Isaac Kigo

Farmer’s Choice was founded in 1980, with the central purpose of selling fresh cuts and value-added pork products to all income groups in Kenya. To this day, the core business of the company has been the production of fresh meat cuts, sausages, smokies, bacon, ham and deli products. Beef has also become an important supplementary product. In the mid 1980s, the company expanded into pig production, establishing a new butchery complex & slaughterhouse at Kahawa West just outside Nairobi. An essential feature of this development was Total Quality Control from beginning to end of the production process. Central to the philosophy behind this new complex was that it should be built to international standards, satisfying hygiene and safety criteria laid down by the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organisation and the World Health Organisation, as well as the EU.The company has since gained ISO 22000 compliance. Farmer’s Choice was bought by Lonrho in March 1989. A second phase in the construction of the Kahawa West complex was then instigated, including the completion of a processing plant, again to FAO, WHO and EU standards. When the processing plant was finished, a licence was granted for the export of the full range of fresh and processed pork produce to other parts of the world. The company changed hands again in 2000 when the Aga Khan - owned IPS group acquired a majority share holding. A Halal certified, state-of-the-art beef slaughterhouse subsidiary has been commissioned and is trading separately under the brand ‘Choice Meats’.Today, the company sells its produce within Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Ethiopia, Muscat, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. New markets are now being established in West Africa. Do post your comments here or visit www.farmerschoice.co.ke Or please visit Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for regular updates. (Handle: @FarmersChoiceKE)