Ssengendo works on the 1,000 hectares of Musubi Farm in Nansana, central Uganda — the largest Hass avocado farm in the country.
Both Nigeria and Uganda aim to drastically increase their avocado production and become top exporters in the next ten years.
The environmental issues have cast a dark shadow over the commercial farming of avocados in Latin America’s top exporting countries, such as Mexico and Chile.
On the other hand, African avocado farming is promising a brighter future, according to both farmers and scientists.
In recent years, fierce competition between large retailers has driven down coffee prices.
According to The Guardian Nigeria, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo called the fruit “the new oil of Nigeria” during a meeting with members of the Avocado Society of Nigeria late last year.
“He gave us the mandate of making the country Africa’s largest avocado exporter by 2030,” Adeniyi Sola Bunmi, Executive Director of ASN, told DW.
“We are also financially supporting a local school and are providing land for a local police force in order to deal with crime in the community.
Large-scale commercial avocado farming is at the core of environmental issues, such as soil degradation, in Latin America.
“Our plan is to have 75% of avocados produced by smallholder farmers and 25 percent by our farm,” Ssengendo said of his vision for Uganda.
Small farms mean less strain on the environment, Ruben Sommaruga, Professor of Limnology of the University of Innsbruck, told DW.
In smallholder settings, the crop is often complemented with other farming enterprises, such as maize and bean crops, planted for subsistence.
According to the Water Footprint Network, it takes 2,000 liters of water , or 10 full bathtubs, to grow just one kilo of avocados.
“The central and southern part of Nigeria receives relatively high precipitation.
Frequent rainfall means farmers do not have to rely on irrigation systems, which artificially apply water to the soil.
For now, avocado production has not been linked to water shortages across African farmlands.
Bunmi from the Avocado Society of Nigeria has also been farming avocados on his land, hoping to export to Ukraine and the United Kingdom in five years.