A Farmer reap BIG from a small patch of land in Kisii

For a long time Kenyans have grown avocados in their homesteads and farms both consciously and unconsciously. Many farmers who grow the fruits have not thoroughly considered commercializing it. In fact the current commercialization of the fruit is done by a few companies accompanied by a handful of farmers despite the fruit being one of the best income generators. Majority of avocado farming is done in a relatively high altitude regions; one such region is the Gusii highlands in Kisii.

Historically, Kisii County is largely known for its excellent and unwavering food production that significantly contributes to the national bread basket. And with its staggering population in the region, it is one classical place where the term ‘the survival of the fittest’ school of thought is visibly showcased.

Coupled by the constant subdivision of land in the region, many farmers here try to make most out of the available small patches of land they own and dwell in. And as a farmer, Josephine Biyaki is not left out either. In her half an acre piece of farm in Bokeire near Suneka town, there is no more space left for anything else to be grown.

Intriguingly, Josephine never thought of growing avocadoes in the first place. For her, she only used to routinely buy the fruits for her own consumption and later on throwing the seeds randomly in her farm. Later she realized they were germinating. “I would buy avocados to just to eat and throw away the seeds,” said Josephine, “when they germinated I never uprooted them.”

Consequently, with the adequate rains buoyed by fertile soils, within a short period, her farm and homestead were covered by the avocado trees. It is here that the farmer decided to add a little bit of art to the existing nature. She did some mulching, and decided to use nitrogen fertilizer once in a year as recommended by a local agricultural expert as the soil does not need to be heavily fertilized until after the tree is about one year old.

Agriculturalists visiting the area encouraged her to continue with the avocado as it does well in altitudes between 1000m to 2000m. The fruit is generally bigger in cool areas as compared to warm areas. The optimum temperature is 20 to 24 degrees celcius. Although avocados are fairly resistant to drought, well-distributed rainfall of between 1000-1200mm is adequate for proper crop development. They also require well-drained soils to avoid root rot. The best soils are sandy or alluvial loams with pH ranging from 5 to 7.

Seeing that some space was going to waste in the front yard with an already small farm, she decided to reduce her compound and bring more land under farming as well as establishing the right spacing of the fruits while transplanting some. Most of the compound at the front and backyard farms became filled with long trees of different avocado varieties. With the main varieties here being; the hass, choquette, and hall in addition to other lone standing different species.

With a little patience (since the fruits normally take around 3 to 8 years before they mature) she started to experience a bountiful harvest. This never stopped. The trees have been yielding continuously for years now. “I can harvest around 5 sucks in a year from a single tree,” said Josephine confidently. “And sell the suck at Sh1000.”

Majority of her avocado buyers are traders who supply the fruits to other towns like Nairobi, Kisumu and Eldoret where the demand is high. Besides, passengers being ferried along the route also do make regular stopovers in the area to buy the fruits boosting her confidence in the fruits as well as ensuring her of a daily income.

Moreover, the strategic location of the farm has helped her from incurring any form of transportation cost as the firm is situated by the roadside where buyers can easily acquires the fruits she has already plucked.

For her and the other small scale avocado farmers in the area, all is well until the peak season where there is overproduction. In that period a lot of the harvests go to waste as it exceeds the demand and leading to perennial loses.