On the lush farms of Mukurwe-ini, avocado trees have long been a familiar sight. But for many small-scale farmers, producing a bumper harvest did not always translate into better earnings.
Low farm-gate prices, unreliable markets and brokers left farmers with few options. Some harvested their fruit only to watch it rot because they could not find buyers.
Patrick Mutahi is determined to change that story.
The founder and director of Mukurwe-ini Oil Enterprises Limited has built a young agro-processing business around a simple idea: farmers should earn more by adding value to what they grow.
Established in 2024, the enterprise processes avocado, sunflower and castor into cold-pressed oils, creating a market for farmers while finding commercial use for produce that would otherwise be discarded.
“We started with the aim of uplifting the livelihoods of our local small-scale farmers. Our aim was to give our farmers access to market, add value to the products and enable them sell their produce at premium prices,” says Mutahi.
The business now engages about 1,000 farmers across Nyeri County, with women accounting for the majority of its suppliers.
For Mutahi, women farmers are central to the enterprise because many are organized in groups, making it easier to reach them, provide training and link them to the market.
The company works directly with farmers rather than relying solely on middlemen.
Every Wednesday, its team visits village-level aggregation and collection centres to source raw materials.
It has also partnered with Mukurwe-ini Fruits Cooperative Society to strengthen produce aggregation, farm management and adoption of good agricultural practices.
The partnership has resulted in an offtake agreement and a Memorandum of Understanding allowing the enterprise to source fruits from cooperative members.
Mutahi says the arrangement is changing the economics of avocado farming in the area.
Farmers who previously received between KES 10 and KES 20 per kilogramme can now sell their produce to the enterprise at between KES 20 and KES 40 per kilogramme.
“We have been able to double the income of our farmers by increasing the price because of this value addition,” says Mutahi.
But the impact is not only reflected in the price paid to farmers.
Mutahi says the enterprise has reduced avocado post-harvest losses by about 50 per cent, giving a second life to fruits that might not have found a market in the fresh produce trade.
“Before we started this enterprise, most of the avocado products were going to waste,” he says.
The rejected fruits are now processed into oil, turning what was previously considered waste into a source of revenue.
For farmer Nelson Wanjohi of Ichamara village, the change has been significant.
Wanjohi started growing avocados five years ago but says farmers were previously at the mercy of brokers.
“We used to throw away our produce due to lack of market. We also used to endure manipulation from brokers,” he says.
He says the enterprise's entry into the market brought a new opportunity for farmers to sell their produce.
The income from avocado farming has enabled Wanjohi to meet school fees for his four children and improve his family's living standards.
“I am optimistic that in future, the prices will improve to even KES 50 per kilo,” he says.
Wanjohi is also a member of Mukurwe-ini Fruits Cooperative Society, through which farmers receive support to improve production and quality.
Mutahi says the company does more than simply buy fruits.
Farmers are trained on good agricultural practices and receive agronomic support to improve the quality and productivity of their farms.
The business has also opened opportunities beyond avocado.
Its three value chains—avocado, sunflower and castor—give farmers alternative crops and markets.
Mutahi says castor, in particular, was previously among crops that were often discarded on farms.
The enterprise now processes it into cosmetic castor oil.
It also produces edible and cosmetic sunflower and avocado oils, while its flagship product is a pain-relief oil made from a blend of sunflower, avocado and castor oils.
The young company has grown by reinvesting its earnings.
Mutahi says he initially retained profits generated from sales and ploughed them back into the business, allowing him to acquire additional machinery and gradually increase production capacity.
The enterprise currently has a production capacity of about 300 kilogrammes.
It employs 10 permanent workers and five casual workers, with young people making up about half of its workforce.
For a rural enterprise started only two years ago, Mutahi sees employment creation as an important part of its contribution to the community.
The business has also attracted external support.
Through a partnership with Heifer International Kenya, Mukurwe-ini Oil Enterprises is implementing a three-year growth plan.
Mutahi says the organisation has provided training, consultancy and technical support, helped the enterprise develop policies and systems, and supported the acquisition of higher-capacity machinery.
The company was also among young Kenyan agritech enterprises selected under the AYuTe Africa Agriculture, Youth and Technology Challenge Kenya.
It emerged from 486 applicants and received USD 11,628 to support its model of processing off-grade avocados into oil and other products.
The award has increased the company's visibility and strengthened Mutahi's confidence in the business model.
“Winning the AYuTe award has given me visibility because most of the people have come to realise and understand what we do here in Mukurwe-ini,” he says.
Yet building the enterprise has not been an easy journey.
Mutahi says one of his biggest challenges in the early stages was putting structures and systems in place while simultaneously learning how to manage finances, employees and production.
As founder, he had to wear several hats, from managing workers to overseeing production and understanding the financial side of the business.
He says continued training and technical support have helped him overcome some of these challenges.
The enterprise has adopted a circular approach to production, with waste products from oil processing being sold to farmers for use as organic manure.
Its marketing network has also expanded beyond the local market, with products reaching consumers through online platforms, supermarkets and distributors.
Mutahi says production is guided by seasons, available raw materials, market demand and customer orders.
His immediate ambition is to increase processing capacity, acquire more efficient machinery, employ more workers and bring additional farmers into the value chain.
“We will expand more,” he says.
For Mutahi, however, expansion is not simply about growing a company.
It is about creating a system in which farmers can produce knowing there is a market waiting for them.
It is about ensuring that an avocado that fails to meet the fresh-fruit market does not automatically become waste.
And it is about proving that rural agriculture can move beyond selling raw produce to creating products, jobs and better incomes.
In Mukurwe-ini, the oil press is therefore doing more than extracting oil from fruit.
It is extracting new value from farming itself.
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