Smallholder Hass Avocado farmers affiliated with listed agri-business firm Kakuzi PLC(NSE: KUKZ) are set to enjoy a bonus of more than Sh10 million from their produce exports this year. Speaking when he confirmed the smallholders and out-growers bonus payout for 2024, Kakuzi PLC Managing Director Mr Chris Flowers said that notwithstanding the operating challenges this year, the firm is glad that the returns allowed for the bonus payment. Support for smallholders and out growers in Murang’a County and beyond, Mr Flowers said, is part of the firm’s operating ethos and is aptly captured in the recently launched Kakuzi PLC’s fourth Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Report, themed “Fostering Sustainable Development: Balancing Socioeconomic Growth with Environmental Stewardship”, which is aligned to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the United Nations Global Compact principles and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) sustainability reporting standards. Alongside market access, the Kakuzi smallholder’s and out-growers’ programme, which provides small-scale avocado growers In Murang’a County with access to best practices and the international market for their fruits, has continued to attract farmers from Kirinyaga, Nyeri, Meru, Laikipia and Nandi counties. Through the firm’s extension services department, Kakuzi also provides free fruit maturity testing services to smallholder farmers to ensure that only avocado fruits with a minimum dry matter standard of 24% are harvested. Additionally, the department has been training smallholder farmers on good agricultural practices, economically empowering them and their households, ultimately strengthening the country’s economy. The Kshs 10 million payout accounts for 84% of the smallholder’s and out-growers’ profits and will also be captured in Kakuzi’s 2024 audited Annual Financial Statements. Mr Flowers confirmed that Kakuzi is committed to producing responsible and sustainably grown superfoods and maintaining a shared prosperity business model by supporting like-minded farmers in getting market access in Europe, China, India, and Malaysia, among other places. Under the Kakuzi shared value model, the Company commits to paying farmers at least 80% of the profits from their fruit. “Despite the considerable challenges in getting good fruit to market this year, we were still able to give our partner growers a decent return on good quality avocados,” Mr Flowers said.  He added, “With changing legislation in Europe, it is imperative that we continue to assist our partner growers in accessing the market by understanding what traceability and sustainability standards are and how to apply them consistently.” Mr Flowers reiterated that the Smallholder programme is a deliberate Kakuzi community initiative that invests directly in a sustainable supply of quality fruit with the producer. If one goes the broker route, traceability, a crucial ingredient to avocado export, is lost. Last year, during the year ended 31 December 2023, Kakuzi paid out a total of Sh58.3 million to smallholders and out-growers from a net return of Sh71.7 million, representing an 81% payout. Through the programme, farmers are encouraged to plant the Hass avocado variety, which is popular and can attract reasonable prices in the international market.