Around 1,200 Kenyan smallholder avocado farmers are benefitting from an aid project carried out by New Zealand's Plant and Food Research, which hopes to more than double the growers' returns in a decade. 

The New Zealand Aid programme is providing up to NZ$4 million (US$3.15 million) to the government-owned research entity to help improve the livelihoods of growers supplying New Zealand-based Olivado.

Olivado helps small avocado farmers in the Central Highlands north of the capital Nairobi by proving market access. Most of the producers have farms of just one hectare, with an average of 24 trees.

The project will be focused on improving growers' yields, shifting to a new avocado variety, and improving post-harvest practices.

After four years of Olivado operating in the region, there is reportedly a visible improvement for farmers by way of new houses, wells, and increased school attendance for children.

"By increasing both the productivity and the quality of production we're hoping to be able to make a big difference to the lives of the smallholders," Plant and Food Research business development manager Barbara Stowe said in a release.

"The key to the long-term sustainable success of this project is going to be linking their growth to the success of Olivado's business which sells the oil in over 30 countries."

Olivado has two production bases - a factory at Kerikeri in New Zealand's Bay of Islands and a production plant in Nairobi, Kenya. The Kenyan facility purchases Fair Trade and certified organic avocados directly from independent farmers.

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