Kenya: Tobacco Earnings in South Rift Drop

Source from:  East African Standard (Nairobi) 30 October 2007 10/30/2007

Tobacco earnings in the South Rift region dropped by Sh1 million last year, due to bad weather. Farmers from Bomet, Narok South and Transmara districts earned Sh500,000 compared to Sh1.6 million the previous year. Alliance One Tobacco Company field officer in charge of the region, Mr Samson Tembe, said the drop in earnings was due to heavy rains, which affected output. Invasion of leaf curl disease also affected production of the crop by small-scale growers. Tembe told The Standard on Monday in Sotik that small-scale growers contracted by the company were expected to produce 200 tonnes of tobacco. "We expect farmers to increase acreage of the crop to meet the demand of 10 million kg required in the Japanese market," Tembe said. He urged farmers in the region to increase their acreage under the crop to increase their returns. "We are purchasing the crop from growers at Sh83 per kilogramme and farmers should take advantage of the good prices in the market," Tembe said. He said Alliance One Tobacco Company was taking part in environmental conservation projects in areas where farmers had been contracted to grow the crop. "Environmental conservation is top on our agenda as part of our corporate social responsibility programme and we encourage residents to plant trees," Tembe said. Enditem