BAT Kenya paid contracted tobacco farmers KES1.2 billion (USD 10.28 million) for deliveries last year, down 14.8 per cent from KES 1.4 billion they received in 2020, reports Business Daily Africa.

According to BAT Kenya, Kenyan growers supplied 7.2 million kilogrammes of leaf tobacco in 2021 compared to 8.3 million kilogrammes in the previous year. BAT provides farmers upfront loans for inputs equal to 30 per cent of potential gross income, and those who fail to meet their obligations are not given a contract for the following year.
Some farmers may also have switched to other tobacco producers or crops during the year, which would explain the drop in income and leaf deliveries, the report said. BAT said it had 2,000 growers under contract for the 2021 season, mainly concentrated in Migori, Bungoma, Meru, and Busia counties, compared to 4,000 farmers in May 2020.
The company recorded an 18 per cent increase in net profit to KES 6.5 billion for the year ended December 2021, driven by higher revenues and lower costs. The company will pay its shareholders a dividend of KES 53.50 per share or a total of KES 5.3 billion, the highest payout in the cigarette maker's history.