Abstract:
Avocado farming remains the economic backbone of horticultural farming in Kenya. In central
Kenya in particular Kiambu County avocado farming is very popular and very high. Although they
produce this much, they have not met the export market in Europe, this shows that they have not
exhaustively farmed this hotcake crop. The essence of this study was to show the influence of
economic factors on Hass avocado production. The specific objectives of the study were: To
investigate cost of production influence high Hass avocado production, to examine the extent to
which access to credit influence avocado production in Gatundu south constituency and to
investigate the extent to which accessibility to market influence Hass avocado production. The
target population was Hass avocado farmers both males and females. The estimated sample size
was 30 farmers. The study employed stratified random sampling in order to capture the whole
constituency. Systematic random sampling was used to select actual respondents. Pre-testing was
used to validate the research instruments. A self-administered questionnaire with open ended
questions was used and distributed to the respondents. They were later collected for analysis. The
data was analyzed by the help of SPSS and assessed by the use of Pearson’s correlation coefficient
and presented in frequency tables and percentages. From the findings there was a strong negative
correlation between the cost of production and the Hass avocado production, a positive correlation
between credit access and the Hass avocado production and a positive relationship on the access
to markets. The study concluded that access to credit, access to market and low production cost
have an influence on Hass avocado production. Thus will lead to meeting the high market demand,
increase food security and improve farmer's income. The study recommended that the county and
national government to work together to formulate policies in enhancing extension services, help
farmers access agricultural credits.
