UK High Commissioner to Kenya, Jane Marriott, on Tuesday, April 18, announced the launch of an avocado factory in Kisii.
In a statement, Mariott disclosed that the project was funded in collaboration between Kisii County and Avofresh Processors Limited.
According to Marriott, the firm is set to handle 70 tonnes of avocado, giving it an edge in the avocado farming business.
Besides increasing the handling capacity, the company is set to create over 100 employment opportunities for locals and other experts in the avocado farming field.
Additionally, Mariott indicated that the factory would create a stable market for over 1000 farmers in Kisii and the region.
Kisii Governor Simba Arati and other county officials presided over the project's launch.
"Today, I joined Governor Simba Arati to launch a Ksh68 million UK-funded Avocado factory in collaboration with the Kisii County Government and Avofresh," the statement read in part.
"The 70-tonne avocado extraction factory, operated by AvoFresh, will source avocados from local farmers in Kisii and neighbouring counties. This has been facilitated through UK funding, with the aim of creating resilient livelihoods and jobs for the community," it added.
The project was conceived during former Kisii Governor James Ongwae'e regime. The factory was expected to position Kisii as a processing zone.
It was supposed to empower avocado farmers by further creating collection centres nationwide before going to Kisii for processing.
While rooting for the project, the former Kisii Governor observed that it was set to be a game-changer to over 269, 683 farmers, 648 individuals involved in the collection and over 100 wholesalers in the fruit's value chain.
He pointed out that the county was keen on strengthening the avocado value chain adding that avocado farming was previously done for subsistence purposes and on a small scale.
Ongwae revealed they had registered the Kisii County Avocado Cooperative in all the sub-counties to enable farmers to address the possible challenges they experienced in their previous value chain, such as getting rid of middlemen.
