Why I Might Launch an Avocado Farm, and Perhaps You Should Too

I have a new hero. He’s from Zimbabwe – based on his timing in Tanzania, the unsaid story is that he likely lost his coffee farm due to the Zimbabwe political shenanigans. He’s now betting his new farm – literally – on my favorite green fruit. Captain Avocado has three young children, a friendly wife, a comfortable home on sprawling land, one huge dog, one small dog, and a donkey. He’s living the dream.

We headed out south to Rungwe, where he currently farms 80 h.a. His main crop is Hass avocado – and his plan is to grow his own and manage a network of smallholder farmers also growing Hass for export to Europe.


Avocados (and more) for as far as the eye can see in Tukuyu, TZ


Seedlings of future greatness


3 month old plant...it takes 2 years of growing to really get going

It sounds ridiculous until he explains the financial margins – severely in his favor.

It sounds ridiculous until he explains that smallholder farmers can earn more from avocado than possibly on any other crop in the area (tea, coffee).

It sounds ridiculous until you learn how low-maintenance the avocado is to grow.

It sounds ridiculous until you realize he has it all figured out.

Who knew the avocado market offered so much global drama? Apparently the Peruvians and South Africans have much of the export market locked up. Even the Spaniards currently fill a gap when Peru and RSA don’t have harvest – but Tanzania can really make its mark during a window of time where the profits favor both the Captain and the smallholder farmers who sell him their volumes. It’s a win-win.


A local farmer standing next to "green gold"

Global demand for “avos” (this is what the Zimbabwean calls his pet fruit, by the end of the day, so did I) is on the rise. Consumption has nearly tripled in three years in the US alone. I attribute this marked increase – without any research or confirmation – to a two-prong combination:

(1) the growing demand for the Wrights of Texas mild green salsa (avo is a key ingredient, I believe; www.wrightsoftexas.com – now available at Whole Foods across Texas) and
(2) our avo-loving, southern NAFTA neighbors who continue to enter the US at rapid rates and who are confirming the vast culinary differences between Tex-Mex fare and actual Mexican food. Thankfully, both Tex-Mex and Mexican foods hold the avocado in high esteem.

After touring his farm – where he’s also trying his hand at macadamia nuts, MD2 pineapples, and arabica coffee beans – this regular Renaissance man then traveled with us to visit some of the smallholder farmers also planting Hass avocados.

I now understand the basics of avocado grafting (attaching a Hass scion to the raised stem of a formerly local variety of avocado). Manure is the fertilizer of choice – keeping it au natural. And the volcanic soil – black in nature and improved through composting – is ideal for planting.

Growing these avos on the sides of rolling mountain ridges did provoke my inquiry on grapes – apparently there’s too much precipitation during the rainy season of late April / May. That said, I had a prospective winery in mind for most of the day until I finally asked about it.

When I moved to Boston in 2004, I called my mother a few times during my first weeks in New England, with sticker shock. The New England “price premium” on everyday goods – compared to Texas prices for groceries, gasoline, etc. was frustrating – both in that I had to pay more for the same item, but more so that no one around me shared this frustration. That was before I realized that speaking to strangers in public places, commonplace in Texas, is a social faux pas in New England. :)

However, I particularly remember calling her from Shaw’s supermarket to complain about the inflamed price of Hass avocados. I now have a new appreciation for what it takes to get one of these green gems out of Africa and on a plane, train, or automobile to the US and Euro markets.