AVOCADO GROWING IN UGANDA

1. Planting Avocado Seedlings

The Avocado farmers use Hass Variety, which they graft with the local ones. They place the seedlings
in the Nursery bed and fertilisers are added into the soil. Wait for a month, and then the Hass variety
is grafted on the local ones. They also require well drained soils to avoid root rot. The best soils are
sandy or alluvial loams with pH ranging between 5-7.

After two weeks, they are transferred to the main garden and ensure they don’t face the direction of
the Sun. Dig 2ft by 2ft pit and apply fertiliser; plant using a spacing of 7m by 6m. Then apply NPK
fertilisers and manure. They require constant water at this stage of growth. Consistently, remove the
weeds from the garden. Hass Avocado variety takes 3 years to be ready for harvesting.

2. Costs Involved
i. An acre requires 96 seedlings, and the cost of a seedling is UGX 4,000, so the total cost of
seedlings is UGX 384,000.
ii. Bush Clearing an acre ranges between UGX 80,000 to 150,000 (depending on vegetation cover).
Let’s consider a total of UGX 150,000.
iii. Pitting & planting, each hole of 2x2ft costs between UGX 500-800 depending on cost of labour
as per location, taking UGX 800, which will total to UGX 76,800.
iv. Fertilizer application at planting is UGX 34,000 per acre, 2nd application after 6 months UGX
68,000. This gives a total of UGX 102,000.
v. Weeding per acre thrice a year is UGX 180,000. This gives a total of UGX 540,000 for three
years.
The total cost involved in growing Avocado on an acre for three (3 years) is UGX 1,252,800.
3. Yields And Returns On Investment1
SN Activity Number Number Total Fruits Unit Cost Amount
of Trees of Fruits harvested
per Acre per Tree per Acre2
1 1st year harvest 96 0 0 0 0
2 2nd year harvest 96 0 0 0 0
3 3rd year harvest 96 0 0 0 0
4 4th year harvest 96 50 4,800 1,000 4,800,000
5 5th year harvest 96 200 19,200 1,000 19,200,000
6 6th year harvest 96 400 38,400 1,000 38,400,000
7 7th year harvest 96 800 76,800 1,000 76,800,000
8 8th year harvest 96 1000 9,600 1,000 96,000,000
9 9th year harvest 96 1,100 105,600 1,000 105,600,000
10 10th year harvest 96 1,300 124,800 1,000 124,800,000
11 11th year harvest 96 1,500 144,000 1,000 144,000,000
12 12th year harvest 96 1,750 168,000 1,000 168,000,000
Total (UGX) 777,600,000

1 The life span of a Hass Avocado tree is 30 years, and the plantation can be cut down, and sprouts again like coffee
trees without replanting.
2 Source: https://greeninguganda.com/Products/Hass_Ovaccado_Cba.