NAADS to distribute Hass avocado and macadamia seedlings worth Shs 3.5bln

KABAROLE, August 28, 2024  – In the 2024/2025 financial year, the National Agricultural Advisory Services [NAADS] will distribute 400,000 Hass avocado seedlings worth Shs 2.5 billion and over 100,000 macadamia seedlings valued at Shs 1bln. The distribution will occur across the country during the two planting seasons: August to October 2024 and March to May 2025.

Proscovia Mutumba, a Crop Development Specialist at NAADS, recently stated that 200,000 Hass avocado seedlings and 100,000 macadamia seedlings will be distributed in the current planting season. These seedlings are being provided to farmers who have prepared their gardens and contributed 30 percent of the total cost under a cost-sharing arrangement.

This distribution follows a verification exercise conducted by inspectors from the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries [MAAIF] in collaboration with NAADS and local district governments.

Despite these efforts, Mutumba noted that NAADS is unable to meet the growing demand for both Hass avocado and macadamia seedlings due to budget constraints. “Recently, we have seen a surge in farmers interested in growing Hass avocados and macadamia to meet global demand for these high-value crops. Unfortunately, due to budget cuts, we cannot fulfill this increasing demand,” Mutumba explained.

Currently, there is an annual demand for over 1 million Hass avocado seedlings and over 700,000 macadamia seedlings.

On his part, NAADS Executive Director, Dr. Samuel Mugasi, stated that the Shs 3.5bln allocated by the government for procuring these seedlings will only meet a quarter of the demand.

Mugasi highlighted that the five established avocado processing factories are struggling due to insufficient supply and are operating below capacity. These factories include Avolio Industries Limited in Namanve, Njojo Factory in Kyenjojo District, Biosyntec Uganda in Kasese district, Musubi Factory in Buikwe district, and Balaji Agro Industries Uganda in Nakaseke district.

“These factories, which prefer the Hass variety, have been forced to import avocados from neighboring Kenya and Tanzania to continue operations,” he said.

Kenneth Ntegyerize of Balaji Agro Industries confirmed that they are currently importing avocados from Kenya for processing. “We have planted 300 acres of Hass avocado, but it’s not enough to sustain our production. We plan to expand our planting efforts as local production increases, ensuring our factories have adequate raw materials,” he added.

The five factories process 63,000 tonnes of fresh avocados annually, producing 2.5mln kilogrammes of crude avocado oil, which generates about US$ 11.5mln in foreign exchange each year.

Dr. Mugasi revealed that NAADS, in collaboration with MAAIF, is working with various stakeholders to enhance the production of Hass avocados and macadamia to meet both local, and international market demand.

The Government of Uganda is supporting and scaling strategic interventions to promote the production of these emerging high-value crops to boost household incomes and export earnings, in line with the MAAIF value chain strategy.

https://thecooperator.news/farmers-urged-to-grow-hass-avocado-and-macadamia/

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