Azania Bank targets Tanzanian tea farmers with special account
Head of the Agriculture Business at Azania Bank, Augustino Matutu and the Chairman of the Summit Tea Farmers’ Cooperative Association, Edwin Mahunda exchange documents following the signing of a pivotal contract with Azania Bank on May 16. This agreement solidifies the establishment of a dedicated account, known as Dunduliza, for the secure savings of deductions from tea farmers. PHOTO | SAID KHAMIS
Funds deposited in the account will enable the procurement of improved seedlings, high-quality fertiliser, herbicides, small-scale tea manufacturing machines, and other essential resources necessary for the enhancement of farming operations
Dar es Salaam. Azania Bank and an apex cooperative union for tea farmers signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on May 16, 2024, that seeks to finance tea production in the country.
The Tea Board of Tanzania facilitated the MoU by allowing the opening and maintaining of a specific consolidated account to be known as the Dunduliza Account for financing tea production in the country.
The account will be opened for the purposes of facilitating tea farming activities in the country.
"The bank conducted research that enabled us to travel across the country to learn and assess the challenges facing the tea farming industry,” said Azania Bank head of agribusiness unit, Mr Augustino Matutu.
“We identified that one of the ways to uplift tea farming is through savings; hence, we came up with the Dunduliza special account in collaboration with the tea board through the apex cooperative union of tea farmers (TATSGCU). All of this is in support of the government's efforts to achieve the 10/30 agenda,” he said.
Agenda 10/30 seeks to ensure that the agriculture sector grows by at least 10 percent by 2030.
Since the cooperative members have opened accounts at other banks where processors deposit deductions, i.e., Sh100 per kilo of tea, as agreed in the general meetings of the general meetings of the cooperative members, eventually these funds will be transmitted to the cooperative consolidation account (Dunduliza Account) at Azania Bank.
Since cooperative members have opened accounts at other banks where tea processors deposit deductions—such as Sh100 per 1 kg of tea, as agreed upon in the cooperative members' general meetings—these funds will eventually be transmitted to the cooperative's consolidation account, known as the Dunduliza Account, at Azania Bank.
The funds deposited in the consolidation account shall be from the cooperative members as deducted from deposits made by tea processors in exchange for green tea leaves.
Funds deposited in the account will serve to facilitate various tea farming activities, including the procurement of improved seedlings, high-quality fertiliser, herbicides, small-scale tea manufacturing machines, and other essential resources necessary for the enhancement of farming operations.
The major challenges facing tea farmers include the lack of inputs, fertilisers, quality tea seedlings, and the absence of small tea processing factories, largely due to the fact that agricultural marketing cooperative societies (Amcos) operate independently.
“With this account in place, we now possess the capability to achieve substantial advancements through the effective management of funds collected and administered by Azania Bank in collaboration with our tea board," said the chairman of the apex cooperative union of tea farmers, TASTGCU, Mr Edwin Mahunda.
