AvaGro scooped the Master Crop Value Chain award as the Actor of the Year during the Namibian Agronomic Board's National Agronomy and Horticulture Awards Ceremony, held at Mashare in the Kavango East Region.

The National Agronomy and Horticulture Awards honoured and recognised the contributions made by various crop value chain actors towards the growth of the agronomy and horticulture industries.

This year, 42 actors took part, and AvaGro from the central production zone scooped the Master Crop Value Chain Actor of the Year award.

AvaGro started its journey in 2014 on an eight-hectare lot in Swakopmund and currently has about 200 employees.

Leonie Hartman, CEO of AvaGro, says, "We are absolutely honoured and thrilled that we can win big awards at these really prestigious nap awards that they have organised as best horticulture innovator of the year as well as master value chain producer of the year. We did not expect that we were coming a long way from Swakopmund with this amazing team, and we are absolutely excited that we can be part of this journey for Namibia to become a leading horticulture producer in the southern African region."

AvaGro also walked away with the outstanding horticulture innovator of the year accolade.

A small-scale farmer at the Etunda Irrigation Project in the Omusati Region, Aina Himarwa, walked away with the Outstanding Horticulture Youth Producer of the Year award.

"I won outstanding youth horticulture of the year, which I am extremely happy about. I am very happy that I got a check that I am going to invest in my garden."

Tomas Angula from the Ndonga Linena Irrigation Project in the Kavango East Region was crowned Outstanding Small Scale Producer of the Year.

"I am Tomas Angula, a small-scale irrigation farmer in the Ndonga Linena Irrigation Project. I feel so proud to be a winner. Being an outstanding small-scale farmer is an achievement to me. I am very happy."

The awards were celebrated under the theme Promoting a Resilient and Sustainable Crop Industry.