Arusha's $16 million pesticide plant ready to supply key input

Dar es Salaam. A locally owned pesticide plant constructed at a cost of $ 16 million in Arusha is ready to deliver the key agrochemicals to the farmers.

The facility, which currently produces 40,000 metric tonnes of liquid pesticides a day, is targeting the local and East African markets, where demand is rising. 

“Production has started with production of 40,000 metric tonnes a day”, said the local investor Gesso Bajuta, adding that they intend to increase production by 100,000 metric tonnes in the near future.

Speaking at the African Food Systems Forum 2023, or AGRF, the managing director of the Arusha-based Bajuta International (Tanzania) Limited underscored the role of the private sector in agricultural production. “We are here to support the government in delivering the key agricultural input to the farmers,” he told The Citizen at the Julius Nyerere International Convention Centre (JNICC).

Construction of the plant southwest of Arusha city commenced in late 2020 after the agro-vet firm secured loans from the local banks.

However, Mr. Bajuta said that as much as the private sector was keen to support the farmers, the former was not comfortable with the interest rates charged by the local banks. 

“The high interest rates are a burden, especially for start-ups. He pointed out that it is difficult for them to raise the huge collateral.

He further said the investment was part of the company’s drive to reach out to farmers so as to improve agricultural and livestock production.

Bajuta International (Tanzania) Limited was established in 1994 mainly to sell veterinary drugs but later embarked on selling agricultural inputs through its countrywide networks of shops.

In recent years, it has been issuing input loans to farmers and livestock keepers through its branches in Arusha, Mbeya, Dar es Salaam, Morogoro, and Mwanza.

Currently, Tanzania imports about one million litres. Pesticides are meant to control pests. About 80 percent of these are herbicides used for plant and crop protection. 

The taxation concern was also expressed by the fertiliser maker, Minjingu Mines and Fertiliser Limited, based in the Manyara region.

The firm’s managing director, Mr Hans Tosky,said the government should address their concerns as part of putting in place a much more conducive environment for local investors. 

 “We have raised these issues many times”, he said at JNICC shortly after Tanzania presented its strategies on measures being taken to attract investments from abroad and within the country. 

The company has often complained against “unfavourable taxes” and once called for a review of a tax for mining phosphates, the main ingredient in the manufacture of fertilisers.

The 42-year-old plant has a production capacity of 150,000 metric tonnes of fertiliser a year. Presently, it produces 100,000 metric tonnes, which are sold locally and in neighbouring countries, according to the MD.

According to available statistics, the demand for fertilisers in Tanzania is about 700,000 metric tonnes annually. The shortfall of about 600,000 metric tonnes is imported.