Cereals Board allocates Sh100 billion for buying crops

Mwanza. The Cereals and Other Produce Board of Tanzania (CPB) is planning to make a revolution in the industry by allocating Sh100 billion for the purchase of produce from farmers around the country.

In addition, the Board has encouraged all farmers in the country to grow as many crops as they can this season, pledging to buy an abundance of their crops at market rates, giving Tanzanians the chance to sell their produce to the Board so as to boost their incomes.

A director of the board, who spoke on behalf of the chairman of the board, Mr Kapenjama Ndile, made the statement yesterday in Mwanza, shortly after members of the board had visited 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.

“The CPB is a haven for farmers; we purchase their agricultural products and, in some areas, add value through our facilities,” said Mr Ndile.

He said their first priority is food security, and that is why the government formed the CPB.

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.

According to Mr Ndile, the Board 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.

In addition, he stated that they will keep hiring industrial professionals and expand their factories in order 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.

He said that currently the Board has introduced a procedure to identify crop brokers as official traders in order to facilitate business between farmers and the Board.

“The board has entered business competition by doing business with foreign countries, but we are going to improve food products to international standards,” said Mr Ngajilo.

Another member of the Board, Mr David Shambwe, urged the farmers to cultivate many crops, saing: “Contracts are very beneficial for farmers because they can get loans from financial institutions since they will have supporting documents and recognised contracts.”

He said the contracts are for farmers of various crops, including wheat, maize, rice, and sunflower, and he urged primary societies to sensitise farmers to growing more crops.

Who is CPB’s market?

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.