Kilombero Sugar, out-growers sign two year contract for cane supply
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4. Oktober 2021
04
Oct 2021
The Guardian Reporter
KILOMBERO
Business
The Guardian
Kilombero Sugar, out-growers sign two year contract for cane supply
SUGARCANE out-growers in Kilombero have all the reasons to smile following the signing of a two year contract that allows them to sell their commodity to Kilombero Sugar Company Limited.
Kilombero Sugar Company Limited’s managing director, Guy Williams (L) exchanging contract documents with Kilombero Cooperative Unions’s chairman, Onesmo Mwakyambo soon after signing a two year deal for cane supply to the company by out-growers. Photo: Guardian Correspondent.
The deal which was signed between KSCL’s Managing Director, Guy Williams and Kilombero Sugarcane Cooperative Union’s Onesmo Mwakyambo last week gives the out-growers a reliable and lucrative market for their commodity.
Speaking after signing the agreement, KSCL’s Williams said the deal is very important for the sugar manufacturing company because the farmers supply more than 600,000 metric tons of the cane used as raw material per year.
He said the current focus of his company is to expand the factory with an investment of 571bn/- hence the two year contract assured KSCL of reliable supply of cane as raw material. "This agreement is very important because apart from guaranteeing the sustainable supply of cane, it also assures us of raw materials for factory after expansion," Williams said.
Under the deal, the total number of small-scale farmers supplying cane will increase to between 14, 000 and 16, 000 out-growers from 7,500 while direct employment will also increase by over 2,000 throughout cane supply value chain.
In remarks after inking the deal, KSCU’s Chairman, Onesmo Mwakyambo said the renewed contract is very important to the farmers because it assures them of the market especially after the factory expansion project is completed.
“We currently have the capacity of producing more cane than what the mills can crush annually, and the quantity as well as quality of our cane has improved very much particularly due to improved road infrastructure that has made it easier to transport sugar cane from farms to the factory,” he noted.
KSCL’s Head of Corporate Affairs, Joseph Rugaimukamu said the two sides have signed the two year contract after a one year contract signed last year expired. Rugaimukamu said the market for sugarcane in the country is currently favourable to farmers thanks to the government’s effort in protecting local sugar industries. “The price of sugarcane has increased from 95,112/- per ton during the past season to 103,361/- per ton in the current season,” he said.
Sugar Board of Tanzania’s Legal Officer who witnessed the deal, Sophia Stanley applauded the good relationship existing between the farmers and the company saying the signing of the new contract and KSCL’s expansion plans align well with state efforts to boost domestic sugar production.
“As Sugar Board, we will continue to cooperate with the company at all stages of the expansion project but also help farmers adhere to modern methods of sugar cane cultivation as per the sugar regulations requirements,” Stanley said..