The Kisii county government on Tuesday signed a deal with a private investor to start operations of avocados processing plant.
Kisii Governor James Ongwae and deputy British High Commissioner Julius Court witnessed the signing of the deal between the county and Avo Fresh.
Finance executive Moses Onderi and Avo Fresh director Fernando Marques signed the memorandum of understanding and lease agreement at the Agricultural Training Centre in Kisii town.
During the function, Governor James Ongwae and Court flagged off five lorries that will be used to collect avocados from centres to the plant for processing.
The plant will process cooking oil and cosmetics, among other products. It’s expected to start working in September once the machines are installed.
The project is being implemented by the county with the support from UK Aid through the Sustainable Economic Development Programme.
Court praised Ongwae for his leadership which has seen the project’s launch.
“I want to congratulate and salute you for your leadership, especially on the issues we work on. It’s a privilege and a pleasure to come back to witness the launch of anchor investment of the SUED project,” Court said.
Governor Ongwae and Marques said the plant, once in operation, will process up to 100 tonnes of avocados in a day.
“I want to assure farmers that we will engage in fair trade so that we boost their earnings. We will be in Kisii for many years,” Marques said.
Already, the investor has set up aggregation centres in the nine subcounties and, with support from UK Aid, has acquired five trucks to facilitate transportation of the fruit
