Wednesday 6 April, 2011
SUPPORTING THE PROMOTERS OF THE GREEN REVOLUTION
kilimokwanza@guardian.co.tz
TZ BREEDERS IMPRESS
The Guardian KILIMO KWANZA
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Wednesday 5 April, 2011
EDITORIAL
Water - top priority for Tanzania 2011-12
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ater covers two-thirds of the Earth's surface, but most of it is in the seas and oceans which are too salty for human use. Only 2.5% of the world's water is not salty, but two thirds of that is in the form of icecaps and glaciers on mountains and a further 20% of the remaining water is in remote areas. As such, we only have available less than 0.08% of all the Earth's water, yet estimates have that over the next two decades the worlds water needs will increase by about 40%. Currently the world uses about 70% of the available water in agriculture. The World Water Council believes that by 2020 we shall need 17% more water than is available if we are to feed the world. It is because of this that the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) warns that water scarcity will be at the forefront of the international agenda for decades to come. UNEP says that in some cases water may be a contributing factor in local and international conflict. The negative impacts of poor water supply are well documented. Poor water supply primarily affects the urban and rural poor who pay high prices to commercial water vendors for small quantities of sometimes poor quality water. In rural areas, low water supply manifests itself in low agricultural production and poor quality of life. It is against this background that we welcome the government’s move to give water the top priority it deserves in the coming budget. Water continues to be a vastly important yet scarce resource in the country. The proposed increase in government allocation to this sector will greatly alleviate the current challenges of water borne and water-related diseases while also boosting socio-economic development. The government has often indicated its commitment to making water shortages history in the near future. However budgetary constraints have been a major, if not
Artwork
& Design: KN Mayunga
the major impedance to the achievement of this erstwhile goal. Although many people remain skeptical about the achievement of millennium development targets, reliable water supply included, there are some positive indications are already being seen in this sector in Tanzania. The Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (EWURA) for example is in the final stages of setting regulations for private water suppliers. It is hoped that the draft guidelines that will govern the supply of clean and safe water by commercial private operators in areas with limited or no supply of clean and safe water. This will among other things, restore the faith of thousands if not millions of Tanzanians who risk disease and even death by consuming water sourced from dubious sources by the commercial operators. Other efforts aimed at addressing the challenges of drought and water shortage, water supply to poor communities and providing access to clean and safe water to both rural and urban populations should also benefit from this budget boost. However a word of advice; in the face of global climatic changes, more funds, awareness and efforts should also be geared towards sustainable use, development and expansion of available water sources. This will assist in preventing environmental degradation from severely crippling livelihoods, the economy and negating the anticipated positive impacts of increased investment in the water sector.
Tanzania to host regional milk conference
Economic growth should reflect on lives of majority
COVER STORY
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TZ breeders impress Annan
inside
Focus on Water Sector Overdue
The Guardian KILIMO KWANZA
Wednesday 5 April, 2011
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Wallace Mauggo Editor
7 To have your organisation promoted in Kilimo Kwanza, Call: 0787 571308, 0655 571308 0754 571308
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By Kilimo Kwanza Reporter or three years, he has pumped millions of dollars into the development of Tanzania’s agriculture sector. But when he finally came to check on the impact and progress of the programmes, it is the tireless resolve of smallholder farmers in Mbeya and the selfless but creative efforts individual Tanzanian researchers toiling out there in the fields that that arrested the attention of retired UN Secretary General Dr Kofi Annan. In his capacity as chairman of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, which he founded in half a decade ago, Dr Annan has just spent a weekend touring Mbeya region in Tanzania’s Southern Highlands where he was impressed by the strides made in research for breeding better seeds that has immensely boosted the output of local farmers. In Uyole valley, the Nobel Laureate spent sometime admiring a half-acre plot on which a peasant woman produces 50 bags of potatoes and 10 bags of maize using improved breeds and irrigation. Mrs Zuberi also picks twenty
tins of tomatoes from her garden every week. When Dr Annan asked her how she obtains funding for her business, she at first asked “for what?” Apparently, when you sell so much produce from a small plot like that, you definitely have more cash for re-investment than you require. No wonder, Mrs Zuberi’s four children are attending good schools, she has built a good house and with her husband, Mr Zuberi they are now leading a relatively comfortable life. Further probing by Dr Annan yielded the truth about lending rates which are still uncomfortably high at slightly over 50 percent. Those farmers in the area who still require credit from local SACCOs typically pay Tshs13,000 per month for a 12 months after receiving a loan of Tshs100,000. Dr Annan was visibly taken aback by the ‘exorbitant’ rates which see a farmer ending up paying Tshs156,000 for every Tsh100,000 he borrows. Kofi Annan also interacted at length with Tanzanian researchers whom he found at work while crisscrossing Mbeya. He was particularly impressed with the youthful Dr Arnold Mushongi who has been deeply involved with breeding maize. Mushongi
has developed better varieties with the rare combinations of shorter growing period, higher yield and requiring less (nitrogen) fertilizer. If the government allows Mushongi’s new seeds to be used by farmers, Tanzania’s food production would simply be dramatically revolutionalised. For where the seeds have been planted in limited quantities for trial, places where ‘good’ maize yields of one and a half tons per hectare were the norm, they are now producing up to nine tons of maize per hectare. Dr Annan was also briefed by Dr Catherine Madata, another Tanzanian scientist who has spent years developing higher yielding legumes especially soya beans. Annan saw soya plants of the older variety and the ‘modern’ ones developed by Dr Madata and was impressed by the dramatic difference. But quality seeds need to be multiplied and made available to the market and entrepreneurs are needed for this task. One AGRA beneficiary who has made it big is Mr Isaka Mashauri, proprietor of Tanseeds international. The millionaire had occasion to showcase his successful ventures to Dr Annan. One of the most crucial components of the Kilimo Kwanza drive is the link-
ing of the smallholder farmers to sources of vital inputs. To this end, Annan’s AGRA has invested heavily in developing agro dealers. These are small retail outlets that have over the past few years reduced the distance a rural farmers has to move to access fertilizer, seeds and chemicals from an average fifty to less than ten kilometres. Availability and easy access is a key factor in a farmer’s decision making as to whether to use these inputs or not. Through AGRA support, some 2,600 agro-dealers have been recruited, trained and enabled and are now busy serving rural farmers in far-flung places. Traveling with other members of the AGRA board, Dr Annan visited two agro dealers’ shops deep in the countryside where they are dispensing inputs to the farmers. These agro-dealers are carrying out an important function that had all but died in the agricultural sector – provision of extension services. By using their demonstration plots, some of these dealers educate and train farmers on best farming practices so they can use the inputs they sell to them properly. Besides extension services, the agro-dealers are playing a new role of
making credit financing for farmers possible. In an atmosphere where banks do not trust farmers due to lack of security, the agro-dealers have provides a useful link through which AGRA has made it possible for farmers to access credit. The National Microcredit Bank has lent out billions of shillings without taking security, courtesy of AGRA guarantees. A dramatic effect of this has been the ‘discovery’ both in Tanzania and other African countries where AGRA operates, that farmers are probably the most reliable category to lend to. Recovery rates of nearly a hundred percent have been recorded in all economies where AGRA leverage has enabled farmers to get unsecured credit. As he was preparing to leave the country, Dr Annan had a word of advice to Tanzanians about the leasing out of large tracts of land to foreign investors for commercial agriculture. Encourage commercial farming but, he said, let these large scale operators who produce for export also play their part in enhancing the country’s food security because in times of food scarcity, things may not turn out so well for everybody.
The Guardian KILIMO KWANZA
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Wednesday 5 April, 2011
POLICY
The Guardian KILIMO KWANZA
Wednesday 5 April, 2011
POLICY
Tax regime still unfriendly to farmers
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By Makuna Chirimi
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By Angel Navuri
study on Taxation value chains has been carried out in the country and found that expected reduction in the rate of produce cess from 5 to 3 percent of the farm gate price is likely to have no impact on the position of the farmers around the country. According to the study sponsored by Agriculture Council of Tanzania and presented to Tanzania Agricultural Partnership this is caused by the actual rates that are currently charged source on maize and rice are 2.3 to 11 percent respectively. Although produce cess is a crucial source of revenue to the district coun-
cils, it should be abolished or its burden should be shifted to the processors and final consumers. The report reads that there is need for comprehensive education to the actors in the value chains on agricultural taxation and large scale quantitative studies are imperative in order to obtain a more objective assessment of the effects of taxation along different stages of the value chains. Governments impose on agricultural products at different stages of production and exchange in order to generate revenue to meet government expenditure There’s need to design policies that should ensure that part of the tax burden is shifted to other actors along the value chains, particularly the proces-
sors and final consumers. For instance, the field study revealed that total taxes paid by a small holder paddy produce in Mbarali are approximately 6 percent of their income whereas the individual income tax for individuals engaged in other activities is zero. The stakeholders who were interviewed acknowledge that produce cess is a major direct that levied to smallholder farmers as well as commercial farmers they urged that this levy is creating significant disincentives to the development of agriculture because its too high and it is poorly administered. The way produce cess is administered results into restriction in the marketing of agricultural produce.
Although the legislation has set the maximum charge rate of 50 percent, the actual rate charged has been varying from one local authority to another. They further urged that the levy is charged regardless of whether the farmer has made a loss or profit on the produce. It is based on this scenario that produce cess is regarded by stakeholders as lacking qualities of a good tax especially fairness and buoyancy. Some of the stakeholders have observed that the current industrial cess 0.3 percent of turn over which is levied to industrial owners in the districts whose purpose is similar to produce cess is significant lower. They were of the view that this set up has resulted into making the indus-
trial owners at district level better off and the farmers worse off. The stakeholders also suggested that in order to achieve vibrant agricultural development, deliberate efforts should be geared towards promoting irrigation schemes. They suggested that one of the incentives to consider granting 100 percent tax relief on all irrigation equipment to enable farmers both commercial and commercial access irrigation equipment. They indicated that currently irrigation equipment is charged both duty and VAT. To implement this stakeholders suggest that TRA license those companies which will de dealing with importation of the irrigation equipment and undertake usual inspections.
HE announcement that water is the number one priority for Tanzania in the 2011/2012 budget couldn’t have come at a better time. Committing to a budget increase of TSH 700bn up from TSH 300bn for the water sector, President Jakaya Kikwete said that “This time, we will deal with the water sector. In fact, this is our top priority.” While most of the water funds announced by the President are expected to go towards providing clean and safe drinking water as opposed to financing direct agricultural inputs like irrigation; access to clean, safe and reliable water remains a key ingredient to agricultural productivity, especially in rural areas where majority of the populace lacks access to the resource. Human resource is severely hampered not only by the long hours consumed in search of water, but also through water borne diseases that kill and cripple current and future generations. As the Head of State noted, meager budgetary allocations have made access to safe and clean water a pipe dream for many Tanzanians. The President also rightly stated that realization of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on water which obliges governments to ensure 95% urban and 65% rural access to safe, clean and reliable water by 2015 are impossible without sufficient budgetary allocations. The President was speaking at a recent visit to the Ministry of Water in Dar es Salaam, which coincided with the World Water Week celebrations. According to the United Nations, this year’s event aimed to encourage gov-
ernments, organizations, communities and individuals to actively engage in addressing the challenges of urban water management. Announcing a TSH 12trillion outline budget earlier this month, the Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs, Hon Mustafa Mkulo announced 12 priority areas of agriculture, water, education, livestock and fishing, energy, infrastructure for transport, industrial development and health. Others were lands, housing and human settlements, human resources development, science and technology and development of financial services.
funded Tanzania Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Program (RWSSP) estimates water supply coverage at 73 % for urban areas and 53 % for rural areas, with the sustained sanitation coverage estimated at around 50 %. However independent organizations in the sector put water and sanitation coverage at a much lower 24%. In the commercial capital of Dar es Salaam for example, current daily water requirements are estimated 450million litres, while the actual supply falls short of this figure by more than 150million litres per day. Furthermore much of the available water is lost
human health, including the risk of diarrheal diseases like cholera. Indeed, there is strong evidence that temperature and rainfall patterns affect the disease patterns. It is expected that outbreaks of water related diseases like cholera will be further exacerbated by changes in the climate whose effects are already being felt across the country. The Tanzania Meteorological Agency (TMA) has warned farmers across the country to brace for below normal rainfall in the March to May rainfall season. This spells food shortages for our rain dependent country, es-
Water - Top priority for Tanzania 2011-12
Cross cutting issues like environmental preservation, good governance, gender development and HIV-AIDS were also covered. At 19%, education currently takes up the highest portion of the government budget. However water projects are less costly than other infrastructure projects and can benefit thousands of people at once. In a country where up to 85% of the populace are farmers, clean safe water remains a crucial yet limited commodity. Estimates have it that only 4% of the country has access to piped water. The government and donor
through system leakages and illegal connections. The situation is far worse in other regions of the country where an estimated 20,000 children die from diarrhea every year, mostly in the rural areas. Thousands more adults and children suffer from water related diseases that not only eat into family and government budgets, but also deal a severe blow to manpower and productivity. Increased temperatures and changes in patterns of rainfall as a result of climate change are widely recognized to entail serious consequences for
pecially after below normal and poorly distributed short rains were registered in the September to December season. A study conducted last year on the Health Impacts of Climate Change in Tanzania estimates that the number and costs of additional cholera cases and deaths that can be attributed to climate change by year 2030 in Tanzania may largely exceed the costs of preventive measures such as household chlorination. Analyses based on primary data collected from the Ministry of Health and the TMA also showed a significant relationship between cholera
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incidence and temperature. The study predicted an increase in the initial risk ratio for cholera in Tanzania in the range of 23 to 51 percent for a 1 degree Celsius increase in annual mean temperature. The study, conducted by Sara Trærup, Ramon Arigoni Ortiz and Anil Markandya for the Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3) further estimates that the total costs, including loss of lives due to cholera will range between 1.4 to 7.8 percent of GDP by year 2030. Water borne diseases like diarrhea and cholera associated with contamination, intermittency and poor sanitation, malaria, filariasis, dengue fever associated with drainage, storage and waste water disposal and water washed diseases like scabies and skin infections associated with insufficient water supply are also expected to peak with poor water and sanitation supply. The warning bells are not sounding in Tanzania alone. A weather and climate outlook issued by the Greater Horn of Africa Climate Outlook Forum (GHACOF-27) that took place in Arusha in February of this year also warned of poor and un-uniformly distributed precipitation. The forum reviewed the state of the global climate system and its implications for the Greater Horn of Africa region and the regional outlook was downscaled by TMA experts to match with local conditions in Tanzania. Global outlooks on the availability and supply of water for direct human use and agriculture purposes are also not in the least encouraging. A forthnight ago, the World Food Programme (WFP) raised the alarm on growing signs of drought in the Horn of Africa region that could lead to serious food shortages. The alert further warned that rising food prices may put the organization’s budget under pressure. The U.S.funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network (Fewsnet) has also warned East African countries to brace for crunching food shortages in the coming months. Other findings show that Africa could lose up to 18% of its arable land to climate change. The US National Academy of Sciences also estimated last week that more than a billion urban residents will face serious water shortages by 2050 as climate change worsens the effects of urbanization. In the face of this anticipated gloom in local, regional and global water outlooks, we laud the government’s new found commitment to water. We anticipate that this, along with the recent announcement that Tanzania will benefit from a four year US$ 773million (TSH1.08 trillion) development assistance aid from the United Nations of which five percent will go towards improving water and sanitation in the July 2011 – June 2015 period will help to alleviate the anticipated water woes. May these funds be prudently released and utilized for the intended purposes. However, there is still a need wholesome attitude change towards water use and conservation across all levels of governance and spheres of life. This still poses the greatest challenge to sustainable water management. We all should carefully examine our water habits and discover our own ways of conserving this precious yet limited resource, to ensure that clean and safe water remains readily available for this and coming generations.
The Guardian KILIMO KWANZA
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By Angel Navuri
Wednesday 5 April, 2011
DAIRY
anzania Eastern and Southern African Dairy Association (ESADA) has chosen Tanzania to host the 7th African dairy conference exhibition as a way to help the country’s milk industry from collapsing. The conference is expected to bring together researchers, educationists, nutritionists and players in the dairy value chain. Speaking to this paper Tan Dairies Limited Chief Executive Officer Devangwa Mmari said that the African dairy conference exhibition is the flagship event organized by eastern southern African dairy association of which the objectives is to highlight opportunities for dairy sector investment in Africa with a focus on host country and the sub region. Mmari said that the conference will provide a platform for Africa and global dairy community to discuss and recommend solutions to policy, regulatory and industry bottlenecks that impede trade in dairy products. He added that it will also afford African processors, service providers and industry suppliers a unique opportunity to showcase their products for benchmarking and trade and expose African dairy practitioners and suppliers to new technologies and ideas for better efficiencies and quality. The CEO explained that 20 countries will be exhibiting products ranging from equipments for dairy sector across the value chain, pharmaceutical companies, and milk processors among other suppliers and developing agencies. Explaining how Tanzania will benefit from the conference said that in the past it has been a challenge for African dairy industry to access new technologies which can help reduce the cost of milk production and increase profit margins for all. “Africa must be willing to learn from leading dairy countries of the world , examine what these countries are producing and other initiatives they are making in this important sector, it is an emerging dairy country in the eastern and southern Africa region with great opportunities,” he explained On his part Tanga Fresh executive director Hussein Alnoor said that the demand for milk is estimated at about 3.5 every year of which it creates a huge opportunity for trade and investment. “We are also pleased that members of the dairy industries from EAC and COMESA countries will be here with us Tanzania at the fourth 7th African dairy conference and exhibition so we explore areas for trade and growth while taking the time to examine our difference and work on facilitating trade amongst our nations,” he explained According to Alnoor the conference will boast of a shining list of the world renown dairy industry leaders who will
Tanzania to host regional milk conference
be traveling from far to come and share their experience in the dairy industry. “There will be some of the world most successful companies including land O Lakes among others, we can learn from them how to make the dairy business more profitable and rewarding for all those involved,” he said. The speakers will be addressing the concerns and issues of improving milk production at farm level, streamlining processing, effective product
marketing and distribution besides other highly beneficial presentation from the leading dairy practitioners. Recently it was reported that Tanzania’s dairy industry was collapsing as the milk processed per day drops to 60,000 litres from 400,000. The ongoing power shortage has hit dairy milk collections resulting in a loss of billions of shillings by processors and farmers, and the gradual collapse of the industry.
According to a draft report by milk processors on improving competitiveness of the dairy industry, lack of enforcement of regulations vs informal preparations has been cited as a major cause. The report says that experience in other countries has shown that regulatory interventions alone cannot eliminate the sale of unprocessed milk. “It appears that this has to go hand in hand with risks involved in the con-
The Guardian KILIMO KWANZA
Wednesday 5 April, 2011
POLICY
sumption of raw milk,” the draft report says. Further, it says that the price of processed milk has to come down significantly to make it affordable to low income consumers, who are otherwise unwilling to pay for the costs of pasteurisation and packaging. The country’s dairy processing industry has shrunk by more than 80 per cent over the last 15 years, the report says, adding that it has become uncompetitive on the domestic market (narrow and expensive range of products) and is not export oriented. At least, thirteen dairy plants have gone out of business and the total amount of milk processed per day is only 60,000 litres (down from 400,000 litres), the report concludes.
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By Stella Barozi t’s on a Saturday morning and as usual, beggars and their children are busy begging from motorists at the Fire Morogoro road and United Nations road intersection. “Shikamoo. Saidia! (Good morning. Please help!),” says a small boy in a soft pleading voice to one of the passengers in the dala dala. A few meters away is a girl probably aged seven, wearing a blue skirt, black top and dirty blue slippers. She is dark and looking at her, one could tell she had not had a shower for God knows how long. “Why can’t these beggar mothers give a decent life to their children by going back to the village and engage in agriculture?” I wonder silently as I watch the children begging as their mothers sit on the other side of the road, some nursing little ones. Why can’t the able-bodied mothers till the land and earn themselves a living? This is a question many people ask themselves every time they see beggars on the street. But if farming was the solution to their problem, that is poverty, how come they keep coming back to the city every time they are ferried back to
Economic growth should reflect on lives of majority their villages? Or could it be that begging pays more than farming? It could be. Most beggars come from semi-arid Dodoma, although, generally, agriculture doesn’t pay given the fact that most farmers in the country are small holders who depend on the hand hoe. Studies show that 70 per cent of farmers use the hand hoe, 20 per cent use animal draft and only ten per cent use tractors. According to the 2007 Household Budget Survey, most Tanzanians are
still smallholder farmers. The survey also indicates that agriculture is the least remunerative sector of the economy. The poverty rate among households in rural areas continues to be very high at 38% compared with 16% in the urban areas. As a result, almost three quarters (74%) of the poor are dependent on agriculture. So the beggars on the street, like many other people who flock cities in search of a decent life, have been running away from the wide spread pover-
ty caused by low productivity in agriculture. Low productivity is partly due to the fact that apart from owning small plots of land and depending on the hand hoe, most farmers lack modern farming methods like use of tractors and depend on unreliable rain. A Comparative Analysis of Poverty Incidence in Farming Systems of Tanzania by Raymond Mnenwa and Emmanuel Maliti shows that “utilization of agricultural inputs by house-
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holds such as irrigation, extension services, draft animal power and fertilizers” is generally low across all farming systems in Tanzania. And as far as land ownership is concerned, Mnenwa and Maliti say that most households in Tanzania (67 per cent) own between zero and two acres of cultivated land. This means that only one third of households utilize more than two acres. According to these researchers, there are ten major farming systems in Tanzania which are classified based on different criteria. These include natural resource base, climate, landscape, farm size, dominant patterns of farm activities and household livelihood as well as the main technologies used in farming. Their analysis reveals that the size of cultivated land varies greatly by farming system. The sorghum/millet (Mwanza and Shinyanga) and Tea/Maize (Njombe and Mufindi) farming systems have larger proportions of households with land holdings above two acres (46% and 41% respectively). Mnenwa and Maliti’s study found that poverty is found in all farming systems in Tanzania and that the incidence varies remarkably by system. Scholars have it that poverty reduction will only be possible if problems that farmers face in generating income will be addressed. We need to consider the fact that farmers’ poverty also affects urban dwellers. Research has it that agricultural growth can reduce urban poverty more quickly than urban growth itself due to the reduction in urban food costs and lower rates of rural-urban migration. This brings us to the current high cost of living. There of late has been a hike in the prices of almost everything. Yet, the income of the majority remains the same. The price hikes do not take this into consideration at all. During ITV’s Kipima Joto programme last Friday where the topic discussed was on what should be done on the current high inflation rate, Repoa’s Prof. Samwel Wangwe said inflation was not to blame but income. Giving an example of previous years where inflation rates had reached two digits, Prof. Wangwe who is Repoa’s Executive Director said the current 6.5 rate from last year’s 5.5 is not that high. He said the majority of people earned a low income and therefore felt the effect of the food inflation. The economy has increased and currently stands at 7 per cent. This increment does not reflect on all the people. This is why Prof. Wangwe says economic growth should reflect on the lives of the majority, especially farmers who account for 80 per cent of the population. “Economic growth should reflect on the income of the majority,” he said. Prof. Wangwe says the solution is prioritising agriculture where the majority poor population is for if farmers increase productivity, so will their income. He said Kilimo Kwanza policy should be re-evaluated if a green revolution is to be achieved. On his part, the Director of Economic Research and Policy, Joseph Massawe said we need to use our natural resources like land well in order to improve people’s income. This way, perhaps we will be able to do away with beggars on the street. They will have something productive to engage in.
The Guardian KILIMO KWANZA
DAIRY
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Wednesday 5 April, 2011
Milk – Local processors now look outward
By Angel Navuri
n a surprise turnaround, local milk processors in Tanzania are considering to import raw milk from the neighboring countries of Kenya and Uganda. This, they claim, is to mull current milk production shortfalls in the country. The recent past has seen the government imposing a controversial ban on foreign milk processing farms from the neighboring countries collecting raw milk from Tanzania. The foreign firms would transport the milk across the border for processing and packaging and then re-import finished products to the country. However the current alleged shortage of raw milk in Tanzania now has local processors considering importing raw milk from the neighboring states. Speaking in an interview with Kilimo Kwanza, TAN Dairies Chief Executive Officer Devangwa Mmari said that the ongoing shortage is caused by adverse dry weather conditions and poor infrastructure that makes it difficult for the processors to reach farmers and milk collection points. “We are currently facing shortage of milk which leaves us no choice but to import milk from the neighboring countries of Kenya and Uganda,” he explained. Giving details on the current situation, he said that milk processing has dropped from 400,000 litres per day to a mere 60,000 litres. Surprisingly Tanzania has the third highest number of livestock in the continent with herd figures that far surpasses its neighbouring
states. However dominated by traditional low yielding livestock breeds, the country still faces milk shortages in dry seasons. A Preliminary National Sample Census of Agriculture and Livestock report unveiled by the Minister for Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives Prof Jumannne Maghembe (pictured) a fortnight ago claimed significant progress in the live-
Available in Stock - Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
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stock sector, with a corresponding increase in the number of cattle to 22 million head. The report among other things noted that 97.2 per cent of cattle in the country are local breeds, where only 2.4 per cent are used for dairy and 0.3 per cent for beef production. According to sample census the number of local breeds of cattle increased by 20 per cent on the mainland but decreased by 3.7% in Zanzibar. In a show of support for the local milk industry, late last year the government announced a halt on raw milk exports, an unexpected halt that was received mixed reactions across the milk sector. Milk farmers hit the headlines, complaining that the unexpected freeze had severed a lucrative foreign source of income. At which point local milk processors lauded the move and urged the government to extend further support to local investment in the industry. Now it’s this. According to the Executive Director of Tanga Fresh Ltd, Hussein Alnoor, the current tax regime does not support milk processing in the country. While the milk sector is given tax exempt status in Tanzania, it is zero rated in the neighbouring EAC states, making it more expensive to process milk in Tanzania as compared to Kenya and Uganda. “They can process more milk than Tanzania. For example we only process up to 60,00 litres per day while in Kenya daily processing is more than 1.2 million litres per day,” he claimed, adding that cost effectiveness was behind the competitiveness of the foreign milk products across the African market. Recently the local milk stakeholders also took up issue with the ongoing power shortages that adversely hit dairy milk collections, resulting in estimated losses of billions of shillings by both processors and farmers. This, they claimed, was precipitating a gradual collapse of the industry. According to a draft report on improving competitiveness of the dairy industry produced by the milk processors, the dairy processing industry has shrunk by more than 80 per cent over the last 15 years. The report adds that locally processed milk has become uncompetitive on the domestic market due to a narrow and expensive range of products that is not export oriented. At least, thirteen dairy plants have gone out of business and the total amount of milk processed per day is only 60,000 litres (down from 400,000 litres), the report concludes. “Prevailing power blues mean that we are not collecting as much milk as we used to. The average collection of a milk processing factory is currently estimated at 30,000 litres a day, which is too little for the country even if all the industries were to collect the same amount,” the Tanga Fresh Executive Director said. “If we cannot meet the demands of Dar es Salaam alone, how can we satisfy the country’s demand?” he queried. “This is a major hindrance to the milk sector. We are sometimes forced to use generators which are not very effective as they can only operate for a few hours,” he added. Alnoor cited the need to create more awareness on modern livestock breeding methods to increase production as one of the key needs in the industry. As part of its efforts to support the milk industry, the government exempted VAT on machinery and equipment used in the collection, transportation and processing of milk products in the 2010/2011 budget. This was an extension of exemptions to promote investment in the dairy subsector and improve farmers’ income. Milk and juice producers were also supposed to gain from exemptions on the supply of packaging materials for milk products and fruit juices. The budget also offered special relief status on the supply of veterinary equipment to registered veterinary practitioners and on artificial insemination breeding services. This, it was hoped, would boost the development of improved and commercially viable breeds of cattle. With the current outlook, it is doubtful that the support for artificial insemination and veterinary services has resulted in improved livestock breeds that was originally intended. Furthermore the complaints by local processors seem to indicate that positive gains are yet to be achieved in the local milk and livestock industry as a whole. Currently Tanzania has the third largest herd in the continent but the livestock sector contributes only 4 per cent to the GDP, while post harvest losses in the milk industry are estimated at an unacceptable 40%.
KILIMO KWANZA DIRECTORY
WATER AND SANITATION
Dar es Salaam Water and Sewerage Authority (DAWASA) – Tel: +255 22 276 0006
Dar es Salaam Water and Sewarage Corporation (DAWASCO) Tel: +255 22-2131191/4 Drilling and Dam Construction Agency (DDCA) Tel: +255 22 2410430/2410299 Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority Tel: +255 22 2123850, 22 2123853 Water and Environmental Sanitation Projects Maintenance Organization (WEPMO) Tel: +255 22 2410738, 716 099959 Ministry of Water Tel: +255 22 245 1448
INDUSTRY SUPPORT AND ASSOCIATIONS
Small Industries Development Organization (SIDO) – Email: dg@sido.go.tz, info@sido.go.tz ANSAF - P.O. Box 6370, Dar es Salaam CNFA - info@cnfatanzania.org
Tractors Limited Cells: +255 784 421606, 786 150213
Consolidated Holdings Corporation (CHC) Tel: 255 (022) 2117988/9 Vocational Education and Training Authority (VETA) – Tel: +255 22 2863683/2863409 Export Processing Zones in Tanzania (EPZ) Tel: +255 22 2451827-9 Agricultural Economics Society of Tanzania (AGREST) – Tel. +255-23 260 3415
Tanzania National Business Council (TNBC) Tel: +255 22 2122984-6 Tanzania Agriculture Partnership (TAP) Tel: +255 22 2124851
Tanzania Milk Processors Association (TAMPA) Tel: +255 222 450 426
Rural Livelihood Development Company (RLDC) Tel: +255 26 2321455 Tanzania Cotton Board Tel: +255 22 2122564, 2128347
Horticultural Development Council of Tanzania (HODECT) Cell: +255 789 222 344; Fax: +255 27254 4568 TATEECO Ltd – Tel: +255 784 427817 AGRO-PROCESSING ERTH Food - Tel: +255 22 2862040 MUKPAR Tanzania Ltd Tel: +255 28 250038/184
ASAS Diaries Limited - Tel: +255 26 2725200 Tanga Fresh – Tel +255 27 2644238 NatureRipe Kilimanjaro Limited Tel: +255 22 21 51457 EQUIPMENT Achelis Tanganyika Ltd +255 22 2700 760 or +255 784 300 084
National Service Corporation Sole (SUMAJKT) Cell: +255 717 993 874, 715 787 887 FINANCE Private Agricultural Sector Support (PASS) Tel: 023-3752/3758/3765 Community Bank Association Tel: +255 22 2123245
Bank of Tanzania P.O. Box 2939, Dar es Slaam,Tanzania AGRO-INPUTS Minjingu Mines & Fertilizers Ltd Tel: +255 27 253 9259 250 4679