Sylva indigenous food and beverage production, Zambia
Sylva Foods is a domestic SME that aims to grow demand for and increase sales of traditional Zambian foods and beverages based on an inclusive local sourcing model. Sylva's existing product lines include sun dried traditional vegetables and meats such as cowpea leaves, cassava leaves and pumpkin leaves, traditional chicken meat and canned goat.
The company operates a food processing factory which produces moringa soup, cereal porridge, moringa tea-bags and orange maize cereal (porridge) for the school feeding programme.
By extending a supply chain that directly sources produce from smallholder farmers in rural communities across Zambia, Sylva generates multiple development benefits:
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Jobs in Sylva Food
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Improved opportunities and security for thousands of farmers – Sylva's sourcing model benefits smallholders through outgrower schemes (i.e. agreements between farmers and processing firms for production and supply of agricultural products) and training in production and handling methods provided by Sylva Foods and its NGO partners, access to markets and better prices.
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In addition to these gains for producers there is potential for a positive impact on nutrition. Sylva's experience to date has shown that perception towards traditional foods and their nutritional benefits within farmer communities that received training has changed. Also, the project aims to making better use of farm produce in rural Zambia, of which much is currently going to waste largely due to limited market access and lack of commercialisation of some traditional vegetables.