Tanzania Distilleries Limited to buy 1500 tonnes of grapes
What you need to know:
- During the pilot project, which kicked off last year, TDL, the largest consumer of grapes and the largest wine producer in the country disbursed Sh350 million to procure 233 tonnes of grapes from its contracted grape farmers at a price of Sh1,500 per kilogramme.
Dar es Salaam. Tanzania Distilleries Limited (TDL), a subsidiary of Tanzania Breweries Limited (TBL), plans to reach 300 grape farmers and purchase 1,500 tonnes of their produce this year.
The company will reach the farmers through an agricultural support programme that is undertaken by TBL’s parent firm, AB InBev.
AB InBev’s agricultural support programmes directly target women, with between 30 to 40 percent of the 300 grape farmers to benefit from the project expected to be women.
During the pilot project, which kicked off last year, TDL, the largest consumer of grapes and the largest wine producer in the country disbursed Sh350 million to procure 233 tonnes of grapes from its contracted grape farmers at a price of Sh1,500 per kilogramme.
“TDL has been pioneering the development of the Tanzanian wine industry, a commitment which includes the support of local grape farmers,” TBL managing director Jose Moran said in a statement availed to The Citizen yesterday.
Currently, Mr Moran said, the spirit business has relationships with over 700 farmers who produce the grapes that are processed into its range of wines. With this programme, detailed Mr Moran, TBL aims towards development of grape farming in Tanzania targeting to empower more women.
One of the women grape farmers in Dodoma who benefit from the programme, Irene Mlola, said they have been receiving regular visits from TDL experts who support them with oversight of crop, consultation on pesticides and fertilizers, support during harvesting and pruning. “This program has been a key pillar in our expansion plan,” she said. Furthermore, in partnership with TDL, she said they were conducting various experiments at their farm to test different methods of increasing productivity as well as managing damaged soil patches.
For its production and brewing activities, AB InBev depends on high-quality agricultural crops from thriving communities and healthy ecosystems.
Taking a farmer-centric approach in its commitment to supporting sustainable agriculture supply chains, AB Inbev, through its agronomists and researchers, pursues its goal that 100 percent of direct farmers are skilled, connected and financially empowered by 202
