Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Tanzanian Cotton Companies to Contract Outgrowers

Cotton ginners in Tanzania will from this year contract outgrowers to boost cotton production.

The programme, initiated by the Tanzania Cotton Board in partnership with the Tanzania Gatsby Trust, is expected to increase cotton production from 700,000 bales annually to 1.5 million bales by the year 2015.

Productivity is also expected to increase to 1,500kg per hectare, from the current 750kg to increase the proportion of lint consumed in the domestic textile industry from 30 per cent to 90 per cent by 2015.

Olive Luena, chief executive of Gatsby Tanzania said that as part of the programme, farmers will get reliable and sustainable extension services, inputs and credit so that they can maximise productivity and production. “Above all, the programme will also introduce or promote labour-intensive technologies to ensure timely planting, weeding and pest control,” she said.

The Gatsby said that the technologies must apply for both food crops as well as cotton because farmers spend their labour on food crops before cotton.

According to Ms Luena, soil conservation will also be introduced to minimise soil degradation.

The project involves 21 farmers, three from each district and will be run by Golder Associates from South Africa in collaboration with cotton board, districts councils and research institutes through demonstration plots and farmer field schools.

Mr David Sayi, the project co-ordinator of Cotton and Textile Development Programme, said that the programme has so far recorded positive results with farmers involved doubling their yields for both cotton and maize. For instance in Kwimba, cotton yields increased from 500kg per acre to 1,100kg.

In Sengerema Districts, farmers where given loans for cotton production and there has been 100 per cent loan recovery since the inception of the programme,” Sayi said.

The East African

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Food Price Boom not Helping Tanzanian Farmers

The six-foot tall corn stalks on Kastul Baha's homestead are the envy of his pastoral village in northern Tanzania . Baha was one of the fortunate farmers this crop season with $35 to buy a package of fertilizer to apply over his half-hectare field. He expects to more than double output to 10 bags of corn compared to four bags last year.

Even so, his expenses -- inputs, fuel and farming taxes -- really add up. Baha says he'll be lucky to feed his family and sell a small surplus at the local marketplace to break even.

"There is no way we farmers are able to make a living," Baha said, taking a breather from his second job as a doctor at a health clinic in Ayalabe village, about 100 kilometers outside Serengeti National Park. "Here, we're staying poor because there are bad agricultural policies and no budget help for farmers."

The global commodity price boom isn't bringing immediate benefit to the east African nation's majority of small-scale farmers. To the contrary, Tanzanians are likely facing more burdens as the country's import bill rises and pushes up the price of basic food items and producer costs, according to the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC), a United Nations agency based in the Netherlands . The CFC works with developing countries to strengthen production and trade of commodities.

Tanzania , Africa 's fourth biggest coffee producer -- and an exporter of tobacco, cotton, cashew nuts, tea, sisal and cloves -- may derive higher export revenues, says the CFC. However, economic gain for Tanzanian farmers will likely be curtailed by the rising cost of crop production and transport to bring the goods to market, Andrey Kuleshov, a project manager for CFC, wrote in response to questions emailed from IPS.

"Even for the countries which positively benefit, the gains from booming commodities are just not enough to cover the costs of adjustment," said Kuleshov. "In the short term, I'm afraid that that Tanzania will have to face extra macro-economic hardship."

Agriculture accounts for about 85 percent of the nation's exports and about 30 percent of the country's gross domestic product, according to a National Dialogue on Economic Empowerment in Tanzania report released in May. Up to 80 percent Tanzania 's 38 million people depend on farming whether it's to put food on their table or their main source of livelihood, the report added.

Farming in Tanzania is labor-intensive and low-tech in rural communities where large tracts of land are cultivated with hoes or bare hands. Women carrying pangas, a bladed African tool, crouch between the coffee trees at the 175 hectare Karatu Coffee Estate in northern Tanzania and pluck beans from the branches.

Rising expenses for farm machinery and spare parts, local and central government levies and a mandatory minimum salary hike this year has led to a squeeze on margins, said general manager Starson Mootera. Even this farm, one of the region's largest, can barely afford to spend more on the agriculture inputs needed to produce relatively high yields, he said.

"That means our productivity is not improving, and that means no chance of higher sales and higher profits," he said.

Down the road, Aziz Yusuf, a manager on the Tinga Tinga Coffee Estate, added, "Our costs to produce are going up. But if the selling price is better in the world we only hear about it. I guess it's being lost somewhere in the middle."

Agriculture experts say the government must take responsibility and improve policies aimed at helping its millions of farmers. Better access to cheap loans for growers and subsidies for farming inputs could help, according to the Dar es Salaam-based Agriculture Council of Tanzania, a lobby group of crop producers, livestock keepers, processors and researchers.

The council also called on the government to honor a promise made by African leaders to dedicate 10 percent of their national budgets to agriculture by 2010. Tanzania approved 6.4 percent for spending on agriculture in the current budget year ending June 30, 2009.

The government should also lower taxes and levies on farmers to boost incomes in rural communities, Abdallah Kigoda, chairman of the parliamentary finance and economy committee, said last month in parliament.

For example, local Tanzanian authorities charge farmers a tax rate 17 times higher than what an industrial producer pays, according to the Agriculture Council of Tanzania.

Baha, for one, wants the government to expand its subsidy program for fertilizers ahead of the next crop season so he can further boost his yield.

"I can't rely on the weather and the price is the market is unstable," he said. "So I should be able to at least depend on my own government for a little help."

IPS

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Tanzanian Sugar Production to Rise By 20%

Sugar production in Tanzania may rise by a fifth this season following improved rainfall and after regional demand spurred growers to plant more cane, the state- run Sugar Board of Tanzania said.

Output may increase to 317,000 metric tons between June 2008 and March 2009, from 265,000 tons in the same period a year earlier, said Matthew Kombe, director general of the board. The east African nation aims to produce 400,000 tons by 2010.

Sugar imports for household consumption in Tanzania will probably fall to about 30,000 tons in 2008-09, from 50,000 tons last year. An additional 70,000 tons is expected to be brought in by manufacturers for use in soft drinks, candies, cookies, juices and beer, Kombe said.

Sugar rose to its highest in almost four months in London yesterday on speculation near-record crude-oil prices will spur demand for ethanol produced from cane. White sugar for October delivery rose $14, or 3.7 percent, to $391.20 a metric ton on London 's Liffe exchange, the highest since March 3. The commodity added to a 20 percent gain last month that was the biggest since June 1989.

Sekab, the biofuel company owned by Jonkoping, Sweden-based Nefab AB , has begun developing Tanzania 's first large-scale sugar plantation for conversion to fuels such as ethanol, Kombe said. The 20,000 hectare experimental farm in Bagamoyo, about 70 kilometers (44 miles) north of Dar es Salaam , is expected to start producing 160,000 tons of sugar annually by 2010, he said.

About 12,000 small-scale farmers and major companies, including Illovo Sugar Ltd., Africa's biggest sugar producer, grow cane in central and northwestern parts of Tanzania .

Exporters in Dubai , India , Guatemala , South Africa and Brazil often sell white and brown varieties of the sweetener to Tanzania , said Kombe.

Bloomberg

Saturday, May 31, 2008

Tanzanian activists oppose jatropha-based biofuel production

Environmental activists in Tanzania 's Coast Region have raised concern over the planned large-scale cultivation of Jatropha for biofuel production, saying it would lead to environmental degradation.

The environmentalists said that the crop would not boost the economy of the residents as the price of the plant would be less than 150/- (US 13 cents) per kilo, saying that was less than what cashew nuts fetched, which is between 400/- and 600/- per kilogram.

Sources say, there were investors seeking 18,000 hectares in the coastal districts for the cultivation of the new cash crop. About 9,000 hectares have already been set aside for a foreign investor for the purpose which would affect 11 villages in the district.

Former owners of the earmarked land had reportedly been offered compensation amounting to 800m/- by the investor.

Environmentalists claim the project would affect other sustainable development projects including livestock keeping, fisheries, beekeeping, factories, and natural forest conservation. Furthermore, there would be no enough land for farming of both cash and food crops for schools, hospitals and colleges in the district.

”I do not like the Jatropha circus because, as far as I know, it will not produce as much as 20,000 tonnes of diesel from an 18,000 hectare farm, instead it would only destroy the environment. Such investors should not be encouraged in the district”, one of the environmentalists said.

However, an economist said large-scale farming was more profitable than small-scale cultivation as it would produce more crops.

ASNS

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Food Security Concerns in Tanzania as Investors Scramble For Land for Biofuel Crops

Foreign and local companies interested in investing in the production of biofuels are busy scrambling for fertile virgin land in Tanzania 's Rufiji District, Coast Region, ready to set up farms for the purpose.

However, the development has touched off concern and complaints from local residents that they could lose their land to wealthy investors giving them little in return.

More than 40 firms have shown interest in venturing into the business across the country, a development analysts see adding more worries over the state of food security. The influx of investors in the production of biofuels has largely been triggered by the escalation of fossil fuel prices in the global market as well as the adverse impact of climate change.

A Swedish company, SEKAB BioEnergy Tanzania , is among seven foreign firms out to acquire large chunks of fertile land along the Rufiji Delta. The firm is looking for about 400,000 hectares for the production of ethanol from sugarcane. It has already put 20,000 hectares under the crop and a further 50,000 hectares yet to be developed. Both tracts are in Rufiji District, one of the areas believed to be ideal for food crop production. Experts say that, if put to optimal use, the district could pump enough stocks of foodstuffs into Dar es Salaam Region and surrounding areas.

Other companies are interested in investing in the production of jatropha, maize, palm oil, cassava, cotton and paprika.

This is according to a survey conducted by Environmental Journalists Association of Tanzania (JET) and foreign journalists in collaboration with Oxfam International in the district earlier this week.

Most of the companies are expected to acquire land soon before engaging in the full production of biofuels.

There have been reports of investors using all manner of methods to woo villagers into selling them pieces of land. Kipo villagers interviewed said some investors have been holding ceremonial meetings as way of speeding up the process to acquire land.

"In one such meeting with villagers, an investor prepared spiced rice and chicken for us," said Kassim Kindinda, a Kipo resident, adding: "The investors only talk of the advantages of producing biofuel. They do not talk about how adversely their activities will affect food security in the area and the country generally."

"If we sell our land to this investor, how will we produce traditional food crops like cassava and maize? What kind of jobs will be offered to us because many villagers here are not educated?" Kindinda asked rhetorically. He pointed out that water sources would also be disturbed because large-scale sugarcane cultivation consumes lots of water.

Kipo village is close to a small natural lake called Zumbi that serves as a fertile fish-breeding ground. Investors want that too for irrigating their sugarcane plantation.

"I have been fishing here for more than 15 years now. My concern is that when the investors start using the lake`s waters for irrigation, there will be too little water left for us to continue with our own fishing, farming and other activities will be no more," observed Kindinda.

Rufiji District Commissioner Ali Rufunga confirmed that many local and foreign companies had shown interest in investing in the district. "To us, this investment is of fundamental relevance and importance to the district`s social and economic development," he said.

The DC explained that most aspiring investors had promised to create thousands of job opportunities for the local residents' taking, as well as improving infrastructure and social services. Giving an example, he said SEKAB had promised to build three ethanol processing plants in the 50,000-hectares it had acquired.

"The firm has promised to offer more than 10,000 jobs to Rufiji residents and has assured us that they will promote small-scale sugarcane outgrowers," he noted.

Josephine Brennan, Director for Africa Development under the Bioalcohol Fuel Foundation (BAFF), said they have decided to invest in the bioethanol project "following the skyrocketing prices of fossil fuels in the world." She explained that Tanzania was one of the ideal places for bioethanol production in the sub-Saharan Africa.

"The European Union target is to start using 10 per cent of agro-biofuels by 2010," Brennan said, adding that Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe are some of the African countries now in the process of producing biofuels.

William ole Nasha, an Oxfam land and pastoralism specialist, meanwhile underlined the need to deliberate on the benefits and disadvantages of biofuel production in the country.

Bashir Mrindoko, Commissioner for Energy Petroleum Affairs in the Energy and Minerals ministry, said a task force was working on a draft national policy on biofuel production and use.

If investors managed to engage fully in the production of biofuels, he said, the use of fossil fuels in Tanzania would fall by 20 per cent.

However, the commissioner said there was a need for an aggressive public awareness campaign on the matter. "There is an urgent need also to balance between land suitable for food and biofuel production," he said, adding that food security is currently a topical issue because many people have most of their focus on the production of biofuels instead of food crops.

Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives deputy minister David Mathayo said in a recent interview that the government was preparing a national policy on biofuel production that would spell out how much land would be set aside for the purpose. He said the government would attach great care to the process "lest posterity is denied access to land on which the survival of humankind so heavily depends."

The deputy minister added that the government would make its decision public at the end of this year "after thorough research to see how the country will benefit from biofuel, particularly by keeping food shortages at bay. Investors have been coming and asking for land for biofuel production. It is a good idea since the investment could create job opportunities and improve the economy through the sale of the fuel," said Mathayo.

"But these benefits notwithstanding, we must be careful about our food security. We should not let biofuel production be done in areas suitable for food production," he cautioned.

According to John Mclntire, the World Bank Country Director for Tanzania, Kenya and Burundi, increasing world food prices and problems relating to food shortages in many countries made it all the more important "to think in the medium and long term on how to increase agricultural productivity in Africa."

Bjarne Sorensen, the Danish Ambassador to Tanzania, meanwhile explained that his government would prepare a meeting to discuss the challenges and prospects of competition in world biofuel production "which is already affecting food prices in Africa."

IPP Media

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Tanzania Still to Decide on Biofuels

The Tanzanian government has said it is yet to decide whether to sanction the local production and consumption of biofuel or continue using other sources of energy.

Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives deputy minister David Mathayo said that the government was preparing a policy on biofuel production and how much land to allocate for the purpose. He said the government would exercise the maximum caution on the process "lest posterity is denied access to land on which the survival of humankind so heavily depends."

Mathayo made the remarks shortly after opening a forum on the development of agriculture and food industry innovation in Africa. He said the government would make its decision public at the end of this year after a thorough research to see how the country would benefit from biofuel, particularly by keeping food crises at bay.

"nvestors have been coming and asking for land for biofuel production. It is a good idea and the investment will create job opportunities and improve the economy through the sale of the fuel," noted the minister.

However, he warned: "These benefits notwithstanding, we must be careful about our food security. We should not let biofuel production be done in areas suitable for food production."

He said many African countries were facing food problems, while there was competition in the world in cultivating biofuel crops rather than selling food to needy countries.

"Food security is now a pressing issue everywhere, with millions of poor people now spending a greater share of their meagre incomes on basic staples," Mathayo noted. He called on the forum to facilitate learning on key practices and policies "that can enable or hinder innovation and the development of technology in agriculture, the food industry, rural energy and physical environment."

He said Tanzania was in great need of education for farmers, particularly on the importance of using quality seeds and fertiliser. "The government will have trained 5,000 extension officers by the end of 2011, which means at least one for every ward, specifically to educate and sensitise farmers on new farming methods like the use of tractors."

IPP Media

Satuday May 17th

Fruit Processing Plant Opens in Tanzania

Fruit farmers in Tanzania can now profit from their harvest following the opening in April of a $7 million fruit processing factory in Morogoro.

Morogoro and Tanga are major producers of fruits in Tanzania, but most of it goes to waste or is sold to middlemen from Dar es Salaam at throwaway prices. The farmers will now have a ready and steady market for their produce.

The UNNAT Fruits Processing Ltd in Morogoro's Export Processing Zone, has a capacity to process 140 tonnes of raw fruit a day, which is equivalent to over 2,500 tonnes per annum of juice concentrate.

The plant is currently doing 100 tonnes of its installed capacity and will operate for at least 12 months before going into full capacity. Some 15,000 farmers have already entered into contractS with the plant to supply it with pineapples and oranges. The contracts will boost farmers' income.

According to UNNAT, the target was to have 75,000 farmers registered with the company in Morogoro and the neighbouring Tanga region by the year 2010.

Centres for collecting fruit have been established at Mkuyuni, Matombo, Kiroka, Chalinze and Muheza.

Administration and human resources manager Nisarg Thakore said 10 centres had so far been established and 15 more are in the pipeline. Mr Thakore said that so far, the firm has exported 10 tonnes of concentrate worth some $270,000, most of it to Qatar.

"The factory's policy is to buy from farmers regardless of the size of fruit loads,” he said. He said the plant will later produce diluted juice for the local market and export to the region, to be sold at competitive prices compared with imported juices.

The opening of the plant is expected to make fruit farming sustainable. The plant also gives back to the farmers as fertiliser, fermented organic remains from the concentrate to use as fertiliser.

“Besides giving the farmers a guaranteed market we have reserved 11 per cent of shares in the company to be sold to them,” said Mr Thakore, adding that to qualify, all a farmers needs to do is sell at least 500 tonnes of fruit to UNNAT.

In the absence of extension workers, UNNAT management is conducting workshops and seminars for farmers to educate them on the best methods of planting and caring for their fruits.

Even though the emphasis now is on oranges and pineapples, the factory will in the second half of this year start buying mangoes, passion fruit and banana for export to Europe where there is a large market.