Sorghum farmers to reap big in new Kenya Breweries deal

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Sorghum farmers to reap big in new Kenya Breweries deal

Sorghum farmers in Kisumu are expected to reap big thanks to the new Kenya Breweries plant currently under construction in the county.

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Sorghum farmers in Kisumu are expected to reap big thanks to the new Kenya Breweries plant currently under construction in the county.

According to Kenya Breweries Managing Director Jane Karuku, the new plant is expected to employ fifteen thousand sorghum farmers to help the company meet its demand.

The Kenya Breweries Kisumu outlet is already making tremendous strides in boosting the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) even as its construction is underway.

The outlet is seeking to provide a readily available market for sorghum growers in the county.

Speaking in Kisumu on Friday, Karuku said residents in Kisumu dealing in the sorghum business will be boosted economically as the brewery is looking to work hand in hand with them.

"Kenya Breweries is currently working with 34,000 local sorghum farmers and 900 barley farmers contributing 80 percent of raw materials,” said Karuku.

"The brewer is seeking to source all its sorghum and barley from Kenya by the year 2020,” she added.

According to Karuku, the recruitment of the fifteen thousand locals which will be done through a programme dubbed "Mtama ni Mali Project”, targets farmers in arid and Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL).

"On average, the brewer pays out Sh1.7B annually to contracted barley farmers and an additional Sh660M to sorghum farmers,” she said.

The Sh15 billion plant in Kisumu is seeking to attract sorghum farmers from ASAL who will enter into partnership deals to supply the company with their farm produce.