Onja Uone Ltd - Kitale, Kenya

Onja Uone Limited is a family-owned farming and agro-processing company strategically located at Lukhuna Village. It is in the rural heartland of rich farmlands on the undulating and panoramic slopes of Mt. Elgon in Trans Nzoia and Bungoma counties. In the late 1990s, the company transitioned from farming and selling maize, the main food crop in western Kenya, into growing and later, processing macadamia nuts under the brand name Elgon Nuts. Knowledge about the health benefits of macadamia nuts is increasing among consumers globally, and so is knowledge of the economic value of the crop to farmers in western Kenya, especially in the counties of Bungoma, Trans Nzoia, Uasin Gishu, Baringo, Bomet, and Kericho where new orchards are being planted every year.
Through processing of macadamia  

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in this rural location and exporting to a growing international market, we provide a ready market to local farmers. We have also raised their awareness of the changing quality requirements of global consumers, which has a positive rub-on effect on the quality of other produce.
We support farmers through an agricultural extension service to improve the productivity of their orchards and have recently introduced contract farming with our company to enable them be more certain of selling their produce during each season.
Our processing factory has introduced high level skilled jobs to this rural location which has contributed to raising the average purchasing power in the area. Thus Onja Uone Ltd is helping to lower poverty rates among the people and to contribute to enabling Kenya meet international millennium development goals.