SBL to empower more youth in agriculture

Bagamoyo. Serengeti Breweries Limited (SBL) is set to empower more youth as big commercial farmers as its reliance on local grains grows.

This was said by SBL’s corporate relation director John Wanyancha when he awarded certificates of appreciation to the recipients of their Kilimo Viwanda Scholarship program at Kaole Wazazi College of Agriculture in Bagamoyo.

“We look forward to adding new members to our large network of over 400 farmers who grow and sell cereals to us. We expect you to become a big  farmer in one of these key regions: Kilimanjaro, Arusha, Manyara, Singida, Dodoma, Shinyanga, Mwanza, and Mara’.

Mr Wanyancha called on students to take advantage of their increasing demand of raw materials for beer production.

“we need more and more raw materials every year. In 2021, for example, we bought 18,000 metric tons of grains, which met 80 percent of our annual raw material needs. Our goal is to source up to 85 percent of our needs by 2025. You have to start seeing yourself selling to us even more in the coming years,” he said.

According to him SBL plans to increase the number of program recipients in the next application window in order to create more equal access to skills and resources in order to develop inclusive communities that work for everyone.

To date, the program has sponsored over 200 students from four agriculture colleges: Kaole in Bagamoyo, Kilacha in Moshi, St. Maria Goretti in Iringa, and Igabiro in Bukoba.

The college's principal, Sinani Simba, praised SBL's efforts to educate students about the realm of commercial agriculture.

The principal felt convinced that the program was already establishing a solid foundation for students, noting, "SBL is on board with our goals here in Kaole-that is, to assist youth progress in all agricultural aspects (theory and training), and their involvement is bearing fruit." We hope that these certificates will boost students' self-esteem and encourage them to work more on the field and in class. '