The avocado oil production process is an extremely relevant concern for environmentally focused consumers. Avocados utilize a large amount of water consumption to produce—typically 70-80 liters per fruit—and are normally not produced under the safest working conditions. To combat this issue, our business model is made up of a community of small farms, each an average of only 2-4 acres, which minimizes any negative effect on the environment. Compared to mass-scale avocado production, our system allows for better working conditions, better regional food accessibility, and utilizes less resources such as land or water.

Avocado oil extraction is known to generate huge quantities of waste. At Avopro, we are conceptualizing a circular economy approach in handling our avocados. This new approach ensures that the natural scrap/waste material (made up of peels, stones and exhausted pulp) is not wasted. Instead, it will add value to the environment, or enter into the market as new, usable products.

Our farmers also use a sustainable system called intercropping. This means that along with avocados, they produce crops such as cereals, vegetables, and fruits for their own consumption, as well as food for their livestock. This kind of intercropping ensures that the soils are protected from degradation that is known to result from monoculture. Therefore, our avocado oil is cold pressed from a crop that is grown on deep, nutrient rich soils that are organic, well maintained and adequately protected.

Our business is made up of a community of small farms, each an average of only 2-3 acres. Over 80% of our raw material is sourced from hundreds of contracted small-scale farmers, with the rest coming from large scale farmers and prequalified independent suppliers. Maintaining close relationships with all of our farmers allows us to secure the best quality produce. This guarantees that we will always be able to supply ethically-sourced avocado oil whose quality lives up to our expectations.

We offer technical advice to the contracted farmers, which helps them meet quality and food standards required for our markets as well as helps the farmers achieve maximum production. We do not confine the technical advice to the crops of interest, we extend this to all the farm activities in a way that truly creates value for the farmer. Our main aim in working with smallholders is to convert them from subsistence farming into a cash economy as a way of poverty eradication. We also encourage youth and gender participation in our farmer programs.