Appetite for Kenya's 'green gold' spawns new crop of millionaires

Youths sort out freshly harvested avocados from farmers in Kandara, Murang'a County. Brokers buy them on behalf of local processors for the export market. [Boniface Gikandi, Standard]

In the highlands of Kenya, a green revolution is underway, with avocados quickly becoming the nation's new "green gold."

According to new data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the global appetite for this nutrient-rich fruit is surging, transforming many smallholder farmers in Kenya into millionaires who are capitalising on the booming export market.