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Tuesday 9 November, 2010

kilimokwanza@guardian.co.tz

SUPPORTING THE PROMOTERS OF THE GREEN REVOLUTION

WHO CARES?

Authorities pay more attention tosafety of cement than human food

By Kilimo Kwanza Reporters

BOTTLENECKS in ac-cessing credit facilitiesfrom local banks arehampering the purchaseand transportation oftractors across the coun-

try, in time for the impending plantingseason.

This is fermenting an unnecessarycrisis that could cripple the country’sagricultural output in the next harvestseason.

“It is critical that these tractorsreach the farmers before cultivationstarts,” the Project Manager for SUMAJKT, Lt. Col. Felix Samillan has said.

The total number of tractors in usein Tanzania is only about 8,000 and yetin order to achieve food self sufficiency,

we need to have at least 20,000 work-ing tractors. To fill this gap, the countryis importing over 2,000 tractors everyyear for the next ten years.

However, at the moment hundredsof tractors are stuck at the SUMA JKTsales yard in Lugalo, at Mwenge, Dares Salaam; even as farmers prepare forthe December cultivation without themuch needed mechanization. Moretractors are expected to be offloaded atthe Dar es Salaam port anytime.

“Credit facilities by local banks toindividuals and district councils inter-ested in purchasing the tractors willensure that they reach the farms ingood time,’ the project manager said.

At the moment many individualsand district councils interested in pur-chasing the tractors face gridlocks inaccessing credit from their banks.These bottlenecks means that this

country may now fail to translate itsneed for working tractors into a reality.

It is critical therefore that districtcouncils and individual farmers get ac-cess to credit especially for the pur-chase of farm implements for agrariangreen revolution Kilimo Kwanza.

“We also remain committed to en-sure that these tractors remain afford-able to all farmers across the country,’Lt. Col. Samillan said.

To ensure that farmers get thetractors at the lowest rate, SUMA JKThas in place strict conditions for bulkpurchases intended for resale. Bulkbuyers therefore have to resell the trac-tors at a price that doesn’t exceed TSH19m and TSH 21m per tractor, depend-ing on the type of tractor. Some of thetractor traders have found these condi-tions difficult to implement.

SUMA JKT recently acquired hun-

dreds of tractors on credit from India tosupport the country’s agricultural ef-forts in Kilimo Kwanza.

The institution now asks thatbanks and other financial institutionsextend credit to the district councilsand individual account holders whohave expressed their interest in pur-chasing the tractors.

We hope that a quick introductionof credit facilities by the banks will en-sure that the much needed mechaniza-tion reaches our farmers before cultiva-tion starts in December. This will alsoserve as a clear demonstration of ourlocal banks’ support for KilimoKwanza.

Now that the electioneering periodis over, may the government stakehold-ers in Kilimo Kwanza also be remindedthat its now time to turn our attentionto the real work of building this nation.

EDITORIALThe Guardian KILIMO KWANZA Tuesday 9 November, 2010

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The Guardian KILIMO KWANZAMECHANISATION

Tuesday 9 November, 2010

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IT is almost a cliché to say that taking things forgranted and failing – or refusing – to take reme-dial or preventive action when such action wouldcome in handy can have catastrophic conse-quences.

Yet how many times do people take things for grant-ed and fail – or refuse – to act when their intervention orlack of it could mean the difference between life anddeath? And wouldn’t it amount to an inexcusably lameexcuse to defend our sins, be they of commission or omis-sion, as but part of human nature?

The list of issues, practices or incidents wheretragedy has struck or things have otherwise gone out ofhand just because people had ample opportunity andevery reason to forestall danger but kept by the fence isnear endless.

The age-old blatant misuse or persistent rejection ofindustrial fertilisers and pesticides in some cotton-grow-ing areas in Tanzania is one of the cases that readilycome tomind. It is a sad story indeed in that, while theseinputs are meant to boost production and farmers’ in-comes, some of the same farmers abandon them, pourthem down the drain or turn them to the wrong causes– including poison fishing!

There is also the case of the cultivation of vegetablesin highly polluted river valleys such as Dar es Salaam’sMsimbazi and pumping the obviously hugely toxic pro-duce into the vegetable markets scattered all over thecity of four million.

Botanists, medical doctors, environmentalists, jour-nalists, human rights activists and various other expertshave for decades elaborated on the viciousness withwhich wreak havoc on the health of consumers and, byextension, the urgent need there is for the relevant au-thorities to intervene and the public to be on the alertand preferably look for safer options.

But to what end has this been? To be honest, it hasthroughout remained business as usual just as repeatedalerts on the health and other risks of misuse of drugsand cosmetics have fallen on deaf ears.

We are now faced with the problem of the packagingof agricultural produce having been infiltrated by allmanner of fraudsters, including conmen who cleverlyre-use sacks or bags and other containers that actually

ought to burnt or otherwise disposed of simply becauseso recycling them means packing food and other crops incontaminated containers.

Indications are that the government and its variouswings, in this particular case including the likes of theTanzania Bureau of Standards, the Tanzania Food andDrugs Authority, the Health and Social Welfare min-istry, the Industry, Trade and Marketing ministry andthe Weights and Measures Agency, the police and otherlaw-enforcement agencies, are fully briefed on these se-riousness of these problems.

We wonder, then: Why are no concrete measures be-ing taken to clear this mess, at least for the sake of thehealth and general well-being of our people?

Yes, the government may do wonders in implement-ing policies genuinely aimed at educating and sensitis-ing the citizenry into greater commitment to land so thatit grows into a truer asset in terms of investment oppor-tunities. Yes, the government may have made laudableefforts over the years – undeniably withmassive supportfrom development partners – towards making our cashand crop farming, livestock, fishing and beekeeping sec-tors buoyant industries in their own right.

But wemust all admit that, as a nation, we have justbegun the long and tortuous walk to real success in agri-culture. Indeed, the government has previously admit-ted that the status of Tanzania’s livestock sector beliesthe fact that the country boasts the third or fourthlargest herd of cattle in Africa.

This is in itself too much of headache for us to toler-ate or entertain the problems we are witnessing in thepackaging of our agricultural produce, as shown aboveand elaborated on elsewhere in this supplement. Wecan, should and must end this mess. The sooner we doso, the better.

Wallace MauggoEditor

This is not packaging,it is courting disaster!

i n s i d e

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Banks should offercredit for purchaseof JKT tractors

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Are concrete wallsnow more importantthan human beings?

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Deadly animalvirus warning forSouthern Africa

Artwork & Design: KN Mayunga To have your organisation promoted in Kilimo Kwanza, Call: 0787 571308, 0655 571308 0754 571308

Banks should offer creditfor purchase of JKT tractors

BoT governor Benno Ndulu

POLICYThe Guardian KILIMO KWANZA Tuesday 9 November, 2010

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The Guardian KILIMO KWANZAPOLICY

Tuesday 9 November, 2010

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By Guardian Reporter

The Fourth Pillar ofKilimo Kwanza is sup-posed to provide theparadigm shift to thestrategic frameworkfor the green revolu-

tion. The framework is almostwholly to be constructed by theMinistry of Agriculture, Food andCooperatives. It is the most impor-tant pillar to examine, especially atthis moment in history when thenational leadership has just re-ceived a fresh mandate to lead thecountry.

For when the Kilimo Kwanzarevolution was launched on August3rd 2009, all the key implementershad been involved in its articula-tion. The launch was a public for-mality by which time they were sup-posed to have hit the ground run-ning. The Agriculture ministry, be-ing the coreministry for agriculture,was best placed to lead the develop-ment of this pillar. It ought to havebeen the best developed pillar so far,since it is in the hands of those whodid not require persuasion or sensi-tisation.

The pillar focuses specifically onwhich crops, how and where theyshould be produced for the quickeststrategic benefits in terms of in-creasing food production and rev-enue earnings both from the domes-tic and external markets. This obvi-ously was knowledge that was al-ready in the possession of theAgriculture authorities and it was amatter of rolling it out to the otherimplementers and the public.

The agriculture ministry is be-lieved to have spent the past 15months laying down the strategicframework through the prescribedactions that included moving newpieces of legislation, setting up advi-sory teams, identifying areas forspecific crops of strategic value forfood and industrial purposes as wellas taking steps to boost their pro-duction.

The ministry was required,starting August last year, to identi-fy priority areas for strategic foodcommodities for the country’s foodself sufficiency, as well asmodalitiesfor production of crops that cantransform agriculture quickly withminimal financial and technologicalrequirements, growing domesticand external markets demand andemployment creation potential.This should have started 15 monthsago and Tanzanians expect it to beat a highly developed stage.

To attain these, the ministrywas specifically required to startputting in place arrangements forproduction of strategic commoditiessuch as maize, cassava, rice,

legumes, fish, meat, diary products,wheat, bananas, potatoes, sorghumand millet. The same ministry wasalso required to have introduced theblending of cassava in both maizeand wheat milling. The ministrywas also expected to put in placearrangements to finance the pro-duction of cotton, sunflower,sesame and palm oil.

The ministry was also specifi-cally required to identify priority ar-eas and modalities for production ofhorticultural crops. This was sup-posed to be achieved through put-ting in place arrangements for theproduction of high labour intensivecrops requiring limited investment.The crops also have potential forsignificant foreign exchange earn-ings and contribution to nationaleconomic growth, such as onions,mangoes, bananas, grapes, avoca-dos, pineapples, tomatoes, vegeta-bles and spices.

They were also expected to iden-tify areas and modalities for produc-tion of crops with high value addi-tion potential such as fibres and bio-energy. This too, officially started 15months ago in August 2009 and weshould by now have seen specific ac-tions by the ministry to increasethe production of sisal, sugar cane,oil seeds and sweet sorghum.

The agriculture ministry wasalso to establish a strategic advisoryteam on paradigm shift. The teamwas supposed to be constituted inDecember 2009. It was supposed toincorporate the private sector andadvise on areas where various activ-ities in the paradigm shift would beundertaken.

It was also the ministry’s re-sponsibility to spearhead legislationfor a contract farming system. Thiswas supposed to be fast tracked bythe ministry which would then car-ry out sensitisation and capacitybuilding for contract farming. Thiswas obviously supposed to havebeen put in place by the last parlia-ment on the proposals of theAgriculture ministry.

The success of KilimoKwanza also hinges on theadoption of these following ele-ments;

1- The country must embraceirrigation and stop relying on unre-liable rainfall especially in the era ofclimate change because;

a) Irrigation will triple agricul-tural output. On average, anywherein Tanzania, farmers will have oneor two more planting seasons andcan plant different crops.

b) Irrigation can be done any-where in Tanzania because freshwater abounds either in rivers,lakes or underground sources.

Right time to review role of the core Ministry of Agriculture• Reflecting on pillar number four

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c) Underground water in thecountry lies at an incredibly shallow10 metres in many places, and canbe reached at a very small cost

d) Even places with rainfall cando better with irrigation becausethey will still be able to plant theirnon-traditional crop off season andenjoy the advantages of crop diver-sification

e) Irrigation also means control-ling water flow, which means reduc-ing erosion, logging etc

f) Advanced irrigation tech-niques like the drip method cancombine other functions like fertil-ization and pest control all flowingfrom one tube, one drop efficiently.

2- Land in Tanzania must besurveyed and registered. Today onlyabout 10% of the land is surveyed.This means most farmers/peasantsare farming on land that they do notown legally – that is they have noregistered interest in it.

All land owners must get a reg-ister able interest in their land byacquiring titles. The value of a pieceof land that gets a title multipliesabout ten times overnight. If a mil-lion titles for an average 5 hectareplots were issued, the assets valueof the country would grow by a bil-lion dollars overnight.

But more importantly registra-tion gives the land an identity asrecognised assets, thus enabling theregistered proprietors of thesepieces to enter into contracts includ-ing securing loans. Securing institu-tional finance is the only way mostfarmers can move to the next step.

3- Farmers must start usingfertilisers. Tanzania on averageuses 9kg of fertiliser per hectare peryear, which is laughable. Somecountries use up to 500kg/ hectare.Natural fertilisers (organic) must beembraced as well.

This country is endowed withnitrogen fixing trees that can easilybe planted on farms reducing de-pendence on inorganic industrialfertilizers. Organically grown foodalso fetches higher prices on theglobal markets.

4- The warehouse receipts sys-tem must be developed to lift peas-ant farmers away from primitivesubsistence agriculture.

The system should enable thefarmers to avoid selling their pro-duce in a hurry at knock downprices, and also involve them in themodern economic systems wheretheir wealth is accountable andmeasurable in data form. With thespread of the mobile phone use,there is no better time than now toadvance the Tanzanian farmer tothe next level.

a nominal holding capacity of 50kg ofcement. Check and indeed this is theweight indicated on all our local cementbags. The actual content of the cementbag is sometimes 46kg, but that is anembarrassing anomaly that theTanzania Bureau of Standards, the ce-ment producers and the cement indus-try should quickly address.

Ideally sacks of grain should alsoindicate the weight of the contents. Butwhatever small regulation exists on theweight of sacks of grain is not even be-ing enforced. A visit to village marketsand grain collection points reveals thatgrain is often stored and packaged inappalling conditions, including it beingdumped out in the open and directlyonto the bare ground.

A “debe” bucket is then used to fillthe grain into sacks that are then ama-teurishly ‘sealed’ with hand woven ny-lon or sisal thread and loaded ontowaiting lorries. No one weighs the filledsacks and there is no marking on thesacks to indicate the weight of thesacks. Sellers and buyers operate onthe basis of assumptions based on thesize of the sacks. Little enforcement

means there is little or no adherence toany of the WMA specifications fortransporting grain, resulting in lossesacross the board. Grain losses due topoor packaging, and revenue losses forthe farmer and possibly the buyers too.

Furthermore the mandate of WMAis legally limited to ensuring the accu-racy of weights, measures and measur-ing instruments. This is the regime ofmass and volume as opposed to qualityof products or goods which is managedby the Tanzania Bureau of Standards.

If the Tanzania Bureau ofStandards (TBS) is unable to ensurethat there is a proper standard for thepackaging of grain and different typesof farm produce then the Weights andMeasures Agency and other enforcerscannot really do anything.

Sack manufacturers, transportersand middlemen are happily exploitingthis loophole to make ripe pickings.

The current quality of packagingused for grains and fresh produce is of-ten barely sufficient to hold the con-tents of the sacks on the journey to themarket. These sacks do little to protectthe grain from the weather and other

potential hazards. No wonder manygrain farmers and traders suffer hugelosses at the market, especially duringthe wet season.

A visit to any grain market or siloin Tanzania reveals bursting at theseams, filled to the brim sacks piledmountain high and in plain view ofstandards officials. The material usedto make the sacks is visibly feeble andthin, so much so that the contents oftenpeep at would be customers though thegrain pimpled semi-opaque material.One has to simply poke a finger againstthe sack to bore a hole through it.Furthermore the hand woven nylonstrings used to seal the mouth of thesacks do little to prevent spillage. Littlewonder rats and weevils are having aparty.

“As you can see many of thesesacks already have holes in them.Many of these are just from normalhandling of the sacks by porters,” agrain trader at the Tandale market inDar es Salaam said. The market is aprimary grain granary for the country’seconomic capital. Traders at the mar-ket revealed that the situation is much

worse during loading, unloading andtransport where many sacks burst re-sulting in huge losses.

The weights agency has in the pastdefended the poor packaging of grainon transit to manufacturers, arguingthat this is because the grain is trans-ported in bulk. This practice howeverdenies the farmers fair revenue inmuch the same way as lumbesa.

The current situation of lax regula-tion means that while food manufac-turers respect competition and cus-tomer pickiness to package their finalproducts in fairly attractive and goodquality packaging, there is little or nothought given to how the fresh producereaches the manufacturer or market inthe first place.

An urgent review of the existingregulation on packaging of food and es-pecially grains needs to be undertaken.This review should specifically focus onpackaging of grain while on transit tothe market.

The Ministry of Agriculture knowsthat a grain of maize is very different insize, shape, weight and other physicalproperties to a grain of sorghum, just as

a husked grain of rice is different froman un-husked grain. The current speci-fication for packaging food does nottake into consideration such differ-ences. Never mention that an over-whelming majority of grains are cur-rently packaged and transported insacks.

Perhaps this time around the TBSshould also include the food ministry inthe Food Divisional StandardsCommittee and Technical Committeesthat reviews this inadequate standard.

More important though is thatproper regulation be accompanied bytight enforcement. A check of the ce-ment industry for example reveals thatnone of the packaging products cur-rently in use conforms to the existingTBS standards. Some players in the ce-ment industry even claim that the ex-isting TBS standards are old, obsoleteand are set and driven by vested busi-ness interests.

It would be foolhardy therefore tohave good grain packaging standardswithout proper enforcement to ensurethat farmers, transporters, manufac-turers, exporters and importers of grainconform to these standards.

The Tanzania Bureau of Standardsshould come to the fore and put in placeand enforce proper standards for pack-aging of food and especially grain.Without doing this then all well mean-ing efforts put into Kilimo Kwanza willcontinue to go to waste.

FOOD SECURITYThe Guardian KILIMO KWANZA Tuesday 9 November, 2010

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The Guardian KILIMO KWANZAFOOD SECURITY

Tuesday 9 November, 2010

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By Makuna Chirimi

LAX standards in grainpackaging and trans-portation contribute tothe huge post harvestlosses that occur in thecountry every year.

By admission of players in thepackaging industry, the quality ofpackaging of grain in the country hasdeteriorated drastically due to lax reg-ulation, stiff competition and cheap butoften poor quality imports mostly fromChina.

“Ten years ago the weight of onepolypropylene sack was 170gms.Currently it is between 100gms and125gms which is inadequate to survivethe rigours of the journey from farm tomarket,” a packaging industry playerrevealed.

One measurement used for thequality of packaging material (paper,cloth, sack or otherwise) is in gramsper square metre/ centimetre (gsm).This is a measure of the density of thematerial, the basic underlying princi-ple being a higher grammage materialmakes a better quality and moredurable package.

In the absence of proper regulationand lax enforcement of existing laws,manufacturers of packaging materialare raking in billions in unregulatedprofit by producing sub-quality pack-aging.

The issue of grain packaging in thecountry is a mixed bag with farmers,transporters, middlemen, manufactur-ers of packaging material, the Weightsand Measures Agency (WMA) and theTanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS)each playing a role.

The Weights and MeasuresAgency (WMA) is charged with ensur-ing consumer protection throughweights, measures and measuring in-struments with grains being one of theproducts whose packaging must com-ply with the Weights and MeasuresCap 340 (R.E 2002) and its cognateregulations. Taking into considera-tions its obvious financial and staffinglimitations, the WMA is doing a com-mendable job in eliminating the prob-lem of uncontrolled overfilling of grainsacks (lumbesa) that was denyingfarmers of fair earnings.

But the enforcement of packagingstandards goes beyond weight.

It is often said that Tanzania candouble its agricultural output simplyby eliminating post harvest losses. Atthe moment however over 40% of ourfood harvests never reaches thekitchen or dining table. Most of it nev-er even leaves the farm in the firstplace.

There is dire need for proper stan-dards for harvesting, packaging anddelivery of food to market or for stor-age. Of focal concern is the packagingof grain from farm to market or enduser (be it manufacturer or consumer).

Casting a glance at the existingstandards regime, one would be forgiv-en for thinking that the packaging ofcement is better regulated than pack-aging of grains.

Perhaps it is in silent cognizance ofthis that a radio advertisement by a lo-cal cement company claims that ce-ment is now the central basic humanneed, one above food, shelter and cloth-ing. How can we possibly value some-thing that goes into walls more thansomething that goes into our own bod-ies, you ask?

The Tanzania Bureau of

Standards (TBS) is the national organ-ization mandated with setting the na-tional standards of all the products.Being the national standards body, thegovernment has empowered TBS to in-troduce and execute product certifica-tion schemes to ensure that only qual-ity products are available and in usewithin the Tanzanian market.

TZS 538:1999 – Packaging andLabeling of Foods is a seven page doc-ument that is supposed to guide theentire food industry in Tanzania onpackaging of food before delivery to thepoint of sale. This Tanzania Standardfor example is responsible for the formand quality of packaging maize takesfrom the moment it enters a patchysisal sack at the farmer’s hut on itsjourney to the local market and later tothe manufacturer and consumer.

Everyone who is directly involvedin the packaging of food is supposed toreceive guidance from this shallow doc-ument. Be it the individual farmer, thesmall village women’s group in a donorfunded dried fruit and vegetable startup, or a multi billion dollar Sub-Saharan scale flour miller, assortedconfectionaries manufacturer or wineand beer distillery.

This Tanzania Standard makessome well meaning if simplistic andamusing assertions. For example onthe re-use of packing containers inclause 4.9 the standard declares that“No food packages shall be reused ex-cept glass which shall have to be hy-gienically treated before use to meetthe quality requirements prescribed inthe respective Tanzania standards.”

Really? Tell that to the young menseen everyday washing used sacks inthe polluted Msimbazi river, under the

Magomeni bridge in Dar es salaam.The “washed” sacks are widely used infood packaging across the country. Itis also common knowledge that all overthe country grain sacks are re-used un-til the day they tear or burst. Are theregulators asleep on this one?

There is only one clause that refersto packaging of food in sacks. Clause4.3.3 of the food packaging standardsstates that sacks (sisal, cotton, paperand jute) shall be woven or constructedin such a manner that it can containand/or protect the product fromspoilage and other environmental haz-ards.

The standard makes no mention ofthe general or intrinsic properties ofthe sacks. Its simplicity implies thatanyone is free to package grain or anyother type of food into any kind of sackas long as the sack does not directly af-fect the quality of the product and isable to keep its contents intact, even ifbarely so.

A sack is not just a sack. The ladiesand gentlemen at TBS know this verywell. What kind and type material is

the sack made from? What are the ma-terial qualities? How much does itstretch? Is it waterproof? How muchweight or load can it hold or supportbefore bursting? What are its tearingqualities? These are just some of theimportant questions that come to thefore in packaging.

Take cement for example. Cement,like grain is packaged in sacks and yetthere are two existing standards forpackaging cement in the country. TZS743: 2003 – Paper sacks for cement –Specification, and TZS 623:2004 –Textiles - woven sacks for packing ce-ment – High density polyethylenepropylene – Specification.

Each of these documents is 5 pageslong and contains a wide range of in-formation on the specifications for ce-ment sacks. The information rangesfrom basic descriptions and sketchdrawings of the different types of sacksused, to specific information on theminimum width and density of eachtape of thread used to weave the ce-ment sack. Each document containstechnical details like the set tolerance

limits of the sacks, tearing resistancelevels, tensile strength, energy absorp-tion, bursting index, breaking loads ofthe fabrics and the internationally ap-proved scientific methods of testing forthese qualities.

In addition the two cement pack-aging standards make reference to noless than 13 other individual TanzaniaStandards that are necessary for theproper interpretation of the standards.These references include descriptionsand methods of measurement of emptycement sacks, tests for determinationof tensile properties, grammage, sam-pling and tests for moisture content ofthe sack material, determination ofnumber of threads per centimeter andlength and width of woven and knittedfabrics.

Compare this to single clause 4.3.3of the food packaging standards whichonly states that sacks (sisal, cotton, pa-per and jute) used for packaging of foodshall be woven of constructed in such amanner that it can contain and/or pro-tect the product from spoilage and oth-er environmental hazards.

This simple statement is what gov-erns the packaging and transportationof over five million tonnes of grain inthe country each year. It makes nomention of the intrinsic qualities of thesacks or other packaging materialused. There is no reference to otherstandards that should be used to eval-uate the quality and suitability of thepackaging. No mention of the dimen-sions of the sacks. Nothing is said onproduct sampling and testing.Nothing.

On the contrary the TanzaniaStandards for packaging cement evenstipulate that cement bags should have

Are concrete walls now more important than human beings?

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ANIMAL DISEASESThe Guardian KILIMO KWANZA Tuesday 9 November, 2010

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The UN Food and AgricultureOrganization (FAO) has warnedMalawi, Zambia and Mozambique,which share a border with Tanzania, tostep up detection of a deadly animalvirus which causes Peste des petits ru-minants (PPR), a contagious respirato-ry disease.

PPR broke out in Tanzania in ear-ly 2010, threatening over 13.5 million

goats and over 3.5 million sheep. "The Southern African countries

must not vaccinate but step up alertsystems," said Jan Slingenbergh, whoheads FAO's Emergency PreventionSystem for Transboundary Animal andPlant Pests and Diseases. "Vaccinationis like throwing a blanket over the dis-ease, it will make it hard to detect aninfection."

Southern Africa has so far beenspared PPR which occurs in MiddleEastern countries and parts of Centraland South Asia, and has also affectedwestern, eastern and central parts ofAfrica. "The disease, depending on thestrength of the strain, can kill withindays or not affect the infected animal atall", explained Slingenbergh.

Irin

Deadly animal virus warning for Southern Africa

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