Africa-Press – Kenya. BAT Kenya has this month issued more than 15,500 avocado seedlings at a competitive price as it steps up efforts to enhance the livelihoods and food security of its farmers.
The beneficiaries include more than 1,550 contracted farmers based in Migori, Homa Bay, Bungoma and Busia counties. The organisation, informed by research and feedback from farmers and stakeholders on local agricultural trends, is issuing them with subsistence crops. BAT Kenya will also facilitate survival monitoring of the avocado trees and market linkage upon harvesting.
“BAT Kenya has a robust farmer livelihoods programme, THRIVE, through which we partner with our contracted tobacco farmers to drive various initiatives including crop diversification, to enhance food, environmental (soil health) and income security,” Mimi Mavuti said.
Mavuti is the Head of Business Communication and Sustainability for BAT Kenya and East and Southern Africa remarked. Mavuti said crop diversification can help mitigate agricultural economic risk by reducing farmers’ dependency on tobacco as a single source of income.
This, Mavuti said, is especially important on the back of climate change impacts. “Further, given that the tobacco crop is in the ground for only six months in a year, the subsistence crops enable farmers to drive food security and earn extra income from the sale of surplus harvest, as well as improve soil health,” Mavuti said.
For the sustainability of the programme, BAT Kenya will also provide its farmers with technical support and capacity building on sustainable agricultural practices. During the 2022 crop season, BAT Kenya issued its farmers with 13 tonnes of certified maize seeds at no cost, and over 17,000 avocado seedlings.
As part of its Sustainable Farming programme, the company also facilitates crop insurance for the tobacco crop to mitigate the impacts of adverse weather and natural disasters.
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