British American Tobacco Samoa (B.A.T.) has continued its support for local farmers through the provision of gardening tools and training.

The cigarette manufacturer, in a media release issued on Tuesday, said it is proud to continue to contribute to its Community Garden Project as part of its community service obligations to boost the capabilities of local farmers.

Last year the B.A.T. Samoa supported communities in the Alataua i Sisifo and Vaimauga Sisifo constituencies, in a bid to empower them in terms of their agricultural practices as well as to promote sustainable living through cost effective farming practices and techniques.

This year the company said its focus will be on the provision of gardening tools and knowledge sharing across six villages in the Fasaleleaga 3 constituency in Savai’i under the auspices of its Community Garden Project.

The participants, according to the company’s statement, will have “hands‐on experiences” on a daily basis in terms of learning to grow and cultivate their own fresh produce to harvest when the crops are ready.

“It is an outstanding opportunity for farmers especially to entice the unemployed youth to invest their time and efforts in participating and learning from the projects, to help them earn stable income and live a healthy lifestyle.”

Technical assistance for the project will be provided by Mikaele Maiava, who is an active council member of the Samoa Federated Farmers Incorporated, and a passionate gardening advocate. 

B.A.T. Samoa General Manager, Michelle MacDonald, said the company was honoured to continue to contribute to the growth and prosperity of Samoa.

“We feel privileged to be able to contribute to the growth and prosperity of Samoa and we thank Namulauulu Sami Leota and his committee for allowing B.A.T. Samoa the opportunity to be part of this worthwhile initiative,” she said in the statement.

“B.A.T. Samoa has been doing business in Samoa for over 40 years and is committed to giving back to the communities in which we operate through Corporate Social Investment in projects such as this.”

“With agriculture being a key priority sector for Samoa and food security and eliminating hunger identified as sustainable development goals, strong partnerships in community projects such as this will assist to achieve these goals especially around this time where the Covid‐19 is a major concern in every aspect of life.”

The project was created to develop farming capabilities of farmers to promote sustainable growing of local vegetables and crops, thereby improving the wellbeing of communities through the daily consumption of fresh harvesting, which can help prevent non-communicable diseases through strong collaboration as part of public private partnerships.