Food brand Kist, operated by food company Cargills, has stepped in again to support farmers in need.
Kist purchased over 30 metric tons of surplus tomato on April 26 from farmers in Gageyaya (Moneragala district), Welimada (Badulla district), and Wangiyakumbura (Badulla district). By doing so, the company mitigated the significant risk these farmers faced of discarding a substantial portion of their harvest.
The surplus tomato will be processed to manufacture tomato sauce, at the company’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Katana. It is the only Sri Lankan facility with aseptic processing capabilities which can convert and preserve fresh local tomato at the highest quality standards, to use for tomato sauce production, a company spokesman said.
This initiative underscores the company›s commitment to support the local farming community, with which it has had direct engagement for the past 25 years. By providing a consistent market for the farming community, the company is able to drive income to the rural economy and support livelihoods. Cargills has made significant investments over the years to reduce post-harvest losses in the agriculture value chain in Sri Lanka.