Daily Nation reports that the brewer will now start paying Sh3,285 up from Sh2,800 that farmers were earning last year for every 90kg bag of the raw material.
Kenya Breweries Ltd managing director Joe Muganda made the announcement Friday at Olchoro in Narok County where it sources close to 70 per cent of its barley.
“As you are all aware, this is a partnership story that began in 1940’s when barley was introduced into Kenya,” said Mr Muganda.
Lawrence Maina, the general manager of East Africans Malting Ltd (EAML), a subsidiary of EABL, announced that the company has introduced new barley varieties called Cocktail, Quench and HKBL-5 in a bid to improve yields.
Mr Maina said the company is targeting to get 45,000 tonnes of barley during the 2013-14 financial year.
The price increase comes barely three weeks after the brewer, through East Africans Malting Ltd, partnered with farmers in Eastern region to increase supply of sorghum for beer brewing.
Mr Maina said that EAML hoped to seal a 13,500 tonnes deficit which it had to import from Tanzania last year as Kenya can only provide 3,500 tonnes against the needed 17,000 tonnes.
The larger Meru region would account for 80 per cent of the sorghum supplied with farmers receiving technical advice from the European Co-operative for Rural Development.
The company targets a total of 20,000 tonness of sorghum from the farmers in Eastern this season.
