Agri-business company Kakuzi Plc has been nominated for a total of five awards in the forthcoming Kenya Avocado Excellence Awards (KAEA) scheduled for Friday.

KAEA, now in its 2nd edition, is the brainchild of the Avocado Society of Kenya to fete stakeholders in the sector for advancing excellent service delivery and overall industry development.

This year, Kakuzi, which bagged three awards in the inaugural KAEA ceremony in 2019, has been nominated in five of the six award categories, including Avocado Person Of The Year 2020/21, which features Chris Flowers, the company’s Managing Director.

Other nominees in the Individual subcategory are Murang’a Governor Mwangi wa Iria, Avoil Industries CEO Sunil Savla and Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency (KEPROBA) CEO Dr Wilfred Marube.

Kakuzi has also been nominated in the Growers, Exporters and Crop Productivity Categories.

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Kakuzi Executive Head of Corporate Affairs Simon Odhiambo said the company has invested more than Sh100 million towards enhancing its avocado production capacity.

Odhiambo says they have prepared new crop fields with specific upgrades on its packhouse and quality management standards to adhere to global phytosanitary certifications.

“We are humbled to be nominated in the respective categories as we consider this to be a deserved tribute to our commitment to quality avocado production for local and export markets,” Odhiambo said.

He added, “Kakuzi currently has a new immature avocado development area that is thriving, with production expected in a year or so. Land preparation for a new Avocado crop is also underway in a crop area previously under pineapple production.”

Odhiambo said Kakuzi is also actively working to expand its 3,000-members smallholder programme as part of its efforts to empower and develop the surrounding communities.

The programme provides free extension services to farmers to ensure they and the community are continuously educated on latest avocado production technologies and best management practices, including free fruit maturity testing, to increase their yields.

Kakuzi mainly exports Hass and Pinkerton Avocado varieties with a significant percentage of the export-grade Hass and Pinkerton exported to the European market.

However, there are concerted efforts spearheaded by the Government to gain access to more local and global markets for the growing volumes of quality Kenyan fruit.