Local sourcing is a key part of HEINEKEN’s partner for growth strategy and supporting the communities in which we operate is a central Company belief. To help financially empower farmers and their communities, we have set an ambitious target to source 60% of our agricultural raw materials locally by 2020. In 2013, we launched the Community Revenue Enhancement through Agricultural Technology Extension (CREATE) programme to accelerate our sourcing initiatives in the region.
CREATE is supported by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the European Cooperative for Rural Development (EUCORD), as well as a number of NGOs. HEINEKEN has the overall responsibility for the implementation of the project and we will contribute more than USD4 million from 2013 to 2017. This Public-Private Partnership approach is an effective way to share expertise and collaborate with local governments to help local farmers to improve their agricultural practices. The objectives of the CREATE project include:
- Reducing the number of seeds imported from other countries
- Developing the knowledge and skills of local farmers through support and training
- Improving income for thousands of farmers and their families.
Beer can be made from many different grains, including barley, rice, sorghum and maize. The relevant crop in each country depends on the local conditions and the CREATE project focuses on malt barley in Ethiopia, maize in Rwanda and sorghum in Sierra Leone.
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