By Prossy Nandudu
Ministry of Water and environment is to distribute cashew nuts, macadamia, avocado seedlings to people who have been using wetlands for various economic activities. This is part of the ministry’s strategy of getting people off wetlands, by providing alternative sources of income.
This was revealed by the Minister of State for Water and Environment Beatrice Atim Anywar at the ongoing water and environment week dialogue, taking place at the Ministry of Water Officers Auditorium in Luzira. The meeting is part of the ministry’s water and environment week 2023.
According to Anywar, the ministry will work with government agencies like the National Agriculture Advisory Services (NAADS) to secure seedlings for some of the cash crops like avocado and macadamia.
Information from NAADS indicates that the new avocado variety called Hass, that is being promoted as a cash starts fruiting at 3-4 years and yield increases for over 15 years. In in the first years, fruits worth sh8.3m can be harvested generating a profit of sh4.56m.
In terms of the market, avocados are on demand in Asian countries, UAE, Qatar and China, Europe as week as Italy and also demand in for both fresh fruits and avocado oil in Europe and China.
Additional information from NAADS adds that in Dubai, Hass avocado fruits fetch about $3.5 per kg, while in china the price is about $8 while in Europe and in the USA a kilo is about $6. For processed avocados, the market is in Italy, Spain, France, Portugal and Netherlands among others.
For macadamia, these attain full maturity for production between 12 to 15 years: Current production is about 3000metric tons still in the shells. Per kilo, the shelled nuts go for sh4,000.
