2000 Ukia Farmers Adopt Hass Avocado as their New Green Gold.

Over 2000 farmers drawn from Ukia ward in Kaiti Sub-County are beneficiaries of graft avocado scions  (Hass variety), courtesy of the Department of Agriculture, Irrigation, Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperative Development, Makueni County.

The initiative, a product of public participation, is geared towards supporting the farmers to increase productivity and profitability in the avocado value chain. The program also aims to enhance market access and business linkages to the farmers.

The Hass avocado is a new variety that has been scientifically modified through grafting to significantly reduce its maturity period to between 2.5 years and 3 years from the typical period of 6 to 7 years.

According to Agriculture Chief Officer Daniel Ndolo, Hass Avocado is the new goldmine for modern farmers and urged farmers to plant more avocadoes.

 

This is because Hass-avocado does not require much labor and time to maintain. In addition, the demand for avocados is extremely high and can’t satisfy the current local demand and in the European countries.

 

Ndolo spoke on Tuesday at Kilala Chief’s Office where he launched the scions distribution exercise and handed over the scions to 15 grafters, who have been trained and will offer the grafting services to the earmarked farmers.

The County has so far distributed close to 60,000 improved Hass variety seedlings to farmers in the avocado growing areas and is at the forefront to transform the avocado value chain into a robust economic enterprise to impact positively on the livelihoods of the community.