Machakos farmers count losses as criminals raid farms, steal avocados

As the world convulsed under the throes of the Covid-19 pandemic, Muinde Kathitu set up an enviable avocado orchard after hurriedly clearing coffee bushes on his three acres of land at Mulingana Village on the fridges of Kangundo Township in Machakos County.

The youthful farmer pumped Sh2 million into the project with hopes of reaping the fruits of his labour, quite literally.

He had no idea he would be battling pesky thieves three years down the road. Today, he is among dozens of avocado farmers in the county who are reeling under rampant attacks of thieves working in cahoots with unscrupulous avocado middlemen. 

The luxuriant acres and acres of fuerte and hass avocado varieties which have mushroomed in Kangundo, Kathiani, Matungulu and Mitaboni regions in the last three years belie the anguish of farmers in the wake of rampant theft of the fruits, which are a hot cake in the export market.

Mr Kathitu estimates that he has lost Sh210,000 to the avocado thieves last month alone and this has significantly derailed his plan of recouping the Sh2 million investment.

A jailbird, who walked into his trap a fortnight ago after accessing the orchard teeming with 100 avocado trees by cutting a hole on his Kei apple fence, has gone underground after miraculously slipping through his fingers.

“They strike at night, at the crack of dawn and on Sundays when everyone is at church. We are forced to spend cold nights at the orchard,” he told the Nation in an interview.

Avocados may be the latest cash crop in Machakos, but it is turning out to be a curse for the region as brazen thieves fuelled by the avocado windfall reap where they did not sow.

The thieves shake the trees vigorously using a long forked stick after tiptoeing into the orchards.

“This method of harvesting avocado destroys flowers and young fruits and compromises the production of the trees for at least two seasons,” said Jimmy Muindi, a retired world marathon king who runs an orchard near Kangundo Township. 

“Many of us were upbeat at the onset of the avocado production journey. We eyed a pie of the millions of shillings associated with the green gold. With the rampant theft of the fruits, however, it turns out we were overambitious,” Beatrice Mutuku told the Nation at Ndunduni Village.

An orchard which has been frequented by avocado thieves offered the 84-year-old retired nurse Sh 5,000 this season. She normally earns Sh200,000 from it per season.

She was among tens of avocado farmers who swarmed Tala Township on Monday to protest the spike in avocado theft.

They waved placards and presented a petition to Matungulu Sub-County Administrator Ngula Masesi in which they called on Machakos Governor Wavinya Ndeti to cancel all licenses of the unscrupulous avocado middlemen.

The avocado theft crisis is linked to the mushrooming of avocado collection points in almost all markets in the avocado growing zones.

The shops are operated by agents believed to be working for shadowy middlemen in the lucrative industry.

Whereas the middlemen who have entered into formal contracts with farmers buy a kilo of avocado at between Sh70 and Sh100, a spot check by Nation has shown that the avocado middlemen who have set up shops in some of the remotest shopping centres buy a kilo of the fruits at between Sh4 and Sh 6.

“Our children and other close relatives are now stealing avocados since a market is readily available. We are confused on whether to charge relatives,” said Ms Mutuku. 

Julius Muli, the chairman of Kamatu Avocado Farmers Association which brings together 3,700 avocado growers in Kangundo and Matungulu sub-counties, puts the insecurity challenge associated with avocado in perspective.

A retired Kenya Defence Forces officer, Mr Muli was forced to increase sentries, reinforce his fence and install CCTV cameras on his orchard after avocado thieves scathed him.

“We are staring at a ticking time bomb. The two levels of government should close ranks and nip the problem of avocado theft on the bud,” he said.

Although avocado farmer groups in Kangundo, Kathiani, Matungulu regions have reported more than 120 avocado theft cases for July, security agencies put the total number of reported cases in that month at 36.

Machakos Agriculture Chief Officer Vincent Musili says avocado in Machakos now elicits the same interests as coffee does across the country, hence the spike in theft cases.

"We are working on a set of regulations to guide avocado trade. The regulations will require avocado traders to provide details on where they have brought their fruits.  Otherwise, they will face consequences. This will deter theft of the fruits," he told the Nation.

He links the ongoing theft of the fruits to dirty tricks by the middlemen.

"Oftentimes, the same middlemen who come for the fruits at the orchards, the ones who offer appealing prices, are the one who organise for the theft so that they can acquire the fruits at competitive prices”.

Kangundo Sub-county Police Commander Charles Chepkonga acknowledges that the cases could be more.

“Many of the cases go unreported because they involve family members. This complicates efforts to tackle the problem. We are ready to sensitise communities on the need to report cases as they happen. A number of convicts are already serving jail terms,” he told a recent meeting of avocado industry players. 

A university student is among the convicted avocado thieves.

The prosecution told a Machakos court he was arrested while stealing from an orchard near Kathiani Township, a major flashpoint of the avocado theft crisis. The court jailed him for 3 years.

Authorities are concerned over an increase in the deployment of vigilantes to stem avocado theft cases.

At least three suspects have been lynched in the last two months with an unknown number of others sustaining serious injuries after they were assaulted and left for dead as vicious vigilantes working allied to avocado farmers swing into action. 

Ms Ndeti is expected to break her silence over the avocado theft crisis when she tours Matungulu region to promote a proposed county youth law today (Tuesday).

The county government has been blowing hot and cold over the issue.

Whereas county administrators in Kangundo and Matungulu regions have threatened to cancel the licences of some of the unscrupulous avocado middlemen after it emerged that they had failed to submit regular reports of their operations, including the profiles of the farmers who supply them with fruits, Machakos Agriculture Chief Officer Vincent Musili has played down the avocado theft crisis.

“It is being misreported. We are looking at a conflict which mirrors what happens in the coffee industry where middlemen compete by engaging in dirty games,” he told the Nation in an interview.

The farmers’ end game is clear.

“Machakos County government should emulate the neighbouring Murang’a County government which has enacted a law to streamline the avocado industry. We also want the government to help us in setting up an avocado processing plant to reduce our overreliance on exploitative middlemen,” Mr Muli said.

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