Nakuru distributes avocado seedlings in bid to increase production

Nakuru County is seeking to increase its production in avocados in a latest move aimed at positioning the county on the global map.

This comes as the county embarked on an exercise to distribute about 91,000 avocado seedlings to farmers.

Speaking during the seedlings distribution exercise in Kuresoi North sub-county, the county executive committee member for agriculture, Leonard Bor, said that the county government was seeking to empower farmers not only with food, but a high-value income-generating crop, since the avocado export market in the country has been growing exponentially.

Kenya is the second-largest producer and exporter of avocados in Africa and the sixth-largest in the world. Most of this produce is consumed in Europe and the Middle East.

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Seventy per cent of Kenya's avocado production is contributed by small-scale farmers, while the remaining 30 per cent is grown by large-scale farmers.

According to the CEC, the county government of Nakuru distributed about 60,000 seedlings across 44 agricultural wards in the 2023/2024 financial year, and the success in the exercise led the county government to increase the number of seedlings distributed in the 2024/2025 financial year to 91,000.

Bor said county agricultural extension officers have been deployed to all agricultural wards in the county in order to assist farmers with knowledge and technology to improve their crops.

He further said that his department had made adequate plans to hold field days, aimed at training farmers on climate-smart agriculture to address the issues of food security and climate-smart agriculture.

Jane Wanjiru, who was one of the beneficiaries, said that this was a long-term gift from the government, indicating that she was confident that even her own children would benefit from the avocado trees later in life.

Another beneficiary, Paulina Sang, thanked the county government for having a long-term vision for the people of Nakuru, saying that the fruits would not only improve the health of the people but also create for them a sustainable income generation avenue.

The county government of Nakuru has been keen to support farmers with maize seeds, avocado seedlings and has also distributed 1.2 million pyrethrum seedlings under both county and national initiatives.