Today, Nestlé held an agripreneurship training workshop for coffee farmers in Mutheka, Nyeri. The workshop aims to help farmers build on entrepreneurship skills, learn about food waste and preservation, investigate price fluctuations and market seasonality, as well as gain trader knowledge on nutrition. At the agripreneurship workshop in Mutheka, coffee farmers learned about potential market links to traders and food processors, and ways to diversify their income to include produce such as arrow roots and tree tomatoes. This was the final of three workshops that have taken place in Kangunu, Gakundu and Mutheka.
Locally, coffee farmers are paid only twice in a year, hence the workshop aims to address ways to diversify their income, through interventions for sustainable food systems. It ensures farmers’ ability to feed their families with diverse nutritious foods in their diets as they wait for their income from their coffee proceeds. Since the adoption of the program, coffee farmers have seen a 40% to 59% decrease in food inadequacies for three months or more. The direct result is that coffee farmers have significantly increased their family food and nutrition security, paving the way towards a safer and healthier future for generations to come.
“At Nestlé, doing good for us is about creating shared value, which is a core pillar of our brand. We adopt initiatives that will contribute economic value to the shareholders, the community, and eventually to the consumers. We use our resources to enable better nourishment and health not only for our consumers, but also our farmers, to help build resilient communities, protect our natural resources, and impact consumers lives with brands that are driven by purpose,” said Ng’entu Njeru, Nestlé East Africa Managing Director.
This is the third intervention under Nestlé’s Farmer Family Nutrition program that seeks to improve the livelihoods of coffee farmers in the Nescafé Plan communities. In 2016, Nestlé made a public commitment to improve the nutrition status of farmers and their families, with this program that entails three interventions: food availability; dietary diversity & health; and market links.
The first intervention on food availability entailed workshops on establishing and maintaining kitchen gardens, where farmers received agronomy support and seeds, as well as lessons on adopting nutritious foods.
Through the second intervention on dietary diversity and health, farmer couples were trained on the nutritional value of foods, balanced diets, and food preparation through nutrition workshops and cooking demos.
The Farmer Family Nutrition program is part of the Nescafé Plan, which was Launched in Kenya in 2011, in partnership with Coffee Management Services (CMS). The Nescafé Plan, which is in its 3rd phase of implementation, has impacted over 50,000 Coffee farmers and their communities in Central & Western Kenya. The Nescafé Plan aims to make coffee farming a more attractive economic activity for present and future generations of farmers, in a sustainable way.
Ends
Contact
Judy Mwangi Corporate Communication & Public Affairs Manager
Nestlé East and Southern Africa Region
Tel: +254709553072
Email: [email protected]
Issued by Weber Shandwick on behalf of Nestlé East and Southern Africa Region
Stephanie Mithika Associate, Client Experience
Tel: +254115134834
Email: [email protected]
About Nestlé
Nestlé is the world’s largest food and beverage company. It is present in 187 countries around the world, and its 291,000 employees are committed to Nestlé’s purpose of unlocking the power of food to enhance quality for everyone, today and for generations to come. Nestlé offers a wide portfolio of products and services for people and their pets throughout their lives. Its more than 2,000 brands range from global icons like Nescafé or Nespresso to local favorites like Nido and Milo. Company performance is driven by its Nutrition, Health and Wellness strategy. Nestlé is based in the Swiss town of Vevey where it was founded more than 150 years ago.