Despite his sight disability, Abel Ndiga Kararel, a 71-year-old from Kiamurunga village, Kirinyaga Central, Kirinyaga County, has stood up to be counted in the agricultural industry.
On his 2.8 hectares’ piece of land, he has 464 trees of Hass avocado, where he produces 14 tonnes annually, selling for Sh80 per kg, giving him good profits.
When KNA visited him on his farm at Kiamurunga, Kararel was on his daily farm duties at the avocado plantation, where he shared his journey in agriculture.
‘Avocado business is one of the most profitable since you get paid on the farm. It also requires less time and manpower and can be practiced by anyone as long as you have the best tree. I started with 30 trees, sourced from Nyeri back in 2016, and now I have 464 Hass trees over time,’ he explained.
Initially, Kararel was a dairy farmer before he transitioned because of the challenges and manpower required.
‘Before I started avocado farming, I was in dairy cow farming. It was a good business, but it required more of my time, and being blind was a challenge for me despite other challenges in the business,’ he said.
For the last few years, the government has been supporting farmers by expanding local and international markets, the most recent being India, a step that Kararel has appreciated a lot and requested both national and county governments not to be reluctant when it comes to supporting farmers, especially avocado farmers.
‘For many years, avocado farming has never been practiced as a business, but through new market increases and training we get from agrochemical companies where we get chemicals, we are able to increase production and get into avocado farming with confidence of getting a good profit,’ he said.
This has also helped the community by increasing job opportunities for youth, leading to the opening of new warehouses for the packaging of fruit, which helped families raise their children out of poverty through employment.
He also explained his experience in banana farming, which he did for many years.
‘Banana farming prices keep changing depending on the demand of the market and middlemen who take advantage of the farmers. Another challenge is theft cases on the farm despite the avocado,’ he noted.
Kirinyaga County is one of the counties with the largest production of avocados in the country, among other horticultural crops like French beans.
Source: Kenya News Agency