Kikondo, UG – VICOBA member expands tree nursery business – Mar 2023

Wamukisa team members Michael and Rose explored Kikondo’s expanded avocado and eucalyptus tree nursery. KIP family started the tree nursery business two years ago when they relocated to Kikondo village.

The family started this business from a loan it acquired from Zinabala VICOBA. KIP father had the skills of starting and operating a tree nursery, grafting Haas type avocado onto rootstock to gain earlier bearing trees. Ugandans use eucalyptus wood for building and avocados are a welcome supplement to their usual diet including maize, beans, rice, and plantain-type bananas. Some families who had planted avocado trees earlier are now earning income from sales. Every kg of avocado sells at UGS 2,000. Traders from Kenya visit Uganda to buy avocados to export to the Middle East.

KIP family members now earn income from their expanded business. They have sold more than 50,000 plantlets in the last 2 years. Currently the nursery has 50,000 eucalyptus trees and 10,000 avocado plantlets. It sells each avocado plantlet at 10,000 shillings/= and each eucalyptus sells at 800.

The family sells on average 20,000 eucalyptus plantlets and 500 avocado plantlets every rainy season to customers. As a thank you for support, the family has distributed avocado plantlets to each member of the VICOBA. Avocados are a difficult cash crop in Kikondo village because land is too expensive for a family to have more than one or two trees around their home.

The KIP family also needs less expensive land to expand their business even more. It is saving money to buy about ten acres of land so they can start commercial tree growing projects. They hope to buy land in the village where Mr. KIP lived as a child, which is 150 km from Kikondo. The family will continue to live in Kikondo and manage avocado land by making seasonal trips.