Tag: Horticulture

Kakuzi taps into expertise of PR guru Gina Din-Kariuki to be member of its Human Rights Committee

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KENYA – Kenyan integrated agri-business firm, Kakuzi Plc, has named Mrs Gina Din-Kariuki, a respected and leading businesswoman, philanthropist and champion of Women’s rights, as a member of its newly formed Independent Human Rights Advisory Committee (IHRAC). The appointment of Mrs Din-Kariuki to the IHRAC marks the finalizing of the constitution of the IHRAC committee chaired by former Attorney General Prof Githu Muigai. “The Board of Kakuzi Plc is pleased to announce the entry of Mrs Din-Kariuki to the Independent Human Rights Advisory Committee. “Her entry, following an in-depth selection…

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USAID funded Trade Hub supports Senegalese Agro Boye, Guinea’s La Petite Damba to increase capacity

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WEST AFRICA – Senegal-based agribusiness firm Agro Boye, has received a US$1.1 million co-investment grant from the USAID-funded West Africa Trade & Investment Hub (Trade Hub), to increase its production capacity of horticultural products, helping to reduce food insecurity and import-dependency in the country. The investment comes three years after its partnership with the Trade Hub on building a successful pilot project that the agribusiness implemented in 2019 to boost its potato cultivation using 30 hectares of land. At that time, Agro Boye first invested around US$260,000 and produced 900…

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Cold chain solutions provider InspiraFarms opens SADC regional hub in Zimbabwe

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ZIMBABWE – InspiraFarms, a provider of on- and off-grid cold storage solutions is continuing with its expansion strategy across Africa, establishing a regional office representation for Southern Africa, based in Harare, Zimbabwe. InspiraFarms’ team designs first-mile, on-farm pre-cooling cold chain and food handling solutions, which are made up of the best European technologies. Zimbabwe has become a key market for InspiraFarms, with the Zimbabwean horticultural sector growing rapidly in response to the increasing demand for fresh fruit and vegetables in the European Union (EU), UK, Middle East, Far East and…

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Zambian potato producing giant Buya Bamba invests US$7m in new frozen chips processing factory

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ZAMBIA – Zambia’s leading potato producer, Buya Bamba has vertically expanded its operations with an investment of US$7 million in a new processing factory for production of frozen chips. The company specializes in supply of superior seeds, growing, harvesting, cleaning, sizing and packaging, as well as, the storage of fresh potatoes to provide the Zambian customers with a dependable source of local produce on a year-round basis. The new facility located in Lusaka has been under construction for the past three years and is set for commissioning, reports Zambia Business…

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Ghana adds value to tomatoes with launch of US$16m processing factory

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GHANA – Weddi Africa Limited, a wholly owned Ghanaian company has established a US$16 million tomato processing factory in Domfete, Bono Region, with support from the government. The newly built Weddi Africa Tomato Processing Factory has been established under the 1-District-1-Factory initiative, show-casing the public-private sector collaboration. Government, through Ghana Exim Bank and ADB Bank Ghana, facilitated the acquisition of the loan facility to support the construction of the factory. The facility will have a processing capacity of 40,000 metric tonnes of fresh tomatoes per annum, supported by a 500…

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Kakuzi becomes first African company to adopt UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights

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KENYA – Kenyan fresh food producer and exporter, Kakuzi Plc, becomes the first corporate organization in Sub Sahara Africa to constitute and establish the Independent Human Rights Advisory Committee (IHRAC) benchmarked against the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. In a trendsetting move, the integrated agri-business firm joins a growing list of globally focused institutions’ progressively adopting the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, such as Global Chemicals manufacturer BASF SE. The company has appointed Kenya’s former Attorney General Prof Githu Muigai to be the…

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UK dishes out US$21m funding to Kenya for establishment of digital trade corridor

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KENYA – Kenyan horticultural producers are set to access the British market more efficiently and cheaply, following the set-up of a digital customs system in the East African economy. During the recent visit to the UK by the President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, Kenyan-based non-profit making organisation TradeMark East Africa (TMEA), and the UK-based Institute of Export and International Trade ((IOE&IT), signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) providing a framework for collaboration in the implementation of a digital trade corridor between the two nations. To be delivered by TMEA and…

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AgDevCo expands portfolio to develop banana industry in Mozambique

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MOZAMBIQUE – Social impact investor AgDevCo has announced its latest investment in Mozambique’s agribusiness sector. The UK-based social impact investor has closed a US$3 million debt investment in Quinta da Bela Vista Limitada (QBV), an irrigated banana estate located in the Boane area in Mozambique. QBV was established in 2016 as a joint venture between Silverstreet Capital’s Silverlands I Fund and Crookes Brothers Limited and currently comprises 128ha of irrigated bananas. The company’s strategy is to expand the operation to 260ha over the next two years. “AgDevCo’s funding of QBV…

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Lucrative citrus industry in South Africa calls for increased efficiency on back of expected rising exports

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SOUTH AFRICA – The South African citrus industry expects to break all export season records, with an estimated 158.7 million cartons this year. If this estimate was reached, it would represent a third consecutive season of record export volumes, with 130 million cartons exported in 2019 and 146 million cartons last year. This is according to projections by the Citrus Growers Association of Southern Africa (CGA), indicating a 22 percent growth in exports in just two years. Medium-term crop estimates indicate that the citrus industry is expected to continue increasing…

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Kenya’s county government mitigates post-harvest losses with launch of fruit processing plant

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KENYA – Kitui County in Eastern Kenya has kick-started operations at the newly build Ksh. 20 million (US$185,000) fruit processing plant located at the Kitui Agricultural Training Centre. The processing facility, with a production capacity of 5 tons per hour, is aimed to add value to fresh produces such as tomatoes and mangoes which are highly perishable, reports Kenya News Agency. While commissioning the factory, Kitui County Governor Charity Ngilu, indicated that the huge losses the farmers in the region have been encountering over the years, will be a thing…

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