TANZANIA – The Cereals and Other Produce Board of Tanzania (CPB) has allocated Sh100 billion (US$ 42.4M) for the purchase of strategic cereal crops from farmers around the country in a bid to achieve food security as well as boost their incomes.
Mr Kapenjama Ndile, the director of the board made the statement while visiting CPB projects in the Lake Zone.
“By purchasing crops from local farmers for more than Sh100 billion, we’re planning to bring about a significant revolution in the field of crops and grains in general,’’ said Mr. Ndile.
According to Mr. Ndile, the contracts are for farmers of various crops, including wheat, maize, rice, and sunflower, and he urged primary societies to sensitize farmers to grow more crops.
The CPB is a government business institution under the Ministry of Agriculture, with its main task being to buy crops from farmers and crop traders before adding value to the crops through its factories.
The CPB was established by the Cereals and Other Produce Act No 19 of 2009 (The Cereals and Other Produce Act No. 19 of 2009).
Unlike other crop boards that have the responsibility of managing crops, CPB was given the responsibility to trade grain and other crops to enable farmers to find a reliable market and competitive prices for their crops.
Ndile stated that, in addition to buying food crops, CPB is continuing to build factories, including a cassava processing factory that will be set up in Mwanza City and another one in the Handeni District, Tanga Region
He stated that they will keep hiring industrial professionals and expand their factories to increase output and sell their products both domestically and abroad
“We have other factories in Arusha Region for processing maize and wheat and another factory in Iringa Region for processing maize. In Dodoma Region, there is a factory for processing sunflower and maize,” said Mr Ndile.
For his part, a member of the Board, Mr. Fadhili Ngajilo, said the Board has positioned itself to bring about socio-economic change for Tanzanians by stimulating business through the produce market.
Recently, the Tanzanian National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) purchased 18,294.314 tonnes of cereals from farmers to strengthen the state’s food security to ensure that the country can store food for six months as a shield from food security uncertainties.
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