MARKUP Supports Advocacy to Increase Revenues from Avocado and Other Horticultural Produce

Avocado farming and trading have seen exponential growth in Tanzania in the last few years. But there are many challenges that the sector is grappling with: prices are fluctuating, diseases are hard to control, and there is no approved government body in Tanzania to handle avocado as there is for other crops. This has contributed to the price fluctuations and bureaucracy in solving challenges that farmers, exporters and buyers face when exporting the crop.
As a step towards addressing some of these obstacles, MARKUP, through ITC, collaborated with the Tanzania Horticulture Association (TAHA) and the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) to organise the Avocado Stakeholders Forum in Dodoma in May 2022.
The forum was attended by key stakeholders from both public and private sector and discussed critical issues facing the avocado industry. It developed practical solutions to address the challenges such as the validation of an avocado business guideline and harvesting calendar which will enable farmers to stretch their markets to East African and European Union. In future, the avocado business guidelines will govern the trade of avocados in Tanzania, and there will be a harvesting calendar for each production area in Tanzania.
The Avocado Forum provided a unique opportunity for the stakeholders in the business to air their grievances and seek government intervention in implementing NTM’s study findings.
Representing avocado exporters, General Manager at Eat Fresh Avocado, Ms Hadija Jabir, observed the importance of including stakeholders in the development of the guidelines.
‘I am glad this Avocado Forum included all stakeholders, from business supporting entities to the government, farmers, entrepreneurs and even exporters. We all gave our views openly, it was not a government-centred session,’ she emphasised.