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By ADAM IHUCHA Special Correspondent
Posted Saturday, May 18 2013 at 14:08
IN SUMMARY
Tanzania could lose nearly $24 million in earnings derived from cotton sales as the industry faces a decline in this current crop season.
According to latest projections, cotton lint output in the country could plunge by 40 per cent this season, after farmers rejected the state-backed contract farming system.
Statistics released by the Tanzania Cotton Association (TCA) show that due to the deadlock, output could fall to 250,000 metric tonnes, worth $57.9 million, from last years 354,000 tonnes valued at nearly $82 million.
In the contract-farming model, farmers are provided with inputs such as fertilisers, pesticides, seeds, and tractors to plough the fields by ginneries, to boost cotton production, volume and quality.
National income
Agriculture is Tanzanias mainstay, accounting for about half of the national income, while cotton is among its major forex earners.
In 2008, the government launched a cotton and textile development programme through the Tanzania Gatsby Trust at a cost of $7.2 million.
The project aimed to boost production to 1.5 million bales by the year 2015, which translates into 1,500 kilogrammes per hectare.
During harvesting season, growers say they are taken hostage by not being allowed to sell their produce elsewhere, save for creditors and at the latters set prices.
Accusations
Farmers from Busega, Kahama and Mwanza regions are accusing the investors of supplying poor quality inputs at exorbitant prices.
The farmers say that the system is exploitative and harmful.
As a result, the TCA says the area under cotton cultivation has dropped from 1,420,000 acres last season to a mere 1,050,000 this year.
TCA secretary general Boaz Abiero blamed some politicians for allegedly persuading cotton growers to abandon contract farming, leading to the decline of the cash crop output this season.
The TCA chief cited a campaign where farmers were urged not to sell their cotton for any price below Tsh1,000 ($0.63) per kg.
Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda said the government initiated the contract farming model with the aim of increasing cotton production and helping farmers boost their incomes, The premier implored the politicians and experts to engage in discussions to solve the deadlock facing contract farming in the country.
As many as 500,000 Tanzanian farmers cultivate about 485,000 hectares (1.2 million acres) of cotton in the countrys northern, coastal and western regions.
Tanzania is Africas fifth-largest lint-cotton producer, after Egypt, Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Benin, according to 2007 statistics from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The country is the worlds 20th largest producer, according to the FAO.
Posted Saturday, May 18 2013 at 14:08
IN SUMMARY
- Cotton lint output in the country could plunge by 40 per cent this season, after farmers rejected the state-backed contract farming system.
Tanzania could lose nearly $24 million in earnings derived from cotton sales as the industry faces a decline in this current crop season.
According to latest projections, cotton lint output in the country could plunge by 40 per cent this season, after farmers rejected the state-backed contract farming system.
Statistics released by the Tanzania Cotton Association (TCA) show that due to the deadlock, output could fall to 250,000 metric tonnes, worth $57.9 million, from last years 354,000 tonnes valued at nearly $82 million.
In the contract-farming model, farmers are provided with inputs such as fertilisers, pesticides, seeds, and tractors to plough the fields by ginneries, to boost cotton production, volume and quality.
National income
Agriculture is Tanzanias mainstay, accounting for about half of the national income, while cotton is among its major forex earners.
In 2008, the government launched a cotton and textile development programme through the Tanzania Gatsby Trust at a cost of $7.2 million.
The project aimed to boost production to 1.5 million bales by the year 2015, which translates into 1,500 kilogrammes per hectare.
During harvesting season, growers say they are taken hostage by not being allowed to sell their produce elsewhere, save for creditors and at the latters set prices.
Accusations
Farmers from Busega, Kahama and Mwanza regions are accusing the investors of supplying poor quality inputs at exorbitant prices.
The farmers say that the system is exploitative and harmful.
As a result, the TCA says the area under cotton cultivation has dropped from 1,420,000 acres last season to a mere 1,050,000 this year.
TCA secretary general Boaz Abiero blamed some politicians for allegedly persuading cotton growers to abandon contract farming, leading to the decline of the cash crop output this season.
The TCA chief cited a campaign where farmers were urged not to sell their cotton for any price below Tsh1,000 ($0.63) per kg.
Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda said the government initiated the contract farming model with the aim of increasing cotton production and helping farmers boost their incomes, The premier implored the politicians and experts to engage in discussions to solve the deadlock facing contract farming in the country.
As many as 500,000 Tanzanian farmers cultivate about 485,000 hectares (1.2 million acres) of cotton in the countrys northern, coastal and western regions.
Tanzania is Africas fifth-largest lint-cotton producer, after Egypt, Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Benin, according to 2007 statistics from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The country is the worlds 20th largest producer, according to the FAO.
