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Youths in Kakamega County have been trained on avocado farming as part of efforts to strengthen the value chain and promote agricultural diversification.

The youth and women groups underwent a one-day training on managing the Persea mite, an emerging pest that attacks avocados and affects production and export earnings.

The training was organised by Tupande in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, with technical support from the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service, Pest Control Products Board and the Agriculture and Food Authority.

Tupande Government relations officer Eugene Karoli said the initiative aims to onboard more young people into avocado farming, citing strong demand both locally and internationally.

“We are already aggregating not only Hass avocados but also other varieties such as Fuerte and local Jumbo types. We also have an oil processing factory in place and have begun processing,” he said.

Karoli said the focus on youth is informed by their large share of the population.

“Research shows that many young people are not engaged in agriculture, yet they are projected to make up about 75 per cent of the global population by 2032,” he said.

He added that Tupande and its partners will help link farmers to markets, noting that demand for avocados currently exceeds supply.

“We are not asking farmers to abandon maize farming, but to diversify in order to increase their incomes,” he said.

Kakamega agriculture executive Mophat Mandela said avocado farming presents a strong opportunity to diversify agriculture in the county.

He noted that avocado is among the fastest-growing value chains after coffee, with Malava leading in production, followed by Likuyani sub-county.

“We have recorded several harvests of Hass avocados in Malava exceeding one tonne, thanks to support from the agriculture department and other stakeholders,” he said.

Mandela said the National Agricultural Value Chain Development project being implemented in the county has prioritised avocado as a key value chain, supported through cooperative-based grants.

He added that the county has developed guidelines to enable young people to engage in agribusiness without necessarily owning land.

Solomon Malesi, a farmer from Lurambi, said the initiative will help young people become self-employed.

“Parents should support youth initiatives by allowing us to use land for farming,” he said.

Eunice Nyongesa from Lumakanda in Lugari urged young people to embrace agriculture as a business to help address unemployment.