THE formation of Kwale Pamba and Viazi cooperative society in 2014 has seen farmers in the area doing away with unscrupulous middle men who have been exploiting them for decades. Base Titanium program partner business for development John Cooke said that the cooperative has positively impacted the livelihoods of farmers. Initially, the aim was to bring together cotton farmers in Kwale to enable them to export collectively and benefit from economies of scale. However, PAVI’s mandate has since expanded to include other crops such as; cowpeas, green grams, maize, potato, sorghum and soy beans – mirroring the expansion of Base’s livelihood programme. “Our ultimate goal is to ensure that we create a sustainable community that will outlast the life of the mine.” said Base Titanium Community Affairs Manager Pius Kassim.

Source: The Star April 19, 2017 20:48 UTC