“The joy that growing barley has brought into my life, I can’t say it all.” A group of 30 women sing enthusiastically in the local Kupsabiny language spoken in Sebei region, Kapchorwa District. This group comprised leading female barley farmers from districts of Kween and Kapchorwa who had gathered to celebrate Women’s Day at Kapnarkut buying center. Set up by Nile Breweries Ltd, the buying center serves as a collection spot for farmers to bring their produce for sale to the company.
However on that day, there was nothing about produce, it was all about celebrating their achievements not only as barley farmers but as women, ahead of the International Women’s Day on March 8th. The Nile Breweries team recognized the efforts of the farmers and joined them in merry making with food, drink and gift packages. “Farmers are a critical part of Nile Breweries Ltd’s value chain and are key for the sustainability of our business. Without them, we would be unable to brew our World Class beer. Female farmers particularly contribute tremendously to farm work,” said Flora Aduk, Communication Manager. She added that, as a business, NBL celebrates the resilient force that her female farmers are and continue to ensure that they are skilled, connected and financially empowered. NBL supports up to 10,000 plus farmers per season with the overall number extending up to 25,000 farmers f both Barley and Sorghum.
Indeed many of the farmers testified that since they started growing barley their livelihood has improved. “Barley farming changed my life because it enabled me to cater for my family and empowered me financially as well,” said Winnie Chelimo. This year’s Women’s Day theme “ Choose to Challenge”, called upon the society to challenge aspects that contribute to gender bias and inequality. Barley farming was previously a trade for me, however the number of female farmers keeps growing steadily with encouragement from Nile Breweries and the role model farmers. In the last season, out of the 8,000 farmers, 3000 were women, an improvement from the seasons before.
However the farmers revealed that their progress in farming like many other economic activities was interrupted by the Covid 19 Pandemic. “Transportation of inputs and even produce was very hard because with the lockdowns and also fear of disease, there was little mobility. We had to rely on donkeys at all times which was slow,” said Esther Nait. One favourable aspect they all enjoyed though was the free support from their children who were not going to school for a year. “We were also lucky that Nile Breweries continued to give us fertilisers and pesticides for our crops,” Nait said.
As Collins Musau, an Extension officer reveals, the company supports farmers by providing inputs, training then and also recently introduced crop insurance against bad weather. Women in particular are encourage to grow their farms and access all the programs put in place by NBL and its various partners.
