Poland to help Tanzania make tractors

Agri-Business 

Monday, March 03, 2014 

BY KENAN KALAGHO, EAST AFRICAN BUSINESS WEEK, KAMPALA, UGANDA

QUALITY: The Polish are among the leading global tractor makers.

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania - Finishing touches are being put to a proposed tractor assembly plant in Tanzania.
Sources say it would be the first of its kind in East Africa and would boost both agriculture production as well as improve incomes.
The multi-million dollar deal follows an agreement with Equator Suma JKT Company which has a share with Jeshi la Kujenga Taifa (JKT) signing a contract with Farmers Company from Poland.
This means that once the production starts, Tanzania is likely to be a major exporter of tractors.
Speaking in Dar es Salaam last week the Chairman of Equator Suma JKT Ramesh Patel said the two companies have secured a $70 million loan from Poland for the project.
“We have been in talks with Poland for a long time in order to implement the government’s initiatives of kilimo kwanza that was initiated in the fourth phase government,” Patel said.
Tanzania has for the past years advocating for kilimo kwanza to woo the majority population into the agricultural sector but the limited resources and high costs of farming implements have been draw backs.
Patel said production is expected to begin on a smallscale in order to allow for trials to take place at Centre for Agriculture Mechanization and Rural Technology (CARMATEC) in Arusha.
Robert Parcia, a representative from Farm Company, said they expect to assemble about 1,200 tractors by 2017 and that these will be of high quality just like those manufactured in European countries.
“We are optimistic that the assembling plant will kick off in Tanzania because of the assurances we have from the government of Poland in funding the project,” Parcia said.

$6m project to expand Tanzania telecom services

Resources 

Monday, March 03, 2014 

BY KENAN KALAGHO, EAST AFRICAN BUSINESS WEEK, KAMPALA, UGANDA

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania - Tanzania Telecommunication Company (TTCL) and Universal Communication Service Access Fund (UCSAF) have agreed to improve basic telecom services in rural areas in a $6 million project.
The World Bank is channeling the money through UCSAF.
According to the TTCL Chief Executive Officer Kamugisha Kazaura, the project is expected to start soon and will see about 33 constituencies with around 202 villages and involving some 3000,000 people being connected.
 “Our aim is to make sure that every constituency and village that was lacking telecommunication for long time, to have that access,”  Kazaura said.
He said implementation of the project will to the greater extent help to reduce poverty in the rural areas.
He said that most of these areas where the project is expected to be carried out are not well developed and therefore difficult for business opportunities to flourish due to lack of telecommunication links.
Services being planned  include mobile internet connections.
According to the TTCL Chief of Marketing and Sales, Peter Ngota , the project will be implemented with effectiveness.
It will cover 16 regions in the country including Arusha, Tabora, Iringa, Kagera, Manyara, Dodoma, Lindi, Mbeya, Morogoro and Mtwara,
Other regions includes Mwanza, Pwani, Ruvuma, Shinyanga, Singida  and Tanga. It is expected to be implemented in eight months from last month.

Zanzibar cassava yields up

Agri-Business 

Monday, March 03, 2014 

BY KENAN KALAGHO, EAST AFRICAN BUSINESS WEEK, KAMPALA, UGANDA

TRY IT: Machano shows samples of their cassava flour which sells at just over one US dollar for kilogramme.

UNGUJA, Zanzibar - Fishing is an important aspect to most island dwellers but to Zanzibaris, farming also plays a central part in their daily lives. 
Hard to believe, but many Zanzibari’s are farmers cultivating on a small scale, and cassava is their favorite crop, although rice is also consumed in large quantities.
About 17 kilometres North West of Zanzibar at Kimbiji area in Kizimbania,  a group of farmers is already making a difference through communal organized farming.
Muhamad Machano the Chairman of the ‘Tumwambie Nini Farming Cooperation’ says their farming group mainly focuses on cassava, Upland Rice, as well as sweet potatoes.
“We do grow Upland Rice on a very small scale. The weather is so dry on the island that we can only grow other rice varieties in wet areas or during rainy seasons,” he said.
He said since the groups’ inception in 2009, they have been able to make considerable progress with the hybrid grown cassava varieties and this has given them high yields at every growing season.
“We grow cassava hybrid varieties that are resistant to pests and diseases as opposed to our local varieties,” he said.
He added that these hybrid varieties include Machui, Kizimba, Mahonda and Makama.
Currently the group is cultivating up to 20 hectares of farmland and from every hectare the group is able to produce around 50 bags of hybrid grown cassava as opposed to just nine bags they used to get before.
According to Haji Saleh the Director of Kizimbani Agriculture Research Institute in Zanzibar, 90% of the food crops grown in Zanzibar is cassava, because it is able to resist the dry weather of the island.
“We are involved in crops, livestock, fisheries but we would like to focus much on the problems of post -harvest,”  Saleh said. He said this accounts for at least 40% loss of all the produce.”
The institute is currently looking at the ways on how to train farmers on post-harvest loss from farm to consumers in order to allow farmers earn more from their produce.
The Tanzania government is still contemplating on passing legislation that would allow the use of Genetic Modified (GMOs) crops to be grown alongside hybrids crops and other local varieties currently grown in both Tanzania mainland and Zanzibar.
If the law is passed, it would mean that scientists will now be able to work on the drought resistance genes of other plants into rice, allowing the dry places like Kizimbani in Zanzibar to still grow their favourite crop in relatively dry areas and still expect bumper harvest.
If the Tanzania’s strict prohibitive legal clause as stipulated in Biosafety Regulations of 2009 are worked out, this means farmers in Kizimbani area will now have reason to smile in their faces because with innovations, scientists are now able to produce rice that could carry a drought tolerant gene.
This science innovation would in-turn enable Kizimbani farmers in Zanzibar to grow their favourite rice crop for consumption even in harsh dry weather.
However Saleh said, “Despite cassava mainly being grown in Zanzibar, it is rarely consumed. It is mainly grown for sale and export, their favourite is rice.”
The Kizimbani Research institute is also focusing on sweet potato improvements and offering training to farmers on the best farming practices in order to help them source for clean planting materials especially cassava and sweat potatoes.
“It is very easy for farmers to transfer diseases through planting materials if farmers are not taught on how to manage planting materials properly,”  Saleh said.
He said both cassava and sweet potatoes use stems as planting materials and therefore easy to transfer diseases”
Machano on the other hand says that due to the increased participation on best farming practice with the research institute, the lessons obtained have been able to help them increase more produce and are currently planning to elect an office from where they will be selling their processed cassava.
“We have been able to grind cassava into cassava floor and pack them for sale at Tsh2,000 ($1.23) for every 2kgs of cassava floor, he said adding that crisps has also been their business.”
The cooperative is now looking for more opportunities as it plans to buy a petrol or electricity grinding machine at the cost of $2,097 (Tsh3.4million) and $3,701 (Tsh6million) respectively.
Muchano says besides selling crisps, and cassava floor, they also raise money through members’ monthly contributions and selling of cassava planting materials for $1.85 (Tsh3,000) for a bunch of 30 cassava stem bundles.
He however said that they face a challenge in sourcing for capital in order to allow them operate independently and raise funds for their children’s education as well as meeting their family needs.
“We would like to have our own machines for producing cassava floor and crisps that would later help us to have our own brand and possibly make our products be available to super markets.

Tanzania to destroy $50m ivory stockpile

News 

Monday, February 17, 2014 

BY KENAN KALAGHO

EAST AFRICAN BUSINESS WEEK, KAMPALA, UGANDA

Tanzania President Jakaya Kikwete was speaking last week in Dar es Salaam while launching an advertising campaign on anti-poaching.

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanania - Tanzania’s 90 metric tonne stockpile of ivory valued at about $50 million is to be destroyed.
Tanzania President Jakaya Kikwete was speaking last week in Dar es Salaam while launching an advertising campaign on anti-poaching.
He said burning the tusks would send a signal to poachers that the country was now serious over the slaughtering of its elephants.
This means that Tanzania has now joined other countries like Kenya, Japan , France and the United States that have for long supported destroying ivory stockpiles instead of putting them up for sale through auctions.
This has been a hard time for Tanzania which has for long argued for the sale of the ivory stockpile in order to finance the anti-poaching campaigns including the recruitment of game rangers and help to subsidise personnel salaries.
President Kikwete said it is high time the country suspended any plans for selling the ivory stockpile.
He said this would further the ill intentions of the poachers and further reduce the number of elephants which currently stands at 13,084 from the previous population of over 100,000 recorded in the early 1970s.
He said the country would destroy the entire ivory stockpile in order to intensify the fight against poaching that will also aim to send a severe signal to poachers and deny them market opportunities.
“We will soon start using the high tech of drone surveillance in all our national parks to protect the both elephants and other animals that are been the target in the country like lions and leopards,” Kikwete said. He said the country can rely on positive international support.
He said the efforts of the government on anti-poaching would only be realized if there is a total ban on ivory trade throughout the region and the whole world at large.
He also said countries like China, Vietnam, and Thailand should advocate for a ‘no ivory buying’ campaign to boost anti-poaching efforts.
The President however said that the catchment areas being occupied by the country’s national parks were not that easy to combat illegal poaching especially with the country’s financial capacity at carrying out anti-poaching exercise.
“Selous National Park is more than 200,000 square kilometres, and this is a great challenge when it comes to fighting against poaching in the country” he said.

Tanzania Asks for Canadian Financing

East African Business Week (Kampala)

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10 February 2014
BY KENAN KALAGHO
DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA — The government needs about $300million to improve power connectivity to the rural areas and has asked for Canada's help .
The move would mean increasing the rural connectivity to at least 30% from the current 7%.
During the talks on a cooperation deal on natural resources between Canada and Tanzania, the Minister for Energy and Minerals, Prof Sospeter Muhongo, requested for Canada's help in rural electrification.
Prof Muhongo said Tanzania was willing to accept a loan or grants from the government of Canada.The objective is to have widespread rural connectivity by 2025.
"There is need for us to make sure that we intensify rural connectivity and seek for international support with the population of Tanzania projected expecting to reach 70 million by 2025," Prof Muhongo said.
"Tanzania's total consumption currently stands at 900 megawatts. Since the country's population is expected to increase the demand for power will also increase," Prof Muhongo said.
Tanzania's recent move to open Economic Processing Zones in Dar es Ssalaam, Bagamoyo and other regions in the last two years, has led to a surge in the demand for electricity.
Earlier this year, the government had similar talks with the Algerian government to help it connect its rural population. Algeria has connected at least 97% of its rural population.

Tanzania misses out on its leather

Agri-Business 

Monday, February 03, 2014 

EAST AFRICAN BUSINESS WEEK, KAMPALA, UGANDA

BY KENAN KALAGHO

(HIDES AND SKINS: The leather industries are deficient of raw materials forcing investors to shun the sector top File photo and Botttom is the Executive Secretary of the Leather Association of Tanzania Photo By Kenan Kalagho)

Tanzania ranks second after Ethiopia in availability of hides and skin needed for the development of leather manufacturing industries that could play a role in creating job opportunities and boosting the country’s economy.  Joram Wakari, the Executive Secretary of the Leather Association of Tanzania talked to Kenan Kalagho of East African Business Week.
Below are excerpts:-

Qn: Why has there been low investment in leather industry in the country despite the fact that we rank second after Ethiopia in raw materials availability?
Answer: The leather industry in the country has the total installed capacity of 74.2 million square feet, but most of Tanzania hides and skins are smuggled to neighbouring countries like Kenya, leaving our few industries with a lack of raw materials. In that scenario with little availability of raw materials on the market, investors shun away from investing and or expanding their leather industries.

Qn: What is the government doing to counter this and help in getting raw materials to local industries?
Answer: The government has done a lot. First it imposed a 20% tax on the export of hides and skins in the country followed by a 40% tax increase in 2007 and by 2012 the tax was increased to 90%.
This halted the export of hides and skins overseas and as of 2012 only 19.4 million square feet of hides were exported. Yet still, local leather industries suffered the same fate.

Qn: Do we have the market for our hides and skins?
Answer: Yes we do have the market and most of our hides and skins are exported to the Far-East countries of Pakistan, India and China.
There is need however to build our own capacity in producing the finished leather which could create a lot of job opportunities and improve the country’s economy rather than exporting our leather in a semi-processed form.

Qn: What are the challenges facing the leather industry in the country?
Answer: There is lack of hides and skins because most of the raw materials are exported illegally through our ports and border posts.
This is alarming because it denies the country taxes and job creation. Besides the competition for local industries in order to get the best hides and skins, there is also cheating on weight and price of leather at the international market for the exported leather.

Qn: What needs to be done in improving the leather industry in Tanzania?
 Answer: Only small scale industries are involved in leather manufacturing and that by 2011 only 6 percent of fine leather products were exported outside Tanzania because of price sensitivity in the country.
There is a missing link between tanning and leather manufacturing industries because one hide is able to produce up to 20 pair of shoes which would be able to employ many Tanzanians.

Qn: Anything else?
Answer: We need to exploit the industry in order to make sure that we consume what we produce.
For example, in 2012 the country imported 31,000 pair of leather shoes and in 2011 around 42,000 pairs of leather shoes were imported while only less than 3 percent pairs were discovered to be of pure leather.
This means that we import poor quality leather while we have the best quality raw materials in the country, thus making the country lose in both forex and employment opportunities.

Tanzania to build research capacity

Agri-Business 

Monday, February 03, 2014 

EAST AFRICAN BUSINESS WEEK, KAMPALA, UGANDA

BY KENAN  KALAGHO

 

 A researcher explaining to colleagues his research on sweet potato virus (file Photo)

DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA - Tanzania has been advised to make sure it builds its capacity on research in order to find out both the ‘positive and negatives’ of whether or not GM crops could be relevant for the country.
Speaking to East African Business Week in Dar es Salaam last week, Dr. Asifa Nanyaro of Tanzania Academy of Science said there was no way a country can develop without doing research because capacity building was all about practical research.
Nanyaro was referring to a recent Tanzania’s biotechnology act that bears both the researchers and users including the manufacturer of GM product responsible for any effects that could be caused by GM crops.
He said capacity building was an important tool that could help the government make sound decisions and stand at a better chance of advising the government because we are very behind in terms of human resource.
“Academicians say that it is only through research that a country can be able to move and develop science forward, Nanyaro said adding that in most cases Africa has been using knowledge of other peoples’ products.”
Nanyaro stressed that it is only through practical research that the safety and security issues can be realized. Academicians work is to advise the government on biotechnology issues and give answers to the government be it sing foreign or local experts.
“There is fighting for resources due to population increase and there comes the issue of technology application in order to increase food security which I believe should have been given the due priority.”
He however insisted that the research that needs to be car ried to determine the effects of GM crops in the country needs to be independent without any foreign interest attached to it.
“All we need is the use of professional team that would be titled to do professional assessment on biotech in order to know its pros and cons.”
He said that both cross breeding and hybridization involves the change of genes in order to come up with better ones and so is biotech application.
Different organizations get funds from foreign firms to serve the funders interests and that should be refrained, he said, adding that those funders give funds to advance their interests just like on tea and coffee where Europe and the US have had an interest in funding research.
According to him, what is needed is for the country to allocate a 1% of its GDP just like the President Jakaya Kikwete had promised last year in order to advance research on crop related issues in the country.
wHe said Tanzania government in collaboration with agriculture institutions in the country need to make sure that they produce more surplus seeds for all Tanzania farmers.