Equipping smallholder farmers with knowledge and skills for climate-resilient avocado growing and better livelihoods in Kiambu County

Avocado is quickly becoming one of the main commercial crops in Kiambu County. The tree bearing pear-shaped fruits – originally from Central and South America – now dots many homesteads and farms in Kiambu, as the humid tropical climate in the area provides ideal growing conditions for avocados to thrive. The varieties commonly grown in the area include Hass, Fuerte, Pinkerton, and Puebla. The main season for the fruit is from March to September, with the off-season from October to February, allowing farmers to harvest all year round.

In Kenya, the popularity of growing avocados has grown, attracting many farmers to venture into production. There are large markets in the Europe Union, China, and Middle East, and the fruit’s health benefits – and wide application in the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries – is contributing to increased consumption both locally and abroad. Yet despite these opportunities, local farmers have limited knowledge on climate-smart agriculture practices for avocado growing, or information related to handling and marketing, and this has affected the sustainability of their livelihoods.

“It has become critical to build the capacity of avocado farmers to enable them to adjust their management practices, to overcome production-related challenges brought on by climate change, and contribute towards improved farm-level climate adaptation, household food security, and nutrition – as well as sustainable livelihoods,” said Catherine Muthuri, Kenya Country Director and Regional Convener for East Africa at the Center for International Forestry Research–World Agroforestry Centre (CIFOR-ICRAF). Consumers are also becoming more conscious of safely produced fruits, she said – hence the need for avocado farmers to adopt practices that are health and environmentally friendly to remain viable.

Bridging the gap

To bridge the capacity gap, a CIFOR-ICRAF team under the Fruit Trees for Climate Adaptation and Mitigation in East Africa project conducted a two-day training-of-trainers (ToTs) workshop at Waruhiu Agricultural Training Centre (ATC) in Githunguri, Kiambu County. The 16-month project is being implemented in Kenya and Rwanda in collaboration with Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology and Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board with funding from the Australian Centre for International Agriculture Research. As fruit trees are retained longer on farms for their produce and other benefits, part of the project also involves understanding their contribution to climate change mitigation through estimation of carbon held in priority fruit trees focusing on avocados and mangos. The information generated will help to strengthen negotiating powers of fruit-growing enterprises in carbon markets as well as countries contribution to meet Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets as part of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Sixty-six farmers – including over 50 percent women, and 14 agricultural extension officers drawn from various wards in Kiambu County – participated in the training. To bridge the gap even further, the training was delivered in the local language: Kikuyu. Learning was facilitated through a combination of approaches including active participatory discussions and practical field demonstrations. The CIFOR-ICRAF team collaborated with external agricultural experts, including lead avocado farmers, to conduct the training. The lead farmers led the practical field sessions, explaining various agronomic practices as well as best practices for fruit harvesting and handling.

The workshop aimed to provide participants with knowledge on good agricultural practices (GAPs) including integrated pest and disease management, as well as critical information around harvesting, handling, and marketing practices that lead to increased productivity and profitability. Learning every aspect of avocado agronomy – from planting and care to marketing – meant that the ToTs and agriculture extension agents not only become advocates for wide-scale dissemination, but also strengthen their own experience in avocado growing. “Access to the right information by farmers and agricultural extension agents on best practices on avocado farming – including handling and quality through this training – is critical for scaling suitable technologies and practices that lead to increased productivity and profitability,” said Ann Koimburi, Kiambu County’s Director for Crops and Irrigation. “This will also encourage the farmers to put extra effort in ensuring quality and safe produce.”

Joe Kahinga of the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization-Horticultural Research Institute said that many farmers are not growing avocado in the right way, leading to low yield and returns. He urged farmers to plant seedlings obtained from certified tree nurseries only; observe correct planting hole sizes of at least 60 cm by 60 cm by 60 cm in length, width and depth while mixing the soil with manure; ensure proper spacing between the trees; and plant in well-drained soils to avoid root rot disease. He went on to emphasize the need for regular scouting to aid in early detection of any plant health-related issues such as pests, diseases, and weeds, which will inform appropriate management decisions. Harvesting immature and small-sized fruit, which never ripen but instead shrink and rot – and are eventually rejected due to strict export market regulations – was another issue of concern.

John Kamau, a lead farmer from Murang’a County, offered simple methods for checking whether the fruit are ready for harvesting. One is by observing the outer skin color – if it is shiny and light green, the fruits are not yet ready, while dark green indicates maturity. Another method is cutting the fruit in half; if the seed coat is brown, then the fruit is mature. To minimize injury or pest entry into the fruit while picking, farmers were encouraged to use clippers for cutting them off from the stem, instead of pulling them off by hand.

The training also served as a forum for learning and sharing about how to address issues such as pests and diseases, fertigation (fertilizer application through irrigation), and navigating local and export markets. For instance, some farmers said that they found smoke from burning Tithonia leaves mixed with pepper – preferably in the evening – to be an effective tactic to keep away thrips, a major avocado pest.

Participants’ views

The training was well received by the participants, who were eager to share their newfound knowledge with others – and to use it to transform their own businesses for the better. “I now realize the costly mistakes of inadequate spacing, lack of pruning, and planting avocado varieties that result in below-expectation harvests,” said Gideon Mbugua, a training participant and farmer from Gatundu South. “I learned that it is important to grow the right variety (Type A and Type B) combinations, as avocados have flowers with both female and male parts on the same plant, which open and close at different times of day, thus affecting the chances of successful self-pollination and fruit development. This necessitates the need for insect pollinators such as bees to increase the likelihood of pollen transfer in good time for fruit setting.”

Mbugua and his wife started their avocado-growing journey five years ago and have since planted seventy-seven Hass trees and one Fuerte. Following key learnings from the training, he now intends to remove some of the trees to allow for lateral growth of branches and adequate light, and to facilitate activities such as pruning, weeding, and harvesting. He also shared plans to integrate beekeeping for better fruit set arising from pollination. He plans to cultivate coffee plants, and to incorporate other suitable regular-flowering plants to provide food (nectar and pollen) for the bees and for honey production. As Kenya had suffered from an export ban in certain markets due to pest infestations – especially fruit flies and false codling moth – he is keen to try out some of the alternative, environmentally-safe pest and disease control options that are now available. He is also considering irrigation, as a lack of rain this year has adversely affected his avocado production – particularly during flowering and fruit set.

Mbugua said that the training spurred the formation of a WhatsApp group, bringing together ToTs from Gatundu South as an avenue for continuous sharing and exchange of information on sustainable avocado growing. The ToTs have also trained over 50 more farmers.

Sammy Carsan, a research scientist at CIFOR ICRAF, said that advising farmers on best varieties, integrating climate-smart production technologies, safer pest and disease management options, adhering to quality standards, and reducing post-harvest losses will go a long away to promote sustainable avocado growing. However, he noted, this requires concerted efforts by all relevant actors along the avocado value chain.

Read more

Griesbach J. 2005. Avocado growing in Kenya. Nairobi, Kenya: World Agroforestry (ICRAF)