How One Million Avocados (ØMA) and GS1 Kenya Are Making Avocados Traceable.
In today’s market, people do not just want good food, they want to know where it comesfrom and how it was grown. For high-value crops like avocados, being able to trace a product’s journey from the farm to the store is now expected. It helps build trust, opens up international markets, ensures quality and supports sustainable farming.
At One Million Avocados (ØMA), our goal is to grow and improve avocado farming in Africa using smart technology like block chain. But we know that simply collecting good data on farms is not enough we need to connect that data to global systems that help people and companies trust what they are buying. That is why we are excited about our growing partnership with GS1 Kenya, the organization that manages global standards for product and location identification.
Our recent work in the Eburru farming community was not just about mapping avocado orchards. It was about finding better ways to link detailed farm data like where each avocado was grown with international traceability standards. One of the key tools is the Global Location Number (GLN), which helps track exactly where products come from.
ØMA already collects real-time data from farms using sensors, GPS and block chain technology. The challenge is making sure this information fits into wider supply chains without making life harder for farmers. With GS1 Kenya, we are working to make it easy for farms to use GLNs and other tools through our simple ØMA platform.
This partnership brings big benefits:
- Better market access for farmers, as their products meet international traceability rules.
- Proof of sustainability, since we can show exactly how and where the avocados were grown.
- Empowered farmers, who get the tools and data they need to grow better crops and sell more.
- Easier adoption of global standards through technology that fits smoothly into their existing work.
What we are building is more than just a system; it is a network of trust. Our visits to Eburru reminded us how important it is to work directly with farmers and understand their real needs. With over one million avocado trees in our plan, partnerships like this one with GS1 Kenya are helping us build a future where every avocado can be traced, trusted and celebrated.
