FARMKENYA INITIATIVE
Crop
By Edwin Nyarangi | December 20th 2020 at 09:00:00 GMT +0300
Jeremiah Mbaka inspects his Hass avocado variety at his Magenche farm Kisii County. [Sammy Omingo, Standard]
Jeremiah Mbaka obtained a diploma in automotive engineering from Rongo University in 2007 and went to South Sudan for two years doing various jobs.
Mbaka, 40, returned home in 2010 and was employed as a sales representative with Sameer Africa in Nairobi for five years.
During his tenure at Sameer, he marvelled at the high tonnage of avocados being exported out of the country through the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
In 2016, he resigned and went back to his Bomoseri village home in Magenche area in Bomachoge Borabu, Kisii County to venture into Hass avocado farming.
FARMKENYA INITIATIVE
Smart Harvest
By Boniface Gikandi | December 20th 2020 at 06:55:00 GMT +0300
Murang’a Governor Mwangi wa Iria distributes avocado seedling to a resident who registered with agriculture extension workers. [Boniface Gikandi, Standard]
For every ten households you count in Murang’a County, at least half have some tree nurseries or mature avocado trees on their farm. Here, avocado is like gold.
Statistics show Murang’a County is the leading producer of avocados in Kenya, with more than 80 per cent of the produce destined for the export market.
Kandara and Gatanga are the high producers of the fruit, with this year farmers taking home Sh2.8 billion compared to previous Sh3.9 billion.