By Herbert Musoke
The international demand for Hass avocado oil is at least two containers per week but Uganda can only produce one container a month.
This was revealed by producers at the stakeholders meeting at Musubi farm in Mayuge district, which was organised by the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS), attended by officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF), farmers, off-takers, financial institutions and the private sector foundation, among others.
Kenneth Ntegyereize, the deputy farm manager at Balaji Agro Industries Limited, at Kyabugga-Butalangu town council in Nakaseke district, said their market in the European countries wants them to supply them with at least two containers of crude avocado oil each week, yet with the low fruit supply they can only produce one container of 22,000ltrs a month.
“We do not have enough supply of Hass avocado, especially from Uganda, which has forced us to go for the local varieties and also import avocado fruits from the neighbouring countries like Kenya and Tanzania,’’ Ntegyereize said.
He said this year alone, from January to August, Balaji Agro Industries Limited has spent only sh204m on buying avocado from Ugandan farmers but imported avocado worth shs1.41b from Kenya and sh924m from Tanzania, much of which are jubos (local varieties).
Ntegyereize said they prefer crushing hass because the fruit contains between 10%-11% oil but the local varieties have 3%.
This means that you crush three times the local variety to get the same oil from hass variety of fruits.
Abubakar Ssengendo, the director of Musubi farm, Mayuge district that hosted the meeting, says all the 195 countries of the world consume avocado but only 92 countries can grow it, out of which only 26 are in production currently.
In Africa, Kenya leads the production of hass avocado, followed by South Africa, but Uganda has the biggest farm, Musubi, with over 3,000 acres.
Also, it has two seasons with potential to harvest throughout the year, which gives Uganda an advantage over others that have one season.
“Our seasons are different with all the world’s biggest producers including Mexico, which is the leading producer with approximately 350,000 acres already planted whooping $2.5b, which means by the time Uganda is on the market, the other players will be off-season yet Uganda has 17 million acres of arable land,’’ Ssengendo said.
The long shelf life of about six to eight weeks after harvest enables Uganda to harvest its fruits and ship them by sea to compete with other global producers in the market.
Dr Mathias Kasadha, the production officer at Mayuge district, said Hass avocado is a better alternative to the sugarcane, which has been adopted by many in the Busoga region, yet many are counting losses for lack of market and farmers end up using the canes as firewood.
A well-cared-for Hass avocado tree will bear over 500 fruits.
According to experts, a farmer can get 70% first-grade fruits ready for export at between sh2,500 and sh3,000 a kilogramme and the second grade is sold between sh500 and sh950 a kilogramme.
If we take the least of sh500 a kilogramme, from 500kgs, one will get sh250,000 a tree.
An acre takes 190 trees, which means a farmer with an acre will earn sh40m a year compared to sugarcane which yields between 40- 50 tonnes sold sh90,000 a tonne and a farmer gets sh4.5m yet many do not get the market.
NAADS’ support
Khadijah Nakakande, the public relations officer at NAADs, said following the onset of rains in most parts of the country, the Government, through NAADS, is distributing planting materials for Hass avocado and macadamia to farmers across the different parts of the country.
In the current financial year, NAADS is set to distribute over 400,000 seedlings of Hass avocado worth sh2.5b and over 100,000 seedlings of macadamia worth sh1b during the two planting seasons of August to October 2024 and March to May 2025.
During the ongoing planting season, NAADS is distributing 200,000 seedlings of Hass avocado estimated to establish about 1,250 acres, and 100,000 seedlings of macadamia estimated to establish about 1,000 acres.
These are being distributed to farmers who have prepared their gardens and have paid the 30% contribution under the cost-sharing arrangement.
The distribution follows the completion of a verification exercise for seedlings conducted by inspectors from MAAIF in collaboration with NAADS officials and districts across the country.
The exercise was done to ascertain the quality and quantity of planting materials to be distributed. Proscovia Mutumba, the crop development specialist at NAADS, said due to the limited budget, NAADS is unable to satisfy the increasing demand for both Hass avocado and macadamia seedlings.
“Of recent, we have seen an increase in the number of farmers, who have picked interest in growing Hass avocado and macadamia to tap into the global demand for these high-value crops.
Unfortunately, we cannot satisfy this increasing demand due to the budget cuts,” Mutumba said.
There is an annual demand of over 1,000,000 Hass avocado seedlings and over 700,000 macadamia seedlings.
The sh3.5b allocated to the procurement of Hass avocado and macadamia seedlings in the current financial year can only satisfy a quartre of this demand.
To date, the five established avocado factories are struggling and operating below capacity because there is little avocado for them to process.
These factories, whose preference is the Hass variety have resorted to the importation of avocado fruits from neighbouring Kenya and Tanzania to keep their factories functioning.
The Government is supporting strategic interventions for promoting and scaling up the production of emerging high-value crops including macadamia, Hass avocado for household incomes and export earnings in line with the MAAIF value chain strategy.
In the current financial year, NAADS is also distributing beef bulls and maize mills, among other agricultural inputs.
Embrace Hass
Besides income, Hass avocado and macadamia are good ventures that can be used to protect the environment since they are broad-leafed fruit trees, which will help to revert the degraded environment.
Dr Samuel Mugasi, the NAADS executive director, called on Ugandans to embrace Hass avocado and macadamia growing since there is a ready market, which Uganda can only sustain about 20% of the market demand unlike the previous crops promoted like moringa and alvera.
“With the available market, you only need 10 trees, which you can plant on your boundary. Whereas farmers will be earning, the country will also be earning foreign exchange for national development,” Mugasi said.
He added that NAADS, together with the agriculture ministry, is working with other stakeholders in the two value chains to ensure an increase in the production of the two crops to satisfy both the local and international markets.
