Farmers in Burundi Organise to Demand fair Pricing for their Avocados
When farmers in a distant area of Burundi want to sell their avocados, they know to look for a truck stopped by a highway.
They emerge from villages and gather in a swarm, intently observing the weighting and loading of the crated fruits by teams employed by export corporations in nearby African nations.
In a nation that is occasionally regarded as the poorest in the world, small-scale avocado growers have long had a ready market thanks to these roadside interactions, which are frequently repeated throughout the busiest harvest season.
However, because of the national government’s and farmers’ cooperatives’ participation, which aimed to establish terms for international avocado dealers, the agreements now offer actual profits as well.
Farmers who sold avocados to the carriers a year ago made 10 cents per kilogramme (2.2 pounds), which was less than the cost of a small bottle of water. Farmers now receive about 70 cents for the same amount, which is a significant gain for those who primarily cultivate for their families’ food.
Another change is that, nearly immediately after the avocado transporters depart, payments in US dollars are now deposited into the bank accounts of growers’ cooperatives, which pay their members directly.
Groups like Green Gold Burundi, which represent 200,000 farmers nationwide and have their headquarters in the northern region of Kayanza, can act as middlemen and are in a better position than individual producers to ensure they are not being taken advantage of.
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