At Love Avocado, we believe in job creation for rural farmers! Follow us on our journey at Instagram: The_Love_Avocado
Demand is Huge
We all love avocados, there is no doubt! Since 2005, the consumption of avocados in just the United States alone has grown from 938.3 million lbs. a year, to 2,453.3 million in 2018. With the growing appetite for avocado from one billion Chinese citizens, there is projected to be more demand than available supply in the very near future.
This should be great news for citizens of countries like Mexico, Peru, and Chile. But as you will learn, the local farmers are not only suffering from this growing trend. In many cases they are dying from cartel involvement or big-company water rights.
The mexican cartel issue
Criminal gangs in Mexico - notorious for cocaine and marijuana trafficking - are turning their attention to the avocado. Called “Green Gold” avocado farmers have benefited for years from a world with a growing taste for this healthy fruit.
But now, these same farmers are being brought to their knees by kidnapping and extortion. Click the video to learn more.
The chilean water rights issue
Never-mind millennials, hipsters, and avocado toast. Demand for this amazing fruit has been rising rapidly among China’s middle class. And in 2016, Chile became the largest supplier of avocados to China.
But there is a high price to pay for Chilean villagers; the privatization of all water in Chile means that it is illegal for a citizen to drill for water on their own land. Large Private avocado plantations have sucked the water from the rivers and lakes and hoard it for their high-profit crops. All the while, villagers don’t have access to drinking water and their own small farms have dried to nothing.
Rwanda is poised for growth
With a booming economy, a top ranking with regards to safety, doing business and stability, Rwanda is ready to present itself to the world as an economic powerhouse. The Rwandan people are agriculturally minded, hard working and dedicated to family and their core values.
But they are poor. Do to lack of capital investment most farmers do not have access to technology, education or access to global markets. Post Harvest losses are huge and only 6.5% of the food harvested is processed. With over 70% of the Rwandan population in rural villages, access to formal jobs is very hard to come by. While the current situation is bleak, this is where the opportunity arises.
The solution
Love Avocado aims to solve this problem. By creating a “Conflict Free” avocado certification Umubano Group looks to place local farmers at the heart of our initiative. Through projects such as coop organization, technology implementation around supply chains management, proper healthcare training, distribution of solar lights to rural villages and an environmentally stable education platform for a long-term growing system, Love Avocados will not just provide consumers a healthy, tasty fruit. We will lift the entire market with a premium quality that ensures consumers know exactly who grew their fruit and that those farmers and their families are cared for.
We do this because Jesus told us to be Him to everyone we encounter. A handout will assist someone for a day, but teaching them how to farm, take care of their land and their water, and providing access to a global market will change lives.
