Nile Breweries, a leading brewery in Uganda, has equipped over 1,000 barley farmers in Kabale and Rubanda Districts with financial literacy skills.
The training, which was held under the theme “Financial Empowerment of Farmers,” aimed to help farmers improve their financial planning, budgeting, investment, bookkeeping, and credit management skills.
Emmanuel Njuki, the head of legal and corporate affairs at Nile Breweries, said that the training is part of the brewery’s objective to improve the standard of living of farmers. “We depend 100% on farmers for barley, so by financially empowering them, we want to ensure that the crop is profitable for them and that the proceeds are well invested,” he said.
Nile Breweries uses homegrown barley, sorghum, maize, and cassava to brew its beers. The brewery currently has contracts with 25,000 farmers (15,000 for barley and 10,000 for sorghum) in Northern, Eastern, and South-Western Uganda. According to Njuki, the brewery purchases produce worth Shs109.3 billion annually from local farmers.
Bob Mutegeki, the NBL Agriculturist Team Leader- South Western region, said that the financial literacy training is also geared towards ensuring that farmers have increased access to credit facilities. “One of the biggest challenges facing majority of smallholder farmers is the lack of access to credit facilities,” he said. “This training will equip them with the knowledge and skills they need to access credit and improve their farming businesses.”
The training was conducted by a team of financial experts from Nile Breweries and other partners. The farmers were taught about financial planning, budgeting, investment, bookkeeping, and credit management. They also received information on how to access credit from banks and other financial institutions.
The farmers who attended the training expressed their appreciation for the opportunity to learn new skills. They said that the training will help them to improve their financial management and grow their farming businesses.
Nile Breweries’ financial literacy training program is a valuable initiative that will help to improve the lives of farmers in Uganda. The training will give farmers the skills they need to manage their finances effectively and grow their businesses. This will lead to increased productivity, income, and food security for farmers, and it will also benefit the local economy.
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