A total of 100,000 farmers have been trained by Nestle Nigeria, in the last one year, just as the firm has commenced sourcing of its raw materials locally.
This was disclosed during the opening of Advancing Nutrition, Health and Environmental Awareness Through The Media 2023, a weeklong event of the company, aimed at enhancing the knowledge of key sustainability issues, to sharpen journalism effectiveness in reporting on nutrition, wellness and the environment.
The Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Manager, Nestle Nigeria, Victoria Uwadoka, who revealed that there are 46,000 farmers within its value chain, said about 37 per cent of the farmers trained are females, adding that 97 per cent of them have recorded increase in their household incomes, while 82 per cent of the men have also reported an increase in their household incomes.
“We source 100 per cent of our cocoa in Nigeria, we are not importing any cocoa and in as much that we don’t deal with the farmers directly, we work with those who transform cocoa into powder we use in our operation.
“Our farmers are within the grain value chain in the north so, the sorghum, soya beans and maize are mostly sourced from Kano and Kaduna states.
“We have a programme in the South West, where cassava starch is produced and we are also working on the production of high quality cassava flour. We source palm oil 100 per cent in Nigeria and most come from Edo State.
Speaking on Nestle choice of project, she said: “We choose the project we work on based on three pillars – individuals and families, the community and the planet.
“We aim to achieve for individuals and families quality food, fortified to enhance the nutrition. They also need the right information to help them make the right food choices. We need to be aware what our body need, how we can make the right decision. We choose based on those three pillars and we ask ourselves if it will enhance knowledge of nutrition health and wellness, to make a better choice.
“For communities, we are enhancing access to water, teaching and learning facilities. We have refurbished a number of schools, building crèches, playground, put in furniture, ensuring that people get access to education.
“We have a technical training programme where we teach young people technology skills they need to make a good living, use of machineries. Also there are training on employability skill. We are building the skills of the youths and ability to secure a good employment or start a business of their own.
“We are doing much more and we are choosing the ones that have the most impact. Also we have a mentorship programme that has been on since last week, we are working in schools closest to our offices in Lagos, Abuja.”
