By Special Correspondents, KAMPALA AND DAR ES SALAAM
CO-FOUNDER of Apple Inc who is credited as one of pioneers of
microcomputer revolution, Steve Job (1955-2011), once said “Innovation
distinguishes between a leader and a follower” adding further that; “Be a
yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where
excellence is expected.”
These two quotes speak volumes and resonate with unflinching decisions
being made by the Government of Tanzania under President John Magufuli to
uplift social wellbeing of the people and crushing unscrupulous individuals who
hitherto survived by exploiting the poor.
Dr. Magufuli, a Chemist by profession, took many people on
surprise when he announced that the government through the Tanzania
Agricultural Development Bank (TADB) and the Tanzania Peoples’ Defense Forces
(TPDF) would purchase all cashew nuts from farmers in Southern regions.
President Magufuli did not end there, he directed further each
kilogramme of the nuts should fetch 3,300/- up from just 1,500/- which was
earlier proposed by cashew nut traders, who were ostensibly operating in a
cartel.
It was apparent that traders were determined to frustrate the
farmers as they kept on dragging their feet, dictating lower prices for the
crop. The traders have for long operated like ‘semi-gods’, and as a result
hurting the poor farmers to whom the crop is the lifeblood.
Reports coming in from many parts of the world show that the price
of the nuts has increased by almost 10 per cent since the Tanzanian government
started buying the entire country’s stock at a higher price.
Growers of cashew nuts, which is among the most valuable export
crops for Tanzania, had been holding back from selling after prices fell below
what they said it cost them to produce.
The 3,300/- per kilogramme offered by the government represents an
increase of over 90 per cent compared to what was offered by traders, meaning
that the farmers would reap handsomely from estimated 220,000 harvested during
the season.
Shortly after Dr Magufuli’s orders, army personnel started
ferrying truckloads of the cash crop purchased by the government to selected
storage areas. A commodity trader at the Scotland-based Freeworld Trading, Mr
Michael Stevens, pointed that the price of the commodity had risen to US $3.80
dollars per kilogramme from US $3.50 following events in Tanzania.
The prices cashew kernel hit a high of US $4.8 dollars per
kilogramme at the beginning of the year, but as demand from the United States
and Europe fell, they declined to US $3.2 dollars in October, an analyst at
Cashewinfo, an India-based industry research organization, said.
Snacks account for over 60 percent of the demand for cashews, the
analyst said. Traders said they were assessing how Tanzania, a top ten global
producer, would be able to get its cashews to the main buyers in India and
Vietnam before the end of the year.
“Between now and
then, it’s not clear what the price will be. If buyers think the price will
continue to go up then they might come in and buy,” Stevens said.
Latest figures indicate that since the intervention by the
government of Tanzania, a total of over 10,769 kilogrammes of the nuts worth over
35.5bn/- had been purchased in the three southern regions of Mtwara, Lindi and
Ruvuma.
During the period, a total of 34,938 farmers in the three regions
pocketed the 35.5bn/- as indicated in the brackets Lindi (12bn/-), Ruvuma
(4.9bn/-) and Mtwara (17.9bn/-).
Government sources confirmed that a team of experts had already
arrived in Coast Region for the assessment exercise. Coast Region becomes the
fourth in the list after similar ones in Lindi, Mtwara and Ruvuma.
Tanzania produces an average of 275,000 tones of cashew nuts per
annum but only 30,000 tonnes are processed locally and yet the country has
factories with an installed capacity of 127,000 tonnes.
Dr. Magufuli has thus emphasized on local processing of raw
materials to add value and create employment for majority of Tanzanian, a clear
testimony of Steve Job’s quote; “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and
a follower.” The innovation has now attracted other EAC countries like Uganda to invest in cashew production.
Uganda is one of the newest inclusion in cashew farming as reports
here confirm that more than 20, 000 new seedlings were planted since 2015. The
goal is to increase the yields as more Ugandans favour the nuts which are
mostly imported from Tanzania or India.
Ends
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