Call the avocado pea richness, and you are as good as right. It is rich as food and a source of riches. PELUMI BOLAWA writes how the wonder fruit is pulling Africans out of poverty
Many people know of a green butter. It is made of cannabis; hence it is also called cannabutter. But a new kid on the block has emerged. It is both fruit and vegetable.
Aguacata. Aguacate. Aguaco. Ahuaca. Alligator pear. These and several others are names of the avocado. It bodes well as a spread on bread, rice or wherever you could use margarine. But it is healthier; no sugar, no cholesterol.
The California avocado is a nutrient-dense fruit, belonging to the genus, Persea, in the Lauraceae family. Avocado is considered a fruit because it fits all of the botanical criteria for a berry; a fleshy pulp and a seed. It is also the vegetable of the moment.
Due to high global demand, the avocado has become a lucrative export agriculture produce. Its consumption per capita increased by 406 per cent between 1990 and 2017 in the U.S. alone, according to Deutsch Welle.
Nigeria and Uganda aim to drastically increase their avocado production and become top exporters in the next decade. Kenya is already among the global top 10. Export revenues in the East African country surged by a third between 2019 and 2020.
Aantidote to poverty in rural areas
In East Africa and Nigeria, avocado farmers want to enter the insatiable export market, where the so-called green gold is rapidly gaining popularity on the African continent.
The Director of Communications, Musubi Farm, Baker Ssengendo, said, “By working in avocado farm, I am fulfilling my life dream. We want to lift our communities out of poverty,” the avocado farmer said. “The avocado tree has a lifespan of about 50 years. The life expectancy of an average Ugandan is about 60 years. A tree can benefit them their entire life.”
Ssengendo works on the 1,000ha Musubi Farm in Mayuge District, eastern Uganda – the largest Hass avocado farm in the country.
In Uganda, the Agriculture Ministry recently partnered with Musubi Farm, hoping to start commercial export next year. Musubi is already employing 1,000 locals.
Ssengendo said, “We are also financially supporting a local school and are providing land for a local police force to deal with crime in the community. Avocados can transform our community.”
Shortage of water
Water shortages and the destruction of biodiversity have been linked to the production of avocado, thereby been making negative headlines around the world. The environmental issues have cast a dark shadow over the commercial farming of avocado in Latin America’s top exporting countries, such as Mexico and Chile.
According to farmers and scientists, African avocado farming is promising a brighter future. Due to emphasis on smallholders and beneficial rain patterns, the production is expected to be less environmentally harmful than on the American continent.
Large-scale avocado farming is at the core of environmental issues, such as soil degradation, in Latin America. However, in East Africa and Nigeria, smallholders are at the centre of a more sustainable avocado farming approach. Small farms mean less strain on the environment.
“The central and southern part of Nigeria receives relatively high precipitation. The south of Uganda does as well. In Kenya, much of the avocado farming is done north of Nairobi, where mountains retain most of the rain,” said Ruben Sommaruga, a professor of limnology.
Frequent rainfall means farmers do not have to rely on irrigation systems, which artificially apply water to the soil.
According to a scientist at the World Agroforestry Centre in Nairobi, Sammy Carsan, “In smallholder settings, avocados are produced on a rain-fed basis with few irrigation systems.”
Avocados, a substitute to coffee
Carsan, said, “Avocado is actually a godsend because farmers can use it as an alternative to coffee farming.”
In recent years, fierce competition between large retailers has driven down coffee prices. In 2019, coffee farmers’ earnings dropped to their lowest in 13 years. Now, hopes are high for avocado to fill the income gap.
Former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo, called the avocado “the new oil of Nigeria” during a meeting with members of the Avocado Society of Nigeria in 2020. The ‘politician-turned-avocado-enthusiast’ is the largest stakeholder in the society and owns 20ha of Hass avocado farming land – the avocado variety most commonly used for exports.
Executive Director of ASN, Bunmi Adeniyi, said the former President “gave us the mandate of making the country Africa’s largest avocado exporter by 2030.”
Currently, there are only 120 Hass avocado farmers in Nigeria. ASN is training smallholders wishing to switch to the crop and provide them with Hass seedlings.
According to Carsan, in neighbouring Kenya, smallholders are already spearheading avocado production, with most avocado farmers only owning about two hectares of land.
A Nigerian farmer, Samson Ogbole, said, “Planting crops like legumes around the tree crops helps replenish the soil. Mixing avocado trees with agroforestry systems can curtail negative environmental effect.”
In smallholder settings, the crop is often complemented with other farming enterprises, such as maize and bean crops, planted for subsistence.
Benefits of avocado
The versatile avocado is the only fruit that provides a substantial amount of healthy monounsaturated fatty acids. Avocados are a naturally nutrient-dense food and contain nearly 20 vitamins and minerals. Numerous studies have found that a predominantly plant-based diet that includes foods such as avocados can help to decrease the risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and overall mortality, while promoting a healthy complexion and hair, increased energy, and lower weight.
Packed with nutrients: According to the USDA National Nutrient Database Trusted Source, one serving (one-fifth of an avocado, approximately 40 grammes) contains 64 calories, almost six grammes of fat, 3.4 grammes of carbohydrate less than a gramme of sugar, almost three grammes of fibre.
Avocados are a great source of vitamins C, E, K, and B6, as well as riboflavin, niacin, folate, pantothenic acid, magnesium and potassium. They also provide lutein, beta-carotene and omega-3 fatty acids.
Although most of the calories in an avocado come from fat, avocados are full of healthy, beneficial fats that help to keep one full and satiated. When you consume fat, your brain receives a signal to turn off your appetite. Eating fat slows the breakdown of carbohydrates, which helps to keep sugar levels in the blood stable.
Fat is essential for every single cell in the body. Eating healthy fats supports skin health, enhances the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, minerals and other nutrients, and may even help boost the immune system.
Healthy for the heart: Avocados contain 25 milligrammes per ounce of a natural plant sterol called beta-sitosterol. Regular consumption of beta-sitosterol and other plant sterols has been seen to help maintain healthy cholesterol levels.
Great for vision: Avocados contain lutein and zeaxanthin, two phytochemicals that are especially concentrated in the tissues in the eyes where they provide antioxidant protection to help minimise damage, including from ultraviolet light.
Osteoporosis prevention: Half of an avocado provides approximately 25 per cent of the daily recommended intake of vitamin K.
Vitamin K is often overshadowed by calcium and vitamin D when thinking of nutrients important for maintaining healthy bones. However, eating a diet with adequate vitamin K can support bone health by increasing calcium absorption and reducing urinary excretion of calcium.
Prevents cancer: Adequate intake of folate from food has shown promise in protecting against colon, stomach, pancreatic and cervical cancers.
Avocados may even have a role to play in cancer treatment, with some research finding that phytochemicals extracted from avocado can selectively inhibit the growth of precancerous and cancerous cells and cause the death of cancer cells, while encouraging the proliferation of immune system cells called lymphocytes.
These phytochemicals have also been shown to decrease chromosomal damage caused by cyclophosphamide, a chemotherapy drug.
Healthy babies: Adequate intake reduces the risk of miscarriage and neural tube defects.
Lower risk of depression: Foods containing high levels of folate may help to decrease the risk of depression because folate helps to prevent the build-up of homocysteine, a substance that can impair circulation and delivery of nutrients to the brain. Excess homocysteine can also interfere with the production of serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine, which regulate mood, sleep and appetite.
Improved digestion: Despite its creamy texture, an avocado is actually high in fibre with approximately six to seven grammes per half fruit. Eating foods with natural fibre can help prevent constipation, maintain a healthy digestive tract and lower the risk of colon cancer.
Natural detoxification: Adequate fibre promotes regular bowel movements, which are crucial for the daily excretion of toxins through the bile and stool. Recent studies have shown that dietary fibre may also play a role in regulating the immune system and inflammation.
Osteoporosis treatment: Substances called saponins, found in avocados, soy and some other plant foods, are associated with relief of symptoms in knee osteoarthritis, with further research planned to determine the long-term effects of isolated extracts.
Anti-microbial action: Avocados contain substances that have anti-microbial activity, particularly against Escherichia coli, a leading cause of food poisoning.
Protection from chronic disease: According to the Department of Internal Medicine and Nutritional Sciences Program of the University of Kentucky, high fibre intakes are associated with significantly lower risks of developing coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, obesity and certain gastrointestinal diseases.
Increased fibre intake has also been shown to lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, improve insulin sensitivity, and enhance weight loss for obese individuals.
Avocado can be used in a number of different forms, many of which are available to purchase online, including avocado oil, which may be used for cooking, or for moisturising the skin or hair. So check the product information before purchasing.
Call the avocado pea richness, and you are as good as right. It is rich as food and a source of riches. PELUMI BOLAWA writes how the wonder fruit is pulling Africans out of poverty
Many people know of a green butter. It is made of cannabis; hence it is also called cannabutter. But a new kid on the block has emerged. It is both fruit and vegetable.
Aguacata. Aguacate. Aguaco. Ahuaca. Alligator pear. These and several others are names of the avocado. It bodes well as a spread on bread, rice or wherever you could use margarine. But it is healthier; no sugar, no cholesterol.
The California avocado is a nutrient-dense fruit, belonging to the genus, Persea, in the Lauraceae family. Avocado is considered a fruit because it fits all of the botanical criteria for a berry; a fleshy pulp and a seed. It is also the vegetable of the moment.
Due to high global demand, the avocado has become a lucrative export agriculture produce. Its consumption per capita increased by 406 per cent between 1990 and 2017 in the U.S. alone, according to Deutsch Welle.
Nigeria and Uganda aim to drastically increase their avocado production and become top exporters in the next decade. Kenya is already among the global top 10. Export revenues in the East African country surged by a third between 2019 and 2020.
Aantidote to poverty in rural areas
In East Africa and Nigeria, avocado farmers want to enter the insatiable export market, where the so-called green gold is rapidly gaining popularity on the African continent.
The Director of Communications, Musubi Farm, Baker Ssengendo, said, “By working in avocado farm, I am fulfilling my life dream. We want to lift our communities out of poverty,” the avocado farmer said. “The avocado tree has a lifespan of about 50 years. The life expectancy of an average Ugandan is about 60 years. A tree can benefit them their entire life.”
Ssengendo works on the 1,000ha Musubi Farm in Mayuge District, eastern Uganda – the largest Hass avocado farm in the country.
In Uganda, the Agriculture Ministry recently partnered with Musubi Farm, hoping to start commercial export next year. Musubi is already employing 1,000 locals.
Ssengendo said, “We are also financially supporting a local school and are providing land for a local police force to deal with crime in the community. Avocados can transform our community.”
Shortage of water
Water shortages and the destruction of biodiversity have been linked to the production of avocado, thereby been making negative headlines around the world. The environmental issues have cast a dark shadow over the commercial farming of avocado in Latin America’s top exporting countries, such as Mexico and Chile.
According to farmers and scientists, African avocado farming is promising a brighter future. Due to emphasis on smallholders and beneficial rain patterns, the production is expected to be less environmentally harmful than on the American continent.
Large-scale avocado farming is at the core of environmental issues, such as soil degradation, in Latin America. However, in East Africa and Nigeria, smallholders are at the centre of a more sustainable avocado farming approach. Small farms mean less strain on the environment.
“The central and southern part of Nigeria receives relatively high precipitation. The south of Uganda does as well. In Kenya, much of the avocado farming is done north of Nairobi, where mountains retain most of the rain,” said Ruben Sommaruga, a professor of limnology.
Frequent rainfall means farmers do not have to rely on irrigation systems, which artificially apply water to the soil.
According to a scientist at the World Agroforestry Centre in Nairobi, Sammy Carsan, “In smallholder settings, avocados are produced on a rain-fed basis with few irrigation systems.”
Avocados, a substitute to coffee
Carsan, said, “Avocado is actually a godsend because farmers can use it as an alternative to coffee farming.”
In recent years, fierce competition between large retailers has driven down coffee prices. In 2019, coffee farmers’ earnings dropped to their lowest in 13 years. Now, hopes are high for avocado to fill the income gap.
Former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo, called the avocado “the new oil of Nigeria” during a meeting with members of the Avocado Society of Nigeria in 2020. The ‘politician-turned-avocado-enthusiast’ is the largest stakeholder in the society and owns 20ha of Hass avocado farming land – the avocado variety most commonly used for exports.
Executive Director of ASN, Bunmi Adeniyi, said the former President “gave us the mandate of making the country Africa’s largest avocado exporter by 2030.”
Currently, there are only 120 Hass avocado farmers in Nigeria. ASN is training smallholders wishing to switch to the crop and provide them with Hass seedlings.
According to Carsan, in neighbouring Kenya, smallholders are already spearheading avocado production, with most avocado farmers only owning about two hectares of land.
A Nigerian farmer, Samson Ogbole, said, “Planting crops like legumes around the tree crops helps replenish the soil. Mixing avocado trees with agroforestry systems can curtail negative environmental effect.”
In smallholder settings, the crop is often complemented with other farming enterprises, such as maize and bean crops, planted for subsistence.
Benefits of avocado
The versatile avocado is the only fruit that provides a substantial amount of healthy monounsaturated fatty acids. Avocados are a naturally nutrient-dense food and contain nearly 20 vitamins and minerals. Numerous studies have found that a predominantly plant-based diet that includes foods such as avocados can help to decrease the risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and overall mortality, while promoting a healthy complexion and hair, increased energy, and lower weight.
Packed with nutrients: According to the USDA National Nutrient Database Trusted Source, one serving (one-fifth of an avocado, approximately 40 grammes) contains 64 calories, almost six grammes of fat, 3.4 grammes of carbohydrate less than a gramme of sugar, almost three grammes of fibre.
Avocados are a great source of vitamins C, E, K, and B6, as well as riboflavin, niacin, folate, pantothenic acid, magnesium and potassium. They also provide lutein, beta-carotene and omega-3 fatty acids.
Although most of the calories in an avocado come from fat, avocados are full of healthy, beneficial fats that help to keep one full and satiated. When you consume fat, your brain receives a signal to turn off your appetite. Eating fat slows the breakdown of carbohydrates, which helps to keep sugar levels in the blood stable.
Fat is essential for every single cell in the body. Eating healthy fats supports skin health, enhances the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, minerals and other nutrients, and may even help boost the immune system.
Healthy for the heart: Avocados contain 25 milligrammes per ounce of a natural plant sterol called beta-sitosterol. Regular consumption of beta-sitosterol and other plant sterols has been seen to help maintain healthy cholesterol levels.
Great for vision: Avocados contain lutein and zeaxanthin, two phytochemicals that are especially concentrated in the tissues in the eyes where they provide antioxidant protection to help minimise damage, including from ultraviolet light.
Osteoporosis prevention: Half of an avocado provides approximately 25 per cent of the daily recommended intake of vitamin K.
Vitamin K is often overshadowed by calcium and vitamin D when thinking of nutrients important for maintaining healthy bones. However, eating a diet with adequate vitamin K can support bone health by increasing calcium absorption and reducing urinary excretion of calcium.
Prevents cancer: Adequate intake of folate from food has shown promise in protecting against colon, stomach, pancreatic and cervical cancers.
Avocados may even have a role to play in cancer treatment, with some research finding that phytochemicals extracted from avocado can selectively inhibit the growth of precancerous and cancerous cells and cause the death of cancer cells, while encouraging the proliferation of immune system cells called lymphocytes. These phytochemicals have also been shown to decrease chromosomal damage caused by cyclophosphamide, a chemotherapy drug.
Healthy babies: Adequate intake reduces the risk of miscarriage and neural tube defects.
Lower risk of depression: Foods containing high levels of folate may help to decrease the risk of depression because folate helps to prevent the build-up of homocysteine, a substance that can impair circulation and delivery of nutrients to the brain. Excess homocysteine can also interfere with the production of serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine, which regulate mood, sleep and appetite.
Improved digestion: Despite its creamy texture, an avocado is actually high in fibre with approximately six to seven grammes per half fruit. Eating foods with natural fibre can help prevent constipation, maintain a healthy digestive tract and lower the risk of colon cancer.
Natural detoxification: Adequate fibre promotes regular bowel movements, which are crucial for the daily excretion of toxins through the bile and stool. Recent studies have shown that dietary fibre may also play a role in regulating the immune system and inflammation.
Osteoporosis treatment: Substances called saponins, found in avocados, soy and some other plant foods, are associated with relief of symptoms in knee osteoarthritis, with further research planned to determine the long-term effects of isolated extracts.
Anti-microbial action: Avocados contain substances that have anti-microbial activity, particularly against Escherichia coli, a leading cause of food poisoning.
Protection from chronic disease: According to the Department of Internal Medicine and Nutritional Sciences Program of the University of Kentucky, high fibre intakes are associated with significantly lower risks of developing coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, obesity and certain gastrointestinal diseases.
Increased fibre intake has also been shown to lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, improve insulin sensitivity, and enhance weight loss for obese individuals.
Avocado can be used in a number of different forms, many of which are available to purchase online, including avocado oil, which may be used for cooking, or for moisturising the skin or hair. So check the product information before purchasing.
