Avocado farmers in Kisii County and its environs have a reason to smile following the commissioning of a processing plant.
The avocado processing plant at the Agricultural Training College in Kisii was commissioned on Tuesday, April 19 by British High Commissioner Jane Marriott and Kisii County Governor Simba Arati.
Speaking at the event, Marriott noted that smallholder avocado farmers will be the biggest beneficiary of the new plant.
“This processing plant is not about creating a market but also enhancing livelihoods, extending information and helping tackle climate change, a critical challenge of our time,” she said.
Arati on the other hand urged farmers to scale up crop avocado production, adding that the new development will wean the middlemen off.
“With this commissioning comes the caution to our farmers to stop frittering away their crop to brokers who have been exploiting them anyway,” he said.
Partnership
The processing plant was was set up following a partnership deal between Kisii County government and Avofresh Processors Limited.
The deal signed in June 2022 was for the installation of a plant machinery for processing of avocados and support farmers get fair prices from their produce.
The Kisii County Government and Avofresh set up the 68 million firm through the support of the UK Aid’s Sustainable Economic Development Programme (SUED).
Having created over 100 employment opportunities for locals and experts, the plant has the capacity to process 70 tonnes of avocados per day.
Avofresh Processors Limited
Avofresh Processors Limited is an avocado processor making top quality oil made out of the fruits.
The company buys avocados directly from farms, paying a premium set of price.
Avofresh also works closely with farmers to ensure that they understand the requirements of their good Agricultural Practice.
They also provide education in farm management, fertilizing and pruning.
Every farm is mapped as well as the number of avocado trees and other plantings on the smallholdings.
“The Field Officers visit regularly and assess the number of avocados each tree is likely to produce
“In order to ensure complete traceability from farm to bottle, we use our own picking teams,” the company states on its website.
