BUILDING STRUCTURED AVOCADO SUPPLY CHAINS: TRAINING OF TRAINERS AT KIRU TEA FACTORY
Kijani Social Enterprise, fully owned by KTDA Foundation, in collaboration with TechnoServe and SokoFresh, conducted a two-day intensive Training of Trainers (ToT) programme at Kiru Tea Factory to strengthen technical capacity for structured avocado production within the KTDA ecosystem. The training brought together factory-based agronomists, avocado extension assistants, and officials from the Kiru Highland Avocado Farmers CBO to enhance frontline advisory support to tea farmers integrating avocado into their farming systems.
The programme focused on building a standardized, compliance-driven approach to avocado establishment and management. Participants were trained on site identification and risk assessment, correct planting and spacing protocols, canopy and height management, responsible fertiliser application, and strict adherence to KTDA-approved inputs within tea zones. Special emphasis was placed on ensuring avocado production does not compromise tea productivity, quality, or operational efficiency, particularly in intercropping systems.
A strong compliance and market-readiness component aligned participants to GlobalG.A.P standards, covering safe pesticide use, personal protective equipment, spray record documentation, traceability, maturity testing, proper harvesting techniques, grading standards, and post-harvest handling. These measures are critical in reducing quality losses, preventing market rejection, and positioning farmers for structured and premium market access.
By adopting a Training of Trainers model, Kijani Social Enterprise is strengthening a scalable extension framework that ensures consistency, quality assurance, and supply chain integrity across factory zones.
This is more than training — it is the foundation of a structured avocado supply chain. By embedding compliance, market standards, and risk management at the grassroots level, Kijani is transforming diversification from a side activity into a disciplined, commercially viable enterprise. In doing so, we are not only expanding farmer income opportunities — we are building a resilient, market-ready agricultural future within the KTDA ecosystem.
Post by-Splendor Lwoyelo
