HM.CLAUSE celebrated the inauguration of its new home farm in Nanyuki, Kenya on Wednesday, April 15, 2015 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by senior management from HM.CLAUSE including Deputy CEO, Franck Berger and Global Head of Supply Chain, Ghis Reusken. Also in attendance was the French ambassador to Kenya, M. Rémi Maréchaux, who recognized HM.CLAUSE for its investment in Kenya’s agriculture sector. In his speech, he emphasized the importance of seed suppliers to integrate Kenya into their long term plans and thanked HM.CLAUSE for its vision.
After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Mr. Maréchaux joined HM.CLAUSE executives in planting an East African Yellow tree as a symbol of reforestation and environmental conservation in Africa. This initiative is a tribute to Wangari Maathai, winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize and founder of the Green Belt Movement.
The new subsidiary, HM.CLAUSE Kenya Ltd, will be dedicated mainly to indeterminate tomato seed production. The facility is HM.CLAUSE’s eighth home farm globally, and their second subsidiary on the African continent. The first African subsidiary, HM.CLAUSE Maghreb, opened in 2008 and has operations in Morocco and Algeria.
“The establishment of this facility not only strengthens our leading position on the global tomato seed market, but also reinforces our commitment to conducting our global business on a local scale,” said Franck Berger, Deputy CEO.
Nanyuki is located on the equator at an elevation of approximately 2,000 meters (6,562 feet) where long days and temperate weather provide ideal conditions for year-round vegetable seed production. Since selecting Nanyuki in November 2013, HM.CLAUSE has invested €1.3 million developing the site, which includes the construction of three hectares of greenhouses and more than 1200 square meters of warehouse and office space. The greenhouses are equipped with a rain catchment and storage system to increase the water supply for on-farm irrigation. The site also has additional land and water storage capacity that will allow production output to increase in line with expectations. “The extremely favorable conditions for horticultural activities in this region represent a new area of growth for the future of HM.CLAUSE,” said Ghis Reusken, Global Head of Supply Chain.
HM.CLAUSE Kenya Ltd. employs fifty people full time and has created indirect jobs that are helping to boost the local economy. Seventy-five percent of the employees are women and all employees are from the immediate surroundings. “Through the empowerment of these men and women, this project will continue to have a very positive impact on rural communities in Nanyuki,” said Sébastien Alix, General Manager of HM.CLAUSE Kenya Ltd.
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HM.CLAUSE, Inc.
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