The Auction Holdings Limited (AHL) Group has been hailed for an initiative in which it has set up tobacco collection centres in remote rural areas, to facilitate ease the means of transport from the regions to the main auction floors.

Farmers are able to remotely access seller-sheets for their tobacco and other information and services they would access at the auction floors. Being from remote area, farmers can also track the flow of tobacco to the market using a mobile phone code, a development that was launched in November last year. Sparing farmers of the hassle of distant traveling to access tobacco sales information, Auction Holdings Limited (AHL) has launched a mobile platform called AHL252.

AHL’s Tobacco Sales General Manager Graham Kunimba said the platform will have assorted information from transaction notifications, tobacco sales quota and many more. Previously, tobacco farmers were going to AHL offices to check for such data; the platform hence serves as easier and faster means of information access. Tutoring tobacco farmers on how to use the mobile platform, AHL had meetings with them in their respective regions; a development that was implemented immediately after AHL252 was launched.

The mobile platform also enlightens farmers to engage with various AHL subsidiaries directly, rather than sell to vendors who are prone to rip them off. The phone initiative serves excellently with the collection centres.