This report summarizes the author's 3-month internship experience at British American Tobacco (BAT) in Malakisi, Kenya. The key responsibilities included preparing goods receipts, documentation of projects, stock checking and forecasting, assisting with the family day event, and helping to organize the annual Battle of Minds business competition. The report also provides background on BAT and tobacco production in Kenya, including the organizational structure, policies and competitors in the region. Organic tobacco production methods are described focusing on transplant production, field growing, harvest, curing and marketing.

1. EGERTON UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF AGRICULTURE
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS AND AGRIBUSINESS
MANAGEMENT
TITLE: FIELD ATTACHMENT REPORT
FIELD ATTACHMENT REPORT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE IN AGRIBUSINESS
MANAGEMENT OF EGERTON UNIVERSITY
ATTACHMENT ORGANIZATION: BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO, MALAKISI LEAF
CENTRE
LOCATION: BUNGOMA WEST SUB-COUNTY
PRESENTED BY: OBALE PAUL COLLINS
REGISTRATION NUMBER: K17/10722/12
ATTACHMENT PERIOD: 8TH JUNE 2015-31ST JULY 2015

2. PREFACE
Industrial attachment enables the student to exercise the skills obtained in real life situation. The
report reduces in writing the various activities I carried out in British American Tobacco
Company during my field attachment

3. DECLARATION
I declare that this attachment report is my original work and has not been present else where for
the award of any degree, diploma or certificate
Name: OBALE PAUL COLLINS Signature………………………….
Reg No.: K17/10722/12 Date……………………………….
APPROVAL
This report has been submitted for examination with my approval as university supervisor.
SUPERVISOR____________________________
SIGNATURE_____________________________
DATE___________________________________

4. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
In preparing the report on my daily day to day activities in British American Tobacco, firstly I
express my gratitude to my academic supervisors Prof Wambua and Dr Langat, without his kind
direction and proper guidance this report would have been a failure.
I also want to thank my line manager at British American Tobacco, David Mwanzia, Sourcing
Manager, & Hellen Wanyira who provided me with all the necessary information that I required.
In every phase of my job their supervision has shaped this general report.
I am also thankful to my fellow colleagues of British American Tobacco who gave me their
valuable time and enough information to successfully make this report. I also want to thank my
University friends for their encouragement and support while making this report

5. ABSTRACT
Commercial production of tobacco in Kenya has been going on for about a century and since its
introduction, its production and use have been issues of great controversy. Tobacco production in
Kenya has created a class of growers that have long been ignored by historians. A growing
number of scholarly works available on the theme have basically been of scientific and
agronomical nature. In a wider context, a lot of literature on social relations on the recent
agrarian intensification in Africa does exist, though lack of systematic studies on the relationship
between tobacco production and socio-economic impact as well as employment on tobacco
farms still remains a yawning gap in the historiography of Kenya. This paper is a focus on a
historical examination of tobacco growing peasantry and its impact on employment trends in
Sirisia, Bungoma West District of Kenya following concerted efforts by the British American
Tobacco Kenya Limited (BAT) to commercialize agricultural production. The study used
observation method and interviews in data collection. Archival and documentary sources were
also used for secondary data. This study serves a purpose of informing key stakeholders in the
government and non-government sectors about the relevant policies to improve rural livelihood
in Sirisia and other tobacco producing areas. The study demonstrates the view that the peasant
sector occupies a central role in African economic development

6. LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
GR-Goods Receipt
BAT-British American Tobacco
DHL-Documents Handling Limited
SWOT-Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities and Threats
BOM-Battle Of Mind

8. 1.0 INTRODUCTION
Kenya is one of the tobacco consuming countries in the world. In our country many people
smoke now a day. The fact is tobacco consumption is not only limited in the male but now a day
female also smoke. Approximately 17% of the population of Kenya consumes tobacco in some
form whether smoked or smokeless amongst which with a higher percentage of 12% is men and
the other 5% is women. In 2012, an estimated 3 million adults used some form of tobacco
product, smoked or smokeless. Research says that most smokers are male — 9% of adult men
smoke manufactured cigarettes and. In contrast, smokeless tobacco use is substantial across both
genders, while women having an upper hand with 5% being women and 14% of men using some
form of smokeless tobacco
1.1 ORIGIN OF THE REPORT
This report has been prepared to meet the requirements of the field attachment program of
Egerton University. This report is an outcome of almost three-month attachment period. I
worked three months as an attachee in British American Tobacco where I gathered
experience how DHL department works. I got to know many things of supply chain as
well as HR department as few days I worked with HR department. I worked under the
close supervision of David Mwanzia and Hellen Wanyira and my university supervisor Dr
Jackson Langat and Prof Wambua
1.2 OBJECTIVE OF THE REPORT
 To present an overview of 3 months experience in BAT.
 To get practical experience
 To learn how to adjust with new culture, skill and people.
 Relate academic learning with real life learning.
1.3 BACKGROUND OF THE ATTACHMENT LOCATION AND ORGANIZATION
The first cigarette company started trading in Kenya around 1901 when
British American Tobacco obtained a British Royal Charter granting it monopoly over the
distribution of tobacco outside the British Isles. The process involved importing tobacco and
manufacturing it in the United Kingdom, then re-exporting
cigars and cigarettes to the British Colonies including Kenya. The British market
at the time was the exclusive domain of the Imperial Tobacco Company.
British American Tobacco (BAT) began to develop the East African tobacco
industry in Uganda, where it build a first factory at Jinja and cultivated
tobacco at Gulu and Arua around 1930. At the time, Kenya was only a consumer:
it neither grew tobacco nor had factories to manufacture cigarettes. This situation
persisted until after the second World War, when a proliferation of tobacco

9. companies established in Kenya, some of them manufacturing a single brand, but
all of them extremely active in promoting their products. British American
Tobacco which controlled a majority of the market, started to take over its
competitors and absorb their staff, offering such attractive terms that by 1955,
it had acquired complete monopoly in East Africa under its new name, the East
Africa Tobacco Company Limited.
BAT only began to grow tobacco in Kenya in the 1930s in Sangana and Kitui;
for a long time the company imported the leaf required for Kenyan consumption from
Uganda, Malawi and Zimbabwe. It was not until 1974 that BAT embarked on large scale
cultivation of its own tobacco for the Kenyan market. With qualified local
staff, it has developed highly viable tobacco varieties in the Nyanza province at
Migori and in the Western Province at Malakisi. Tobacco production has risen
significantly from 17 tons in 1975 to 1 200 tons in 1982 in the Western province
alone. Within a period of less than ten years, BAT has achieved self-sufficiency
in tobacco, with a current production of 5 300 tons meeting total requirements
for the manufacture, each year, of 4.8 billion cigarettes for the Kenyan market.
1.4 ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW
1.4.1 MissionStatement
The vision of BAT can be both quantitatively and qualitatively described. Quantitatively, the
company seeks volume leadership among the international competitors and in the longer term,
value leadership. BAT recognizes that it is adult customers who will determine this and that,
therefore, BAT must be consumer driven.
Qualitatively, BAT seeks to be recognized as industry leaders and to be the partner of first
choice for government, NGO‘s, investors and potential employee recruits. The company will
also do this by being a responsible tobacco group, with sustainable business, outstanding people
and superior products.
There are certain missions the organization is heading to accomplish. They are:
1.4.2 Vision
British American Tobacco of Malakisi is very optimistic about their future in the world as a
whole. The company has always been setting challenging targets and achieving them at regular
basis. Their vision for the future is clearly defined. The vision is “to achieve Leadership of the
Global Tobacco Industry”-in order to create long term shareholder value. To make this vision
into reality people at BAT are working on four strategies, growth, productivity, responsibility
and winning organization

10. Fig: Mission& Vision of BAT
1.5 EMPLOYEE AND TRADE UNION OF BAT
BAT always recruit the best employee. It is not that easy to get a job there. One has to go a long
assessment process to get a job here. The company employs permanent employees as well as
varying number of seasonal and temporary workers as required. BAT pays good remuneration to
the employees. Each permanent employee receives a good remuneration amount in a year.
Remuneration depends on the nature and conditions of work.
The workers are labeled in the following categories:
 Permanent
 Probationer ( Basically MT)
 Temporary (seasonal)
1.6 FUNCTIONAL DEPARTMENT AT BAT

11. 1.7 SWOT ANALYSIS
SWOT analysis is important for any organization to find out the factors important to the
operation of a business in the environment, both internal and external. The internal factors help

12. to find out the strength and weakness; the threats and opportunities can be comprehended by
scanning the external environment. The SWOT analysis of the cigarette industry is given below:
1.8 ORGANOGRAM OF PROCUREMENT DEPARTMENT

14. 2.0 OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, POLICIES AND PROJECTS ACTIVE IN THE AREA
AND THEIR EFFECTS ON THE ATTACHMENT ORGANIZATION
2.1 ORGANIZATIONS
2.1.1 Malakisi Mastermind Tobacco Kenya(MTK)
The company is situated 10km away from BAT Malakisi leaf centre. It is one of the leading
tobacco growers and manufacturers of fast moving range of cigarette brands in the region.
The company is also involved in the exports of both tobacco and tobacco products to world
markets. It offers a stiff competition to BAT thus making tobacco production an effective.
2.1.2 Kenya Commercial Bank And Equity Bank
These are banking organizations located at Bungoma trading center. These organizations have
helped in safe keeping of the Malakisi Leaf Centre funds and the community funds. They also
help in educating farmers in major investment opportunities available in the economy. This
enables the company to have farmers who are currently updated with economic changes in the
economy. This positively influences the company’s production activities since the farmers are
able to maximize production of raw material e.g. fertilizers
2.2 POLICIES
 . James Scott, who analyses peasant societies states that the ethic of fair sharing of
harvests in peasant societies is superior to capitalist policies that induce peasants to grow
food for market sale. This is to say that, peasants will expend enough labour to achieve
food security because the food that is sold is not available for fair sharing with hungry
households.
 Training of farmers
This positively influences the company’s production services because the farmers are
able to produce quality milling.
2.3 PROJECTS
 Improvement of almost all murram main and feeder roads around Malakisi leaf centre.
This will fasten the transportation of farm inputs to farmers and tobacco to the centre.
 Building of new big tobacco storage buildings within the centre to facilitate safety of
tobacco stored
 Provision of maize seeds to farmers to enhance food security

15. PART 3.0 PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
I basically worked for DHL department. DHL department is basically a part of supply chain.
Supply chain is the most important, big and core department of British American Tobacco. I
directly did not work for supply chain but I worked for DHL which is a part of supply chain.
DHL department’s main duty was to sourcing different things.
3.1 RESPONSIBILITIES
The following were activities I was involved in
3.1.1 Preparing GR for the department
Some days I have to do the GR in my department which is helping with the billing procedure by
raising PO (Purchase Order) and generating GR (goods received) using the SAP system of BAT
preparing Goods Receipt( GR) for the department. Preparing GR includes some steps. That are-
• Firstly collect the bill from authorized vendor
• Raising PO for the authorized item
• Put entry into the GR form and get confirmed
• Collect the confirmation number and printing it out
• Finally, get the signature of department head and give it back to the vendor for being paid from
account section
3.1.2 Documentation
This was basically my daily activity. One of my core duties was to do the documentation daily.
Documentation basically means the summarization of different projects. In my 3 months of
attachment I had to do many projects like bike project, construction project, lab project,
machinery project etc. Here basically my main duty was to have the meeting with different
vendors then have a summarization on their offers. Then have a second meeting with different
vendors and negotiation over the offered price. Then again have a summarization on their offered
price. Finally after summarization we select the most potential vendor. It’s not necessary that
every time we selected the vendor who offered the least price rather we had to do a matrix
session where we considered all the things like price, delivery time, and their past records with
other companies etc.
3.1.3 Stock Check and Forecasting
This practice took place almost every week. Here my main task was to identify the stock of
various materials available in stores. The process involves physical counting of the bags of
fertilizer and the quantity of chemicals available in the respective stores.

16. 3.1.4 Family day
Family day is an annual program organizes by BAT every year. In this day every employee
brings their family and know each other’s family. It is basically a day where all the employee’s
family know each other. BAT organizes this program to develop good relationship among the
employees. I worked there as volunteer. It was not a very tough job. All we had to do is a day
before program we arranged many things like guest list, we had to see the refreshment part,
entertainment part etc.
3.1.5 Battle of mind
Battle of mind which is also known as BOM is a business competition and BAT organizes this
every year. As a tobacco manufacturer, the company cannot play any promotional activities
because govt. banned it. So this BOM basically is one kind of their promotional activity as well
as this is considered as the best case competition in the town. They basically go for employment
branding and Battle of minds is an initiative to promote the brand without doing any trade
marketing. We all know that British American Tobacco Bangladesh is one of the largest
multinational Companies of the country and it is a dream workplace for most of the business
graduates. So, by using the employment popularity, the organization launches Battle of Minds
every year. They started this journey within one room and with a small budget but this was a
blow up in 2014.
3.2 ORGANIC TOBACCO PRODUCTION
3.2.1 Introduction
There are several species of tobacco, all of them native. Nicotiana tabacum L. is the most widely
grown, providing virtually all the domestic leaf used in commercial production of cigars,
cigarettes, and smokeless tobacco products.
Another species, N. rustica, more commonly grown overseas, has generated interest because of
its high nicotine content, useful in the making of insecticides and for other specialized uses.
However, N. rustica is not a well-domesticated species and is reputedly difficult to grow, in the
absence of varietal improvement. A selection of tobacco books,focusing on N. rustica, is offered
by the Ethnobotanical Catalog of Seeds, publishedby the seed company J.L. Hudson, Seedsman
(www.JLHudsonSeeds.net).
3.2.2 Tobacco Culture
The culture of tobacco can be divided into several key areas:
1) Transplant production
2) Field growing
3) Harvest
4) Curing
5) Marketing. (Marketing tobacco since 2003 has been covered in the Foreword.)

17. 1. Transplant Production
Traditional Bed Preparation: Traditionally ,tobacco is seeded into beds or cold frames, and
then transplanted to the production field when plants reach a height of five to seven inches.
Seedling beds are located on well-drained sites that have been well cleared of weeds and trash.
Sloping beds on southern exposure produce the strongest transplants. The soil is sterilized using
chemicals on most conventional farms. Wood fi res and steam may be used as alternatives. Soil
Solarization may be another option, though it is not specifically mentioned in the literature.
Unless some form of soil sterilization is employed, planting bed locations should
be changed each year. The seedling bed should be manured the previous fall, shallow-tilled, and
planted to a cover crop if possible. This cover crop should be incorporated in early spring, well
in advance of seeding. The seedling tobacco bed typically receives additional supplementary
fertilization. Rates vary depending on the type of tobacco being grown. Flue cured tobacco
receives relatively high rates of fertilizer, while fire-cured, burley, dark, air-cured, and shade-
grown cigar-wrapper types receive low rates. Medium rates of fertilizer are provided to other
cigar types and to aromatic tobaccos.
2. Float BedTransplant Production:
An alternative system of seedling production using hydroponics is coming into wider use.
Tobacco is seeded into Styrofoam trays with a soil-less potting mix. The trays are then floated
on a bed of water. Burley Tobacco: Float Bed Transplant Production, by Stanley R. Holloway
(3) provides an excellent description of this approach, including budgets. In conventional float
bed systems, soluble fertilizers are placed in the water solution for plant feeding. Organic
growers might avoid the use of salt-based fertilizers through the use of soluble fish and seaweed
products, and other materials suitable for organic hydroponics. Suppliers of liquid organic
fertilizers often are found in the periodical The Growing Edge (4), which caters to hydroponic
producers
3.2.3 Pests and Diseases in Seedling Beds
Tobacco mosaic, also called “calico” or Walloon,” is a serious viral disease that often gets a
head start in the seedling bed. Sterilization of the soil (by wood fire or steam, as mentioned
above) is a first step in suppression, followed by common sanitation procedures like removing
crop residues, washing hands, and restricting use of tobacco products when working with the
seedlings. In the field, the spread of mosaic may be slowed by similar procedures, and by
removing and destroying diseased plants and eliminating solanaceous (nightshade family) weeds.
One novel approach to controlling tobacco mosaic was reported in the Indian Journal Honey Bee.
The journal stated that farmers in parts of India used skimmed milk as a treatment to prevent this
disease. A solution of five liters of milk in 100 liters of water is sprayed about one month into the
season.(5)
Bacterial diseases such as angular leaf spot (Pseudomonas angulata), also called
“blackfire,” and bacterial leaf spot (P. tabaci), also called “wildfire,” can be problematic in
seedling beds. Streptomycin and copper sprays have commonly been used in these instances.
Blue mold or downy mildew in tobacco is caused by the fungal organism Peronospora
tabacina. Primarily confined to planting beds, the disease is a serious one that may cause
complete loss of plants if not controlled. It is favored by wet warm weather, and winds easily

18. scatter the spores over large areas. Traditional cultural techniques to suppress blue mold include
(3):
 Rotating the planting bed to a new location each year
 Selecting sites with good air and water drainage, sunny exposure, and no shade
 Sowing more bed space than is needed for the crop and compartmentalizing the
planting—creating two to three smaller beds rather than one large one
 Sowing beds early Avoiding high plant densities
 Removing covers from plant beds frequently to admit sunlight and air
 Fertilizing and watering properly to assure vigorous plants
 Transplanting as early as conditions permit
 Soil sterilization
 Copper sprays
Cutworms are an occasional pest of tobacco in seedling beds. Removing weeds from
around the bed area is a good prevention measure. Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), formulated
as a granular bait, may be used to control the pest.
Flea beetles (Epitrix spp.) are often a pest in seedling beds. Bed sterilization, as well as
burning or clearing vegetation around the beds, enhances control. Also, covering the beds with
tobacco cloth or similar cover, with a minimum 25 strands per inch, will provide a suitable
physical barrier. Historically, cryolite and 1% rotenone dusts have been used to control fl ea
beetles.
3.2.4 Field Growing
Rotations
Growing tobacco in a planned rotation with other crops is a good way to manage fertility and
suppress many weeds, insect pests, and plant diseases— particularly black root rot (Thielaviopsis
basicola), nematodes, and bacterial wilt (Pseudomonas solanacearum). Since the economic
value of tobacco is very high, it is at the top of the pecking order with regard to planned
rotations, and the welfare of other crops is of secondary concern.
As a rule, tobacco does very well following corn, cotton, and small-grain crops. Leaf quality
usually is reduced following leguminous forage crops and cover crops because of excessive soil
nitrogen and organic matter. Quality also has been observed to vary following legume crops of
peanuts, crotolaria, soybeans, cowpeas, velvetbean, and lespedeza.
To control bacterial wilt, a four- or fi veyear rotation is suggested, avoiding susceptible crops
such as tomatoes, peppers, and peanuts.
Tobacco does well on virgin soils and soils previously in grass or grass-legume sods. Wireworms
(Limonius spp.) can, however, be a problem in sod soils and remain a signify cant pest to crops
up to fi ve years after the sod is broken.
Cultivation and Fertility
Good field preparation should include a well-prepared seedbed, free of clods and weeds.
Transplants are set out in rows, which may vary from three to four feet in width, with plant
spacing 18–36 inches apart in the row.
Factors such as tobacco type and variety, soil type, and equipment determine the precise spacings
used.

19. Supplementary fertilization using standard commercial fertilizers is the routine practice on
conventionally managed farms. Nitrogen is managed carefully to avoid excessive growth and
accumulation of nitrogen compounds in the leaves. Phosphate also is managed carefully, as
excessive amounts in the leaves alter burning characteristics of the leaf. High potash levels, on
the other hand, are desirable. Adequate soil potash is also important in suppressing angular leaf
spot (P. angulata) and bacterial leaf spot (P. tabaci). Chlorine-based fertilizers, however, such as
potassium chloride, cannot be used, as they too reduce burning quality of the tobacco.
Supplementary fertilization commonly includes a source of magnesium. Inadequate levels of soil
magnesium encourage incidence of a nutritional
disorder called “sand drown.” About 24–35 lbs/acre of soluble magnesium is considered
adequate for most fields.
Either dolomitic lime or sulfate of potashmagnesia is commonly used to supply magnesium in
both conventional and organic cropping systems.
Soil pH should be maintained in the slightly acidic range (5.5–6.5) with an available calcium
level five times that of magnesium.( 6) At higher pH levels, the incidence of black root rot
increases.
Manures have historically been used in tobacco production, with rates of supplementary
fertilizers reduced accordingly. Dark tobacco, especially, responds well
to fertilization by manures, though it is advisable that they be applied and incorporated the
previous fall. Application of animal manures to fl ue-cured and other lighter tobaccos is much
more risky. Dr. W.D. Smith of North Carolina State Cooperative Extension has advised that
manures be used on corn and other crops in rotation, to minimize any possible side effects on the
tobacco crop.
Mechanical cultivation and hand hoeing are used for weed management. The additional labor
costs for hoeing are justifi ed by the high value of the crop. Deep cultivation is allowable shortly
after transplanting, but may damage crop roots if continued into the season. Cultivation and
hoeing have the additional value of breaking the soil crust, allowing proper air exchange and
improving crop yield and quality.
Topping and Suckering
When the tobacco crop is about half-grown, flower buds begin to appear. These fl ower heads are
removed or “topped” to prevent seed formation, forcing the plant to focus on leaf production.
The result is larger, thicker, darker leaves that mature more uniformly and contain more nicotine.
Topping may be done by hand or with special machines that cut the flower heads and sacrifice a
few leaves. Topping requires two or three trips over the field to catch all the plants. Topping of
plants also stimulates the growth of secondary stems from the base and/ or leaf axils. These
“suckers” must also be removed to assure uniformity and quality. While chemicals are available
to suppress suckering, these may not be allowable under organic certification standards. The
alternative is removal by hand every seven to ten days. Suckering is one of the most labor

20. intensive activities in tobacco production, as many plants sucker two or three times before
harvest.
Insect Pests and Diseases in the Field
Tobacco has a number of insect pests. Among the most threatening of these are two species of
hornworm: the tomato hornworm (Manduca quinquemaculata) and the tobacco hornworm
(Protoparce sexta). Hornworm caterpillars are large and easily recognized. Considerable control
can be achieved by hand picking in conjunction with other labor-intensive field operations. Post-
harvest tillage operations to destroy and bury residues are one means of destroying many of the
overwintering pupae. Destruction of residues is also a means of controlling flea beetles.
Populations of hornworms often are kept in check by parasitic braconid wasps and other
beneficial insects. Parasitized worms are readily recognized by the presence of small white
cocoons arrayed along their backs. If the majority of worms found are parasitized, further control
measures should be avoided, if possible, to allow the parasites to hatch
and continue working.
Tobacco also is attacked by the tobacco budworm (Heliothis virescens). Populations of this pest
are suppressed through fall management of crop residues. Both budworms and hornworms are
lepidopterous pests, vulnerable to formulations of the biopesticide Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). To
be truly effective, however, treatments must be made when the worms are small.
3.2.5 Harvesting
There are two primary harvesting methods: priming and stalk-cutting. Priming entails the picking
of individual leaves as they come into their prime. Usually fi ve to six pickings are required at
five to ten-day intervals to complete harvest. Leaves may be strung on special sticks or handled
in loose bulk form for curing. Priming usually results in higher total yields than stalk-cutting. It
is used inthe harvest of fl ue-cured types, shade-grown cigar wrappers, and several other
cigartobacco types.
Stalk-cutting of tobacco is done by cutting the stalk at the base. In the case of burley and fire
cured types, the stalk is often split to hasten drying and to facilitate placement on wooden laths
for curing.
3.2.6 Curing
Curing is the process of drying, chlorophyll decomposition, and other natural chemical changes
that result in the desired tobacco product. Proper curing is essential to quality. There are three
primary forms of barn curing: air curing, fl ue curing, and fire curing. All curing takes place in
large, tight barns in which temperature and humidity are carefully controlled, usually through the
use of ventilation and artifi cial heat. Air curing requires from four to eight weeks. Flue curing
entails the use of higher temperatures in the early stages of curing, which results in a lighter
color. Fire curing utilizes natural drying for the fi rst three to fi ve days, followed by the use of
hardwood fi res for higher-temperature drying, and to impart a characteristic odor and taste to the
tobacco. Chewing-plug and snuff tobaccos are commonly fire-cured.

21. 3.3 KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS GAINED DURING THE ATTACHMENT PERIOD
Professional skills learnt during the attachment period include the following:
1. Identification and control of pests and diseases.
2. Value chain analysis and models used in the analysis e.g. the use of crop budget model to
compute the profitability of producing a particular crop.
3. Types and management of agricultural risks e.g. diversification of farming practices and
insurance among others.
4. Activities of human resource management such as
 Planning
 Recruitment, selection and placement.
 Promoting and transfers of employees
 Performance appraisal among others
5. Farm planning and budgeting techniques such as partial budget, break even budget,
cash flow budget and complete farm budget.
6. Farm performance measures such as the income statement and the balance sheet.
7. Investment appraisal and techniques used in capital budgeting such as the net present
values and internal return.
8. Agricultural economics the concepts of;
i. Production cost
ii. Input- input relationship that maximizes profits.
iii. Input –output relationship that maximizes profits.
iv. Output- output relationship that maximizes profits.
9. Management functions such as;
Planning
Controlling
Organizing
Co-ordinating
Staffing/ directing functions
10. Components of individual behavior in an organization such as;
i. Individual attitude
ii. Individual abilities and skills
iii. Individual perception
iv. Learning
v. Personality

22. 11. Organizational culture e.g. the role that is based on beauracratic system with well defined
rules and procedures.
IMAGES

25. 4.0 EVALUATION AND CRITIQUE
4.1 Ways in which this attachment fit my career goals.
With the objective of being trained as an Agribusiness manager this attachment fit my career
goals in the following ways:
 Enabled me know ways to deliver the volume objectives, grow and defend market share and
grow value with profit and loss accountability
 It enabled me know how to defend market share through winning portfolio strategy and
successful implementation of key brand initiatives in a highly regulated environment.
 The attachment has taught me on various ways to account for performance management,
learning and development and talent management of BAT trade marketing Team.
 Shaped my skills on deliverance area of financial objectives by forecasting business
requirements; implementation of pricing strategy, management of annual budget with
corrective actions
 It enhances my communication skills both written and oral. During the attachment, I had to
speak and write grammatical English to the field supervisors and to some extent the head of
agriculture department. Above all, the writing of this report has greatly improved my written
communication skills.
 This attachment has greatly familiarized me with the agronomic practices needed by
agribusiness manager such as ploughing, harrowing, planting and control of weeds as well as
pest and diseases
 This attachment has exposed me to the external factors that influence business operations
such as population factors, political factors, competitive and technological factors and the
way in which they can be transformed to influence the business positively
 The attachment programme has let me know that agribusiness managers work is not limited
to paper work and contacting suppliers, vender etc but also go into the field and look out for
crops being planted.
In short, this field attachment greatly fit my career goals cant change on the basis of this
attachment
4.2 As far as an Agribubusiness manager my core strengths include the following:

26.  Ability to make entry in books of accounts/ledger, prepare a trial balance and extract final
books of account such a balance sheet, income statement as well as analyze the financial
ratios
 Ability to apply the agricultural economic theory learnt in classroom to real life situation.
 Ability to mitigate agricultural risks through diversification of production activities,
insurance etc
 Adequate knowledge in agronomic practices
 Ability to speak and write grammatical English
 Ability to work in groups without fears
 Ability to work under pressure and meet fixed deadlines
 Knowledge and behavioral science and organizational theory is an added strengths
 Knowledge in managerial accounting
4.3 My core improvement areas include;
 Application of management information systems in business management
 Familiarity with the business law
 Verification of correctness of books of accounting(auditing)
4.4 My contribution to the company include;
 To fasten the recruitment of cane farmers through provision of skilled labour
 Training of farmers about the importance of agribusiness.

27. 5.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Conclusion
It was undoubtedly an amazing experience working with BAT; it was my dream to work with
this organization. BAT has ensured value addition at every stage of their works. BAT is quite
well- known for its unique production and management system, factory culture and operator-
management relations. The procurement department where I worked is basically a part of supply
chain. This department is quite small as many few employees working in that department but it is
a very well organized and structured department. I got to learn many things from them. Though I
hardly got chance to work with my line manager directly but it was an amazing experience to
work with my other supervisors
If I ever get any further chance to work for them I will definitely go for it because I quite liked
their working environment as wNo table of figures entries found.ell as the office. While
working there I got to learn many new things and had practical experience in supply chain field. I
hope that my experiences from BAT will help me in my future career.
5.2 Contribution Of The Organization To National Development
 Provision of employment opportunities. The company offers both direct and indirect
employment opportunities to all qualified members of the country regardless of tribe
 Improvement of living standards of members of the country
The company provides income to its workers/employees thus improving their living
standards.
 Infrastructure development. The company contracts and maintains all murram roads loose
surface within tobacco growing zones. This improves accessibility.
 Provision of health services. The company, through their health facility centre provide
health services to the community e.g. provision of ARVs, treatment of diseases etc.
 Provision of education services. The company sponsors students in universities and
secondary schools to qualified pupils and students in the community.
 Training. The company offers training opportunities to its farmers thus improving their
knowledge about major investment opportunities in the economy.

28. 5.3 Recommendations
 They only had one intern in procurement department, so it was a bit tough for me to do all
the task alone as I had to work for both the directs as well as indirect. So it would be better if
they have minimum two interns.
 The hierarchy level of HR department should be more uniformed and of one way. They
segmented the whole HR department in Pure HR, Supply Chain HR and Marketing HR. each
of them has distinct work criteria but while working on Battle of Minds, I found huge
problem among those segment.
 As an intern I did not get any orientation on introduction session with other departments
which created a bit problem for me, as I have to visit different departments for work.
 BAT has very relaxed work schedule. Sometimes supervisors come very late and start work
after 4 pm so as a result interns had to wait a lot in the office.
 There should be a training session for all the interns regarding safety issues and should have
a proper introduction session with the organization.
 They should improve their food quality.
 One of the problems which I find is that they never put the interns as based on their major
minor. Like I was major in HR but I was in procurement department. I feel that they should
put interns in the departments based on their majors, it will make the interns to work with
more interest.
 As they cannot go for massive promotional activities so they can go for more CSR activities.
5.4 Appendices
Logbook available