Posted on October, 24, 2022 at 08:06 am
Local farmers are poised to smile all the way to the bank as Serengeti Breweries Limited (SBL) announces plans to increase sourcing of cereals for its beer production. The firm currently buys over 20,000 tons of maize, barley, and sorghum annually from local farmers
Addressing the media in Moshi, SBL corporate relations director John Wanyancha, said the beer maker intends to expand its sourcing of cereals to other parts of the country beyond Manyara, Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Dodoma, Singida, Shinyanga, Mara and Mwanza regions where the company has been buying grains from the farmers since 2013.
“Our increasing intake of grains from local farmers is intended to meet the expanded capacities our three breweries located in Moshi, Mwanza and Dar es Salaam,” Wanyancha said, stating that SBL has spent around 165 billion/- in the past three years on expanding operations of its breweries across the country.
The director listed provision of farming contracts, free seeds, basic financial management skills and technical on modern ways farming, as among other benefits that farmers growing and supplying cereals to the company will enjoy.
The event was also attended by Kilimanjaro Regional Commissioner Nurdin Babu who hailed SBL as a key stakeholder in the country’s development through employment creation, community support programs and revenue generation to the government.
Babu had earlier undertaken a tour of SBL’s Moshi brewery where he met and addressed the company’s staff. SBL employs over 800 people directly and thousands of others across its value chain – farmers, bar owners and staff, suppliers as well as distributors.
“SBL stands out as a good strategic investor to the economy and to our region (Kilimanjaro) in particular. The government is keen to continue supporting and providing a conducive policy environment for such businesses to thrive as we encourage more investors to come to Tanzania,” the RC said.
SBL’s Moshi brewery also hosts a spirits production facility that churns out award winning brands such as Smirnoff Extra Pure, Smirnoff Orange Zing and Bongo Don – the company’s first local spirit brand introduced to the market last year
Source: The Citizen