Farmers call for combined efforts to curb rampant theft of avocado

Farmers in Murang’a have decried rising avocado thefts and have urged concerted efforts from all players to curb the crime.

They want the county government, elected leaders and security agencies to develop a strategy for stopping thieves who target avocado and other farm produce.

At a press briefing, they claimed that despite their efforts to prevent the theft, their fruits are stolen from farms even during daytime.

All players in the sector must work together to prevent theft, they said.

Because of the theft, they argued, they could not reach their production targets.

Avocado farmer Nduati Kariuki, a former Murang’a assembly Speaker, said most of the thefts are perpetrated by young people addicted to drugs.

Mr Nduati noted that the youth could not work for wages and local farmers must bring in workers from outside the county.

“People involved in these crimes are those who do not want to work even if they are offered jobs,” Mr Nduati said.

One way to eliminate theft of farm produce, he said, is to fight drug abuse among the youth.

“Liquor and drugs are not only destroying our future, because the future relies on the youth, but also destroying our economy,” he added.

The producers lamented that the theft was spreading to other agricultural products, infrastructure like irrigation systems and livestock, particularly goats, sheep and poultry. 

Discouraging people

This, they said, is making the lives of farmers difficult and is discouraging people who want to invest in farming in rural areas.

Murang’a County avocado union chairman John Mwaniki said the group failed to meet its avocado production target last year due to theft.

The union’s more than 3,000 members, he said, produced only 258 tonnes against their goal of 600.

“Farmers affiliated to the union have the capacity to produce more than 600 tonnes of avocado annually but the production has gone down due rampant theft,” he said.

He added that the thieves steal immature fruits and will damage the country’s reputation as a producer of quality avocado.

“Avocado can earn Murang’a County more than Sh5 billion annually but currently it's hard to get Sh2 billion because the crime has led to the presence of immature avocado in the market,” he said.

Shying away

“Multinational companies are currently shying away from buying Kenyan avocado because some of them do not meet the required standards.” 

He urged the governor to sign into law an avocado bill passed by the previous county assembly.

“The bill calls for licensing of all buyers and farmers, and with this, it will help curb increased theft which is perpetrated by unlicensed buyers and brokers,” he said.

Munene Gicharu, an official with Alivado Company, regretted that his firm had incurred losses of more than Sh50 million due to theft of avocado since last year.

He said exporting low-quality fruits has also prompted many international buyers to avoid purchasing Kenyan avocado.

Mr Munene called on government bodies to ensure regulations governing standards of farm produce are adhered to, saying brokers and unlicensed buyers should be barred from trading.

The farmers asked the community to work with government institutions to tackle the problem.