KETTLE PRODUCE CONTINUES TO LEND SUPPORT TO FARM AFRICA CHARITY

Fife-based firm Kettle Produce is continuing its support of Farm Africa’s Food for Good campaign, which provides an opportunity for food and farming companies to invest in Farm Africa’s vital work growing agriculture, protecting the environment and strengthening market access in rural eastern Africa.

Farm Africa builds sustainable livelihoods for rural communities in eastern Africa by helping smallholder farmers, pastoralists and small businesses to take advantage of commercial opportunities, while transforming land use in a way that reduces emissions, halts the rapid degradation of nature and increases food security.

This year marks the ninth year of Kettle Produce working with Farm Africa.

Kettle Produce Managing Director Susie McIntye said: “The work Farm Africa do to grow and develop sustainable farming operations is phenomenal.  They bring economic growth and development to individuals, groups and local economies, creating lasting financial and entrepreneurial legacies”.

Kettle Produce has taken part in many fundraising activities for Farm Africa over the years. Managing Director Susie McIntyre took part in Farm Africa’s Thousand Trees challenge in 2019.

Susie was part of a group of eight senior businesswomen from the UK food and farming industry travelled to the remote town of Kanungu in western Uganda to face the challenge of planting 1000 trees in just three days and together raising £75,000 for Farm Africa.

Twenty-three-year-old Hildah Turyamusiima (a coffee farmer from Kanungu in western Uganda) has begun to reap the rewards of her hard work thanks to Farm Africa’s work tackling gender bias within the Kanungu district’s coffee industry, a project which the team visited in 2019.

“Traditionally the coffee was for a man and for us women we were not benefitting anything from that coffee. Farm Africa trained men to give us land agreements so that as women we could also benefit from the coffee produces.”

Through their work with Farm Africa, Kettle Produce is helping transform the lives of farming families, develop agriculture, safeguard the environment and strengthen market engagement in rural Africa.

Dan Collinson, CEO of Farm Africa said: “Farm Africa is hugely grateful to the UK food industry for their ongoing support throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Like all charities, Farm Africa has been hit hard by the pandemic just as the communities we support need us more than ever. The support of the Food for Good network has been invaluable in helping rural communities across eastern Africa weather the extreme disruption to their lives and businesses brought by the pandemic, as well as build their resilience to the ongoing challenge of climate extremes.”

Earlier this year Farm Africa celebrated reaching the impressive milestone of having raised £2 million through their Food for Good campaign and have continued with their fantastic fundraising efforts.

Photographer credit: Farm Africa / Jjumba Martin