Nkuene: The Principal Secretary for Forestry, Gitonga Mugambi, has launched a campaign aimed at encouraging residents of Mitunguu/Nkuene Sub-County in Meru County to plant one million avocado trees to enhance their economic well-being. Mugambi called on farmers in the region and across the country to embrace avocado farming, describing the crop as a major avenue for wealth creation due to the growing demand in international markets.
According to Kenya News Agency, the PS emphasized that Kenya had secured access to lucrative avocado markets in China and Japan through trade engagements spearheaded by President William Ruto’s government. Mugambi stressed the importance of local farmers taking advantage of these opportunities. ‘We want avocado farming to create more wealth for our farmers. When President Ruto and I visited China and Japan, we secured access to huge markets for our produce. We now need to increase production to take advantage of those opportunities,’ he said.
Mugambi committed to sourcing quality avocado trees for local farmers, urging them to focus on planting and nurturing the trees. He initiated the campaign by distributing 3,000 avocado seedlings to farmers in Uruku and Ukuu locations, with plans to cover other areas soon. The aim is to increase avocado production, enabling farmers to meet market demand, attract more buyers, and support the establishment of value-added industries in the region. ‘Many buyers are forced to leave because farmers harvest small quantities that cannot even fill a single pickup. Our task is to plant more trees, increase production, and eventually establish more industries here to create employment opportunities,’ Mugambi stated.
The PS expressed confidence in the farmers’ ability to surpass the one-million-tree target, thereby strengthening their economic capacity. He also encouraged ongoing investment in dairy farming, citing a recent payout of more than Sh30 million to local dairy farmers through cooperative societies as evidence of the sector’s potential to improve livelihoods. Additionally, Mugambi announced plans to distribute cocoa seedlings and sandalwood trees to farmers as part of efforts to diversify income sources, highlighting sandalwood as a high-value commercial tree.
