are planting our avocado tree for easier penetration of the roots. It also improves the soil drainage hence protecting our young seedling from root rot disease.

When digging the planting hole, separate the top soil from the bottom soil. We use the top soil in planting our avocado trees since it is more fertile than the lower soil. Mix the top soil with 1 bucket of manure (either animal manure or compost manure). We mostly use animal manure and preferably goat manure which has proved to have better results. The mixture of soil and manure should then be put back into the hole up to a few cm from the top. We leave a bit of space for irrigation purposes.

Is soil testing important in avocado farming in Kenya?

Soil testing is very important before you embark in avocado planting. It helps you to know the conditions of your soil so that you make any necessary corrections before planting. Remember, the young seedlings are in a pot so the rooting system is not so well developed. So you must provide the optimum soil conditions to give the seedlings a good start. If you do this, the trees grow fast and reach a productive level faster.

How long to avocado trees take to mature?

Grafted and well taken care of avocado trees in Kenya will start producing fruits from the second year. At this stage, it is advisable to remove the early flowers to allow the tree to grow up to at least 1m high. Production in terms of number of fruits increases steadily from the second year and reaches about 600 pieces in the 5^th year. Hass avocado trees can produce as many as 1000 fruits from the 7^th year.

How much is required to plant 1 acre of avocado in Kenya?

The initial establishment cost of one acre avocado farm in Kenya is approximately Ksh40,000. This includes the cost of seedlings, planting labour and any necessary soil correction measures. The best time to plant avocados is at the onset of rains. This will help you to save on irrigation costs. The young seedlings also establish much better during the rainy season due to the cool temperatures and high soil moisture content.

Taking care of avocado trees

Avocado farming in Kenya is actually not labour intensive. You do not need to be at the farm all the time to get good results. The most important activities in an avocado farm are irrigation, pruning, application of manure and pest and disease control.

Irrigation

During the dry seasons, avocado trees will need about 20 liters of water per irrigation cycle. You may need to irrigate about 2 or 3 times a week for proper growth and production.

Pruning

This should start as soon as after transplanting. We do this to remove any shoots coming from the rootstock. Once the tree establishes and starts producing new branches, we cut off the tips of branches that are growing vertically. This encourages more side branches to grow and these are the ones that give more fruits.

Application of manure

Avocado trees should be top dressed with manure every 3 months. 1 bucket per tree will be enough for this.

Pest and disease control

Avocado trees in Kenya will rarely need chemicals to control pest and diseases. The biggest challenge in terms of disease is root-rot. This is brought about by too much soil water so it can easily be controlled by ensuring that the soils are well drained. All surface water must also be redirected away from the farm.

The false codling moth poses the biggest pest challenge to avocado farmers in Kenya. Luckily, it is easily controlled using insect traps. You can buy these from Kenya Biologics.

Where do I sell avocados in Kenya?

The best place to sell your avocados is the export market. To access the export market, all you need to do is approach an exporting company and sign a purchase agreement. The largest exporters of avocado in Kenya are Kenya Horticultural Exporters, Kakuzi, Vegpro and East African growers. They are several other small exporters who also offer very competitive prices. Avoid selling your avocados to brokers who have almost brought avocado farming in Kenya to its Knees.