By eastafricangazette
The United Republic of Tanzania is considering the East African Community market as it gets ready for the upcoming abundant maize harvest.
They have encouraged maize farmers to seize the growing food markets within the East African Community for their excess produce.
The government through its National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA), plans to buy cereals from farmers in early July in anticipation of the expected bumper maize harvests from major growing regions in the south.
The Minister of Agriculture Hussein Bashe, said the country is anticipating a plentiful harvest, with the surplus surpassing the initial demand evaluation for maize, which is estimated to be over 1.2 million tonnes for export to neighbouring countries.
He mentioned that the production of food crops is projected to reach 31.5 million tonnes, a significant increase from the 20.4 million tonnes harvested in the previous year.
Additionally, he stated that the country anticipates a maize harvest of over 10 million tonnes in the 2024 season, which spans from mid-June to July.
Based on the country’s agricultural statistics provided by the line ministry, the production of maize last year amounted to 1.8 million tonnes.
However, the demand for maize stood at 6 million tonnes, resulting in a surplus of 2.1 million tonnes available for export markets.
Tanzania’s population consumes approximately 15 million tonnes of food annually, consisting mainly of cereals and non-cereals.
This results in a surplus of food crops that can be exported.
In light of this, Bashe recommended that maize traders explore opportunities to expand their businesses by identifying countries with a shortage of maize and obtaining export permits through the Agricultural Trade Management Information System.
Dr. Andrew Komba, the NFRA Executive Director, says the agency is ready to commence the purchase of maize, rice, and other food crops from farmers.
He stressed that the harvests will be stored and sold in both local and foreign food markets, with operations scheduled to begin in July.
NFRA’s primary responsibility is to oversee food reserves in order to guarantee a stable supply that can fulfill both local and international demands.
The organization set up 14 crop buying centers in the southern highlands, which are the largest maize producers in the nation.
He stressed that a total of Tsh300 billion ($115 million) was allocated to procure approximately 300,000 tonnes of food crops during the harvest season from June to July.
Tanzania also signed a trade agreement with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in May, 2024
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture said agreement with DRC is part of strategies that Tanzania is implementing to increase the export of food crops to other countries, aiming to become the centre of food production in Africa.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), cereal production in DR Congo is estimated at around 2,000,000 tonnes annually.
According to its previous report, DRC imported cereals valued at $12 million in 2022.