Murang’a County is the leading avocado producer in Kenya, accounting for 31 percent of total avocado exports, according to the Horticultural Crops Directorate.
Most of the farmers in the region grow the crop for commercial purposes, with some directly exporting to international markets, including China, the Middle East, Mexico, and Egypt, among others.
Wilson Maina Mwangi, a 30-year-old farmer from Mathioya, in Murang’a County, is among the farmers reaping big from the “Green gold” through value addition.
Mwangi has innovatively created a system that transforms raw avocados into a higher-value product, saving farmers from post-harvest losses.
“I started sourcing avocados from farmers in 2018, which I would, in turn, sort and sell to companies that are involved in buying and exporting avocados,” he told KNA.
“In 2023, we experienced a challenge with a low supply of the fruit and could not meet the required quantity for the exporting companies, and we ended up discarding the fruit to pig farmers, leading to huge losses for us and the farmers as well,” he added.
Mwangi’s venture into avocado processing followed research that offered him insights into the production of skin care oil, thanks to juakali experts who helped the plant operator graduate to actualize his dream.
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“I designed a customised oil-extracting plant from a prototype of a vehicle and engaged the juacali industry experts with my idea sketched on paper,” he recalled.
From the sketch, he said, the manually driven plant was created, and the oil processing venture became a reality in late 2023.
Through his Ewiva Farm Limited, Mwangi manufactures Avodrops Elixir, the skincare extra virgin avocado oil cold-pressed from the avocado fruit.
The firm, which also buys and sells avocados and Macadamia nuts, has employed more than 30 workers who source the fruits directly from farmers.
“We encourage our farmers to grow the avocados organically, and that is why we visit them on a daily basis for technical support so as not to compromise on the quality of our products,” Mwangi said.
On a normal day, he buys 10 to 15 tonnes of the fruit at Sh15 per kilogram, which he sorts and extracts the oil from, with the rest going to export companies.
Avocado Processing
The process of extracting the oil involves sorting the avocados by separating the ripe and unripe ones, washing the ripe ones and cutting them into pieces before making them into a puree (paste).
The pulp is then separated from the skin and sun-dried for a few days to drain off the water composition in the fruit.
The paste is then passed through the extracting machine, which presses the puree to extract the oil, which is then packed in amber bottles to extend its shelf life as there are no additives used.
In a week, the firm produces 30 to 50 litres of the oil, which is packed in 65 and millilitre bottles, with the former retailing at Sh250 and the latter at Sh500.
After pressing, the remaining paste is used as a supplement for animal feeds, while the seeds are used to make seed tea.
