Teso North Member of Parliament Dr.Oku Kaunya has rolled out avocado farming to boost incomes of farmers and spur economic growth.
The MP launched the project on Monday with farmers converging at National Youth Service at Osasame in Malaba for training on how to reap from the new avocado variety popularly known as Parachichi.
Addressing the presss at the NYS Complex, the MP said the avocado parachichi variety fetches a lot of money in the global market with each fruit sold at Ksh20, adding that one tree has between 500 and 1000 fruits.
” Generally, in Teso North, there is no cash crop. Cotton, which we used to plant, realized the collapse of factories. We have tried to revive Malakisi ginnery, but it has not picked up,” he said.
Oku added:” Failure to have the cotton industry flourish is attributed to the government’s failure to avail farmers with inputs like seedings.”
The MP said fruits like avocado will be better as a cash crop, noting that tobacco was there, but it spoiled the environment very much due to the destruction of indigenous trees to cure it, adding that soils were aso destroyed by chemicals.
” We have discouraged our farmers from engaging in tobacco farming because it has destroyed our environment and soil. Farmers should instead plant fruits to sustain their livelihoods.
Kaunya thanked NYS, which, through their cooperation, NYS, is dealing with agricultural areas. They have started getting high-quality sheep, which will be of great benefit to farmers access training and get quality sheep.
” Avocado seedlings are obtained from NYS Yatta. We give our farmers for free. They only give a token of Ksh50 to transport it from Yatta,” he said, adding that they have over 40,000 seedlings with 10,000 already distributed to farmers.
Kaunya recalled that during his first term in Parliament, he introduced avocado along roads like Koteko-Malaba and Angurai – Moding to beautify them, but some fearing for his popularity incited the youth to uproot the seedlings because of his failure to involve all farmers.
Josephat Masangir, who lives in the US, thanked Kaunya for the program, vowing to suppo it to empower the community.
” I have bought 400 seedlings. I am ready to support farmers who will prepare their farms with 100 seedlings,” Masangir said.
Avocados offer a wide range of health benefits due to their rich nutrient profile. They are a good source of healthy fats, fibre, and various vitamins and minerals, contributing to heart health, improved digestion, and even potentially reducing the risk of certain chronic diseases.
