Chapter
9: Non Traditional Commodities – Horticulture
This Chapter assesses the implications
of ongoing reforms on the production and trade of non traditional export crops
with the focus on the important horticultural crops (flowers, vegetables,
spices, fruits and medicinal plants); with the view of recommending actions
needed by industry and government to increase the competitiveness and brighten
the prospects of these commodities in contributing to the economy of Tanzania.
On the basis of this objective, the Chapter has been organized into five sections.
The first highlights the importance and evolution of the non traditional crops
in the African and Tanzanian contexts. This is followed by a review of the
current status of the horticulture sub-sector in Tanzania with specific focus
on production and productivity of various horticultural commodities as well as
how the sub-sector features in the various policy reforms setting. The third
section dwells on the place of horticulture in the socio-economy, tradability
of horticultural commodities and investment opportunities in horticulture to
justify the sub-sector’s prospects in the national economy. Key constraints and
emerging challenges in the horticulture sub-sector and efforts that have been
and are being taken to address such impediments and challenges are evaluated in
the forth section, while the last section provides recommends the way forward
for an industrious horticulture sub-sector in Tanzania.
The
export economy of the crop sub sector in most African countries is at present
comprised of the non traditional and traditional export crops. Crops that are
not part of the customary diet of the local population and grown primarily for
their high cash values and export potentials are categorized as nontraditional[1].
Crops falling under this category are mainly horticultural ones (fruits,
vegetables, spices and flowers), oilseeds, legumes and medicinal plants. The
traditional export crops on the other hand, are the ones that for a long time
have been the main source of foreign exchange earnings contributing up to 60
percent of total export volume (Bank of Tanzania, 1999). However, from late
1980s Tanzania experienced tremendous problem for almost all traditional
agricultural export crops, as world market prices declined causing a
substantial drop in the contribution of export earnings by the agricultural
sector from 50 percent in the mid 1990 to a mere 23 percent in year 2002
(Mlula, A. 2003). The strategies advocated by the Government in view of
mitigating this dilemma involve the diversification of agriculture through
inclusion of other non farm activities and promoting the production of non
traditional crops for export markets. However, because the non farm activities
are small in scale and often taken as a coping strategy, diversification of agriculture
into non farm activities has not been successful in addressing problems in the
agricultural sector, as it requires efforts to impart organizational and
entrepreneurial skills to rural people so as to make the non farm activities
viable sources of livelihoods (URT, 2005). Therefore the promotion of non
traditional crops production remains the only practical and viable option not
only for enhancing the country’s foreign exchange earnings but also for
enhancing the fight against rural poverty.
The
recent years have witnessed many African countries going into the production of
non traditional crops in order to diversify their agricultural exports and
increase hard currency earning. This is because the market for non traditional
crops is reported to be very profitable especially Europe and it is an area that
attracts investment. Africa is endowed with a tropical climate that is ideal
for growing most of these crops throughout the year while most developed
countries fall in the temperate climate zone where cropping season is limited
to the summer months. Increase in consumer demand in the developed countries
for out of the season fresh fruits and vegetables has opened a niche for
African countries to produce these crops for export during the void period at
attractive prices. Basing on remarkable success by countries that have ventured
in the production and export of non traditional crops, most developing
countries have formulated or are in the process of formulating the programmes
for non traditional export crops development.
As
can be noted in the annex (Annex 1), during the period from 2002 to 2006, non
traditional products accounted for an average of US$1,036.24 million. The data
in annex 1 shows that during the period, non traditional agricultural products
(horticultural products and other exports including fruits and grains)
accounted for an average of 10.8 percent of the total export value and 14.2
percent of the total export value of non traditional products. The export value
of horticultural products alone (excluding fruits), accounted for about 1.1
percent of the total exports value and an average of 1.4 percent the non
traditional products export value. The implication of this is that the export
value of non traditional products in Tanzania was dominated by non agricultural
products especially minerals, fish and fish products as well as other exports.
However, the exportation of non traditional agricultural products looks
insignificant mainly because much of it is carried out as an informal cross-border
trade.
Horticultural crop production has always been part
of the general agricultural endowments in Tanzania although commercial
production (especially for export) is thought to have been started in the 1970’s.
Horticulture crops production normally generates higher earnings per unit area
and is often an alternative to farmers with small acreage to get adequate
income. Horticulture is a fast growing non traditional crops sub-sector in
Tanzania, producing different varieties of fruits, vegetables, flowers and
other ornamental plants, spices and herbs crops for domestic and export market.
According to the Diagnostic Trade Integration study report (DTIS, 2005),
horticultural exports to Europe and other regional markets like Kenya are on
the increase.[2]
The country has a large potential for the
production of tropical, subtropical and temperate fruits, flowers, vegetables
and herbs for domestic and export market which is not fully exploited.
Potential areas for horticultural crops production are found mainly on the
Highland and Coastal belt of the country which include; Southern highland areas
(Mbeya and Iringa regions), Northern highlands (Kilimanjaro and Arusha), Coastal belts regions (Tanga, Morogoro, Coast region, Dar-Es-Salaam
) and Central regions (Dodoma) and Lake zone regions (Mwanza, Mara, Kagera).
The crops produced include; Tropical fruits such as
pawpaws, mangoes, pineapples, bananas, guava, grapes, mbilimbi, and indigenous
fruits such as tamarind, baobab, etc; Temperate fruits such as peaches, pears,
apples, strawberries, raspberry, apricots plums, etc; Exotic vegetables such as
tomato onion, leeks, shallots, chives, sweet pepper, cabbages, chinese
cabbages, lettuce, cauliflower, peas, carrots, cucumber, water melon,
string-less beans, peas, mushrooms etc. Indigenous/tropical vegetables such
as cherry tomato, eggplants, african
eggplants, okra, collards/mustards, green leafy vegetables such as amaranths, nightshades, pumpkin leaves, sweet potato leaves, cassava leaves, and other wild varieties such
as wild mushrooms, milk weed etc. not
yet domesticated; Spice and herb crops such as cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, turmeric, ginger,
vanilla, paprika, chilies, coriander, parsley, celery, black pepper, garlic,
mints lemon grass, nutmeg, rosella , aloevera
etc; Flowers and other ornamental plants such as cut flower roses,
carnations and chrysanthemums, geraniums, asters and different types of shrubs, potted plants and leafy ornamentals.
Production of most horticultural crops is practiced
by small scale farmers except for a few crops especially flowers such as cut
flower roses, chrysanthemums, geraniums, asters, etc and some exportable
vegetables such as green beans, peas, courgettes, baby corns, chilies, baby carrots, baby leeks etc. which are
produced by large scale farmers and companies for export.
Various national research institutions for
Horticulture are available in the country including KATRIN (Morogoro),
ARI-Uyole (Mbeya), ARI –Mlingano (Tanga), HORTI- Tengeru (Arusha) and ARI-Maruku
(Kagera). Other institutions include training institution like SUA and the
AVRDC.
A few fruit and vegetable processing factories are
available in the some key horticultural crops producing regions. These include
DABAGA in Iringa region, RED GOLD in Arusha region, NATURAL CHOICE in Tanga
region (Lushoto district), CHEMI industries in Dar es Salaam region and SNOW
CAP in Kilimanjaro region.
In 1982 Tanzania formulated its first agricultural
policy that was designed to guide the country out of the sector performance
slides experienced in the 1970s. This policy provided the guidelines with the
predicament of the Government continuing to play a central role in the commercial
investments, management and marketing of agricultural products, input supply
and provision of services. However, because of the changes in the macro
economic environment that ensued in the 1880s, the Government embarked on the
implementation of the Public Sector Reform Program with the aims of disbanding
the centrally planned economy. The programme involved privatization/divestiture
of public enterprises while strengthening the government capacity to make
policies and play effective regulatory role. In line with the Public Sector
Reform Programme, the Ministry of Agriculture formulated the new Agriculture
and Livestock Policy in 1997 to re-orient its mission and redefine its
policies, strategies and its core activities[3].
The Government also developed other policies which have a strong bearing on
agricultural development in Tanzania including the Cooperative Policy, the
National Land Policy as well as the National Microfinance Policy.
The 1997 Agriculture and Livestock Policy
objectives[4]
are geared to ensuring that the direction and pattern of development in the
agricultural sector meets social objectives and outputs. The policy emphasizes
the importance of competitive markets and Government interventions in providing
priority public goods and services and the conservation of the environment as a
rational basis for agricultural development.
The 1997 Cooperative Development Policy on the
other hand, acknowledges the role of cooperatives as economic empowerment tools
of the vulnerable members of the society such as small producers/farmers, women
and youths, who otherwise cannot compete as individual players in the market.
It marks a change from cooperatives being state-controlled institutions to
becoming autonomous and member-controlled private organizations. The policy
provides the framework for the restructured cooperatives to operate on an
independent, voluntary and economically viable basis and to develop into
centres for providing inputs, implements, technologies and information. Broadly, the policy aims at empowering
farmers in view of enhancing their bargaining power in the market. The 1997 was
revised and a new Cooperative Development Policy formulated in 2002 which among
others; recognizes economic groups as important initiatives towards genuine
member-based cooperatives and puts emphqasis on commercially oriented business
minded leadership instead of civil-service oriented management in running the
cooperative movement.
The National Land Policy underscores the importance
of land use planning as a tool for land development and a framework for
formulating extension packages. The policy provides an advocacy for community
land use management as a key to addressing the problems of land degradation,
equitable resource allocation and the resolution of conflicts between various
land users[5].
In a nutshell, the policy seeks to achieve the following objectives:
The national microfinance policy which was issued
in 2000 provides a basis for the evolution of an efficient and effective
savings mobilization and micro-financing system in the country. The policy
recognizes the Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies (SACCOS) as the major
providers of microfinance services which, when fully developed will evolve into
community banks that later will be amalgamated to form Cooperative Banks (URT
1997). To-date the number of registered
SACCOS is said to have increased to 4, 000 from only 400 that existed prior to
2006.
Horticulture
in the 1997 Agriculture and Livestock Policy context
The Agriculture and Livestock Policy (1997) gives a
highlight on important horticultural crops that are commonly produced for the
market and for which much promotional efforts need to be put in the next
decade. The policy mentions pineapples, passion fruits, citrus fruits, mangoes,
peaches, pears and desert bananas as important fruits; and tomatoes, spinach,
cabbages and okra as important vegetables.
Flowers include tropical varieties e.g. tuberous roses and some
temperate types e.g. carnations, Lisianthus and Chrysanthemums. Tropical flower
crops worth researching on include dwarf heliconia, torch ginger, tulip ginger,
and cigar calathea.
According to the policy, some of these crops can be
produced throughout the year but the majority a highly seasonal; a reason for
the domestic market gluts during the season and severe scarcity during
off-season. The policy admits that growth in the Tanzania horticultural sector
is challenged by a number of factors including:
· poor production
organization (inadequate supply/unavailability of seeds, inputs, research and
extension services);
· poor marketing system
resulting in quality deterioration and huge post harvest losses;
· inadequate storage,
packaging technology and processing facilities which in turn creates gluts and
critical shortages of horticultural products during off season;
· poor roads, particularly
feeder roads and lack of appropriate transportation logistics; and
· poor quality control
system.
Although the external market opportunities for
horticultural products in the neighbouring and overseas countries like the
Middle East and Europe have increased in recent years, the policy stresses on
the need of Tanzania to tackle these constraints and stringent demands on
standards by the European customers so as to gain access to these markets. In other words, during this period Tanzania has
to compete with other world producers whose systems are much more efficient.
However the policy falls short of emphasizing
development of traditional/indigenous fruits and vegetables whose positive
attributes in terms of adaptability to the environment, resistance to pests and
diseases, less inputs needs and high nutritive value put them on the higher
side, despite their relatively low their yielding potential (URT 2002). Most of these crops are grown at homesteads
for household consumption and within city gardens for sale in the local market.
Mchicha-amaranths, kisamvu-cassava leaves, mnavu-nightshade, ngogwe-African
egg-plant, mboga ya maboga-pumpkin leaves and matembele-sweet potato leaves;
are some of the existing examples. They are cheaper vegetables to produce, are
widely consumed, and are higher in nutrients than exotic vegetables and very
important for food security. The policy also does not mention the development
of mushroom production as a rich source of protein and high value vegetable crop
for local and external markets.
The
existing agricultural and livestock policy of 1997 is the current operating
policy for the sector although it is now in the review process. Formally
the policy document of 1997 included both the Livestock and Crop Sectors but
the on going policy review is structured to cover separately the crop sector
and livestock sector (already completed in 2006 and is operational)
Policy
Implementation
a) Agricultural Sector
Development Strategy
In broad terms, the above described policies are
being implemented within the framework of the Tanzania Development Vision 2025
and the National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty (NSGRP). The
Agricultural Sector Development Strategy (ASDS) which is currently being
implemented through the Agricultural Sector Development Programme (ASDP),
District Agricultural Development Plans (DADPs) was adopted in 2001. The strategy provides a basis for concerted
efforts by the public and private sectors to stimulate growth and reduce rural poverty
through exploitation of the country’s comparative advantage in the production
of major export, food and more lucrative non traditional crops. The ASDS also seeks to exploit the country’s
domestic and international trading opportunities created through membership of
regional and international trade groupings and protocols. Creating the
strategic partnership between agribusiness and smallholder farmers is another
potential opportunity that the strategy is set to exploit. Among others, the
strategy addresses farmer organization; provision of adequate investment
incentives; review and harmonization of the sector legislation, strengthening
the public and private sector capacity to provide improved support services;
and paying the attention to marketing of inputs in view of improving net farm
returns in the short term and commercializing agriculture in the medium and
long term as priority issues.
b) Agricultural Legislation
Important agricultural legislations with the
bearing the promotion of non traditional crops in the country include the Plant
Protection Act (PPA) of 1997, the Plant Breeders’ Rights Act (PBRA) of 2001 and
the Seed Act of 2003. Pursuant to the sectoral reforms aiming at strengthening
the Government regulatory, the PPA which was enacted in 1997 entrusted all
plant protection regulatory functions to the Government. The PPA therefore
repealed the outdated 1937 Plant Protection Ordinance, 1937 Locust Ordinance
and some parts of the 1979 Tropical Pesticide Research Institute (TPRI) Act.
The PPA is the first comprehensive statute that contends that the maintenance
of the international reputation of Tanzanian imports and exports requires the
exclusion or restraint of harmful organisms from such produce. The Act
therefore seeks to prevent the introduction and spread of harmful organisms; to
ensure sustainable plant and environmental protection; to control the
importation and use of plant protection substances, to regulate export and
import of plants and plant products and ensure fulfillment of international
commitments. Phytosanitary inspectorate services form a crutial component of
the Act and are provided at all points of entry and exit including airports,
ports and border posts.
The implementation of the PPA is overseen by the
National Plant Protection Advisory Committee (NPPAC). The NPPAC members are
drawn from public and private institutions dealing with plant protection
issues. The Committee is responsible for advising the Minister on all matters
pertaining to the implementation of the Act and its Secretary is the Chief
Inspector who also heads the Plant Health Services Section in the Ministry of
Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives.
The PBRA was enacted in 2002 to provide for payment
of royalty fees by commercial seed traders to plant breeders for the following
reasons:-[6]
·
To
assist in providing sustainable compensation to plant breeders for their long
time involvement in developing and testing new varieties;
·
To
assist in controlling unauthorized multiplications of seeds of both public and
private varieties;
·
To
provide an incentive to local (public and private) and international breeders
to involve themselves fully in plant variety breeding in the country, therefore
providing farmers with high quality varieties;
·
To
provide incentives for increased investments in seed production;
·
To
facilitate technology generation and transfer through shared breeding and
licensing;
·
To
bring about revolution in the seed industry and hence contribute to the
attainment of the national goal of economic development and food security.
The Plant breeders’ Rights Registry has been
established and the PBR Registrar appointed to deal with the regulation of PBR
issues as stipulated in the Act. The royalty fees payment advocated by the Act
is an incentive to researchers as it will motivate them to venture in plant
breeding for more crop varieties that are more productive and adaptive to the
environment.
The Seed Act of 2003 complements to the Plant
Protection Act of 1997 in terms of regulation of the importation, exportation
and sales of seeds in the country. According to the Act, all seed importation,
exportation, production, processing, distribution, sale or advertisement for
sale of seeds must seek permits from the Director[7].
Similarly all seed dealers in the Country have to be registered with the
Director.
Seed quality control is a central issue addressed
by the Act with the aim ensuring that the Tanzanian farming community gets
quality improved seeds for enhancing productivity and production. The Act establishes
the Tanzania Official Seed Certification Institute (TOSCI) with the mandate of
carrying out seed field inspections and seed sampling and testing. The Act also
establishes the National Seeds Committee as a stakeholders’ forum responsible
for advising the Government on all matters relating to the development of the
Tanzania seed industry. Promotion of
on-farm seed production and multiplication by smallholder farmers through the
establishment of formal procedures for certifying seeds produced by smallholder
farmers has been highlighted in the Act; and the seed obtained through this
procedure will require certification by TOSCI as “Quality Declared Seed” (QDS).
National
Trade Policy
The National Trade Policy of 2003 is based on the
mid 1980s to 1990s trade liberalization initiatives that included gradual
reduction of import restrictions; liberalization of foreign exchange
transactions; simplification of the tariff structure, abolition of import bans
for luxury goods and licensing requirements for exports; and allowing the
private sector to compete in processing and marketing of cash crops[8].
Essentially, the policy responds to issues raised in Tanzania’s World Trade
Organization (WTO) trade review which was undertaken in 2000. The issues raised
included Tanzania’s desire in creating an environment conducive both to
domestic and foreign investment and the country’s limited export capacity
despite the existing opportunities such as the regional trade integration
initiatives as well as the bilateral and multilateral preferential trade
partnerships[9]. Reforms in the agricultural sector that
involved the Government withdrawal from direct involvement in production,
processing and market activities also prompted the formulation of the national
trade policy.
The policy focuses on structural transformation of
the economy, product and market diversification, raising efficiency and
productivity as well as stimulating international competitiveness as important
roles through which trade can contribute to the achievement of the country’s
poverty reduction aspirations by 2025. It aligns national development agenda
with regional and international trade obligations and maximization of the
benefits of participation in regional and international trade arrangements. The
policy provides for the interim safeguarding of domestic industry and economic
activity threatened by liberalization[10],
and addresses the supply-side constraints that inhibit expansion of trade
within the domestic and global market as the route towards rapid economic
development. In this respect, the policy
vision is to transform the economy from a
supply constrained one into a competitive export-led entity responsive to
enhanced domestic integration and wider participation in the global economy
through national trade liberalization and the mission is to stimulate the development and growth of
trade through enhancing competitiveness aiming at rapid socio-economic
development[11]. The Policy objectives are:-
The policy also focuses on the rationalization of
the continued use of tariffs as an instrument of protection and revenue
generation; further reduction of tariff rates; and narrowing of tariff bands
with the aim of reducing tariffs to levels that conform to regional and
multilateral obligations. Rationalization of central and local government
taxation with the introduction of lower rates while improving the tax
administration regime and removing export taxes is another important barrier
aspect addressed by the policy.
Regarding the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBTs),
the policy undertakes to continue observing and enforcing international
standards rigorously in order to protect economic activities particularly in
the agricultural and livestock sectors from the dangers of exotic pests through
Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures. The other policy issues include
consumer protection against sub-standard and harmful products as per SPS and
TBT agreements and raising awareness on international standards with respect to
conventional exports and to new products adopted under economic diversification
strategies.
Flower production for export is basically practiced
by large Companies in the northern zone especially in Arusha and Kilimanjaro
regions where a list of flower producing and exporting companies operates.
Different types of flowers produced are exported to Germany, Netherlands,
Norway, USA, France, Switzerland etc. The companies involved in flower business
in the Northern Zone include Kiliflora Nduruma Farm Ltd (cut roses), Tengeru
Flowers Ltd (cut roses), Hortanzia Ltd(cut roses), Tanzania Flowers Ltd(cut
roses), Dekker (T) Ltd (Chrysanthemum cuttings), Mount Meru Flowers Ltd , (cut
roses), Arusha Cutting Ltd (Chrysanthemums), Multiflower Ltd (Chrysanthemum
cuttings),Dekker Kilimanjaro Ltd (Chrysanthemum cuttings), Dekker (T) Moshi Ltd
(Chrysanthemum cuttings), Fides Tanzania Ltd
(different flower types- Geraniums, Chrysanthemums, Osteospermum, Impatiens,
Aster, Kalanchoe) ,LA
Fleur D’ Afrique Ltd (cut roses), Mount Meru Flowers Ltd (cut roses), Green
Stars Cuttings Ltd. (Chrysanthemums,
Border/garden plants), Vasso Agroventures Ltd (garden and pot plants flower
seeds), Kilimanjaro
Flair Ltd (Hypericum flair). An area of about 137 Ha of greenhouses is
estimated to be under production of different types of flowers such as
Chrysanthemums, Roses, ornamental sunflower and Licianthus most of which are
exported out of the country.
Flower production for export is increasing year to
year due to business growth leading to expansion of production sites. From
2005/06 the quantity of flowers exported to different destinations was
estimated at 5,862 tons which increased to 6,897 tons in 2006/07 from an
estimated acreage of 137 ha.
Table 1: Northern Zone Flower Companies,
Area under Production and Flower Exports
|
SN |
Name of
flower Company |
Type of
flower |
Area (Ha) |
Employment (No. of
workers) |
Exported
flowers (MT) |
|
|
2005/06 |
2006/07 |
|||||
|
1 |
Tengeru Flowers |
Roses |
8 |
265 |
268 |
400 |
|
2 |
Mount Meru Flowers |
Roses |
14 |
310 |
720 |
1,000 |
|
3 |
Tanzania flowers |
Roses |
12 |
300 |
720 |
852 |
|
4 |
La Fleur D’Afrique |
Roses |
9 |
206 |
402.4 |
534 |
|
5 |
Kiliflora |
Roses |
37 |
928 |
2,240 |
2,372 |
|
6 |
Hortanzia |
Roses |
7 |
288 |
352 |
360 |
|
7 |
Fides Tanzania |
Roses |
6 |
140 |
100 |
91 |
|
8 |
Dekker Bruins(T) Ltd |
Cuttings |
13 |
770 |
674 |
750 |
|
9 |
Arusha Cuttings |
Cuttings |
3 |
120 |
75 |
79 |
|
10 |
Multiflower Ltd |
Cuttings |
1.5 |
90 |
19 |
24 |
|
11 |
Green Stars Ltd |
Cuttings |
1.5 |
61 |
19 |
20 |
|
12 |
Kilimanjaro Flair Ltd |
Cuttings |
25 |
260 |
273 |
415 |
|
|
Total |
|
137 |
3,738 |
5,862 |
6,897 |
Source: TAHA, 2007
In recent years some flower production and export
has become an important undertaking in the Southern highlands in Njombe and
Mufindi districts in Iringa region where basically cut flower roses is produced
for export. Flower production is also taking place even in Dar es Salaam region
(Kigamboni area) where production of leafy flower types and heliconia is
undertaken by some investors for export purpose.
Tanzania has a variation in topography and
altitudes which dictates different climatic conditions and the potential of
growing different types of fruits ranging from tropical, sub-tropical and
temperate fruits. The fruits produced in the country are oranges, mangoes,
grapes, pawpaws, pineapples, bananas, guavas, lemons, tangerines, avocados,
soursops, peaches, plums, pears, apples, jackfruits etc. Most of fruit crops
are produced by small scale farmers and are consumed locally with little
exports. However, information from TAHA show that private companies like
Kilimanjaro Horticultural exports Ltd export strawberries and raspberries[12].
The production of vegetables is also still low and
is mostly practiced by small scale farmers mainly for domestic markets, except
for a few vegetables that are produced for export. Potential areas for
vegetable production are found in the highlands and coastal belt of the
country; including Kilimanjaro, Arusha, Tanga, Mbeya, Morogoro, and Iringa regions.
Vegetable production for export is carried out by private companies like WIMBO
Exports through own farms and outgrowers. Vegetables that are produced for
export include green beans, peas, courgettes,
chillies, baby corn, baby carrots, baby leeks etc.
For example, for 2005/06 and 2006/2007 seasons, the Gomba
Estates Ltd (the former vegetable exporter) exported 1,666.48 and 1,500 tons of
fresh vegetables respectively.
Spice and herbs crops are aromatic crops with hot
to piquant taste used to impart good flavor and taste to food. Spices and herb
crops produced in the country include; cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, turmeric,
ginger, vanilla, paprika, chillies, coriander, parsley, celery, black pepper,
garlic, mints, rosemary, lemon grass, lemon verbena, nutmeg, rosella , aloevera, Artemisia etc. Most
spices and herbs grown in Tanzania were introduced from other countries (e.g.
clove was introduced to Zanzibar from Indonesia through Mauritius). Spice and
herb production is predominantly undertaken by small scale farmers in the spice
growing zones in the East Uluguru Mountains (Morogoro region), the East
Usambara Mountains (Tanga region) and the famous Zanzibar Islands. Most spices
and herbs are economically important for both domestic and export markets.
However like other horticultural crops, spice production is low although there
are few exported spices like cinnamon, cloves, ginger, turmeric, garlic etc to
various destinations as shown in Table 46. The current export estimates for
spice crops is less than US$5m per year although DTIS (2005) reports the spice
export potentials to possibly reach US$15-20 per year.
Table 2: Spices Exports by Value, Volume
and Destination, 2006
|
SN |
Spice
type |
Quantity exported (Kg) |
Value (FoB) Tshs |
Destination |
|
1 |
Cinnamon |
100 |
50,000 |
DR Congo |
|
2 |
Cloves |
3,032,843 |
9,963,555,798 |
United
Arab, Burundi India,Jamaica,Japan,Kenya Singapore, Vietnam |
|
3 |
Ginger |
101,599 |
8,709,850 |
Kenya |
|
4 |
Turmeric |
3,370 |
2,140,000 |
Hungary,
Comoros Zimbabwe |
|
5 |
Other spices |
58,134 |
38,185,120 |
DRC,Germany,United
Kingdom, Hungary, DR Congo |
|
7 |
Garlic |
116,136 |
19,624,099 |
Burundi,
Finland, United Kingdom ,Kenya, Comoros DR Congo |
|
|
TOTAL |
3,312,182 |
10,032,264,867 |
|
Source: Worked out from TRA
(Statistics Unit), 2007
Artemisia plant (Artemisia annua L.)
also known as annual wormwood or sweet wormwood is a highly aromatic annual
herb of Asiatic and Eastern Europe origin and widely dispersed throughout the
temperate regions. Following recent researches in traditional herb medicine in
China, A. annua has brought attention
to be a rich source of qinghaosu
(artemisinin) a compound that is ant malaria agent and also reported to be a
potent plant inhibitor with a potential as natural herbicide.
In Tanzania, commercial artemisia
production as one of the important medicinal herb started recently in 2005/06
following awareness created by various Private Companies such as African
Artemisia Ltd, Jolanji Ltd and Lima Ltd. The Jolanji Ltd and Lima Ltd are
operating in the Southern highlands regions especially Iringa and Mbeya while
African Artemisia Ltd operates in the Northern highlands regions of Kilimanjaro
and Arusha. The companies use Contract Farming arrangements whereby small scale
growers are contracted to grow the crop with the company support in providing
technical skills and input credits. By 2006, the area under artemisia
cultivation was 3,560
Ha which produced about 4,120 tons of artemisia
leaves per annum.
Table 3: Structure of Artemisia Production,
2006
|
SN |
Region |
Company |
Number of
Contracted farmers |
2006 |
|
|
Cultivated
area (ha) |
production (tons) |
||||
|
1 |
Northern highlands (Kilimanjaro Arusha ) |
African Artemisia Ltd. |
NA |
1,100 |
2,000 |
|
2 |
Southern highlands (Iringa, Mbeya) |
Jolanji Ltd |
4,724 |
2,440 |
1,875 |
|
Lima Ltd |
710 |
140 |
245 |
||
|
|
TOTAL |
3,560 |
4,120 |
||
Source: Worked out from various reports at MAFC.
Although artmesia is a new crop, it has got a huge
potential in enhancing poverty alleviation especially in areas where its
production is carried out through contract farming arrangements. Basing on its potential, promotion of
artemisia cultivation is one of the agenda in the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi
(CCM) election manifesto as well the agricultural policy currently being
drafted. Taking into consideration the importance of artmesia in the
preparation of Artemisinin and Artemisinin-Based Combination Therapy (ACTs),
the World Health Organization (WHO) is supporting artemisia promotion
initiatives for the population in need[13]
.
Mushroom
Mushroom production in
Tanzania started in 1993 with a few small scale growers. The commonly grown
mushroom in Tanzania is of Pleurotus types which are suitably grown in tropical
climate. However, there is a big potential to produce other types of mushrooms
like auricularia, button and even ganoderma (medicinal types). Other wild
mushroom types such as cantharellus and termitomycetes are still found in some
parts of Iringa, Tabora, Coast region, Morogoro, Mtwara, Kagera regions etc.
One of the advantages of
mushroom farming is on the economical use of various crop residues, crop
by-products and grass which are used as substrates for mushroom production. The
diverse weather in the country allows production of various types of mushroom
and since mushroom is produced in indoor/backyards, production can be done
throughout the year. Mushroom production is estimated at 260,000 MT per year
with an annual average income of more than 26,847,040 US$ (Mwasha, A.M,
2004-Study on status of mushroom marketing in Tanzania). The study estimates
the availability of more than 1.0 MT of crop residues countrywide with a
potential to produce an estimated quantity of 800,000MT of mushrooms per year.
Various research institutions dealing with mushroom includes TIRDO, SUA, UDSM (Microbiology),
ARI- Uyole, Horti-Tengeru etc. The most mushroom producing regions include
Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Morogoro, Coast region, and Dare s salaam, Iringa, Mbeya
and Mwanza. Three major factors constraining mushroom production in Tanzania
include lack of adequate knowledge on mushroom production, inadequate quality
spawn production and post harvest losses resulting from the perishable nature
of mushroom. The emergence of mushroom growers associations and networks[14] gives
an assurance on the bright future of the mushroom industry in the country.
Organic Agriculture
Organic agriculture can be defined as a system of
managing agricultural production using environmental friendly farming practices
with limitations in the use of synthetic chemicals including fertilizers and
pesticides (ITC, 2002). Organic agriculture in the country is practiced in the
production of various crops in several regions of the country. The crops under
organic production practice include cash crops (cotton, black tea, and cashews,
cocoa); spices and herbs (ginger, cinnamon, vanilla, black pepper, cardamom,
cloves, lemon grass, rosella etc.); fruits (mango, orange, lemon, jackfruit,
pineapples, paw paws, guavas etc. oil crops (sunflower, sesame, oil palms,
coconuts) and vegetable (peas, onions, garlic etc). It
is estimated that there are more than 40,000 certified organic farmers with
64,000 ha under organic agriculture production in the country. In order for a
product/produce to be recognized as organic, it needs inspection and
certification with respect to recognized organic standards.
Currently, the Tanzania Organic Agriculture
Movement (TOAM) is spearheading the promotion of organic agriculture in
collaboration with the government through MAFSC, the local certification body
known as TanCert and various stakeholders. The organic agriculture movements in
the East African Region led to the development of the East African Organic
Products Standards (EAOPS) and the official East African Organic Mark (EOAM) in
2006 and 2007 respectively.
Table 4: Certified Organic Producers in
Tanzania
|
|
Name of the firm |
Organic production area |
Products |
|
1 |
Kilimanjaro native Cooperative Union (KNCU) |
Moshi /Kilimanjaro |
Arabica coffee (Certification in 2004) |
|
2 |
Tanzania Organic products Ltd. (TAZOP) |
Zanzibar, Tanga, Kigoma |
Herbs and spices |
|
3 |
Mufindi tea Company Ltd |
Njombe |
Black tea and herbs |
|
4 |
Tazania Tea Packers (TATEPA) |
Mafinga /Dar es salaam |
Black tea and herbs |
|
5 |
Zanz-Germ Enterprises Ltd. |
Zanzibar, Tanga, Kigoma |
Herbs and spices (ginger, pepper, turmeric,
chill, and lemon grass) |
|
6 |
Premier Cashew Industry Ltd.(PCI) |
Coast, Mkuranga |
Cashew nuts |
|
7 |
Clove Stem Oil Distillery (CSOD) |
Pemba |
Essential oils: Lemon grass, cinnamon leaf oil,
eucalyptus, and sweet basil. |
|
8 |
Kagera Cooperative Union (KCU) |
Kagera |
Robusta Coffee |
|
9 |
Biolands International Ltd. |
Mbeya (Kyela) |
Cocoa |
|
10 |
Dabaga Vegetable Can Company |
Iringa (Njombe) |
Canned pineapple |
|
11 |
Kimango farm Enterprise Ltd. |
Morogoro |
Herbs and spices |
|
12 |
Tanganyika Instant Coffee Company Ltd.(TANICA) |
Kagera |
Instant Coffee |
|
13 |
Bore Tanzania Ltd. |
Shinyanga (Meatu) |
Cotton |
|
14 |
Matunda Mema/Kipepeo |
Karagwe |
Dried Fruits |
|
15 |
Kibidula |
Mafinga |
Herbs (in conversion), no export |
|
16 |
Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation Ltd. |
Usambara/Soni-Herkulu Estate |
Fair trade and organic tea |
|
17 |
ADP Isangati |
Mbeya (Isangati) |
Turmeric, no export |
Source: EPOPA, 2004 Basic data on certified organic
production and export in Tanzania.
Domestic and cross border trade
In recent years, horticultural commodities have
become highly tradable in both the domestic and international markets. The
increase in horticultural commodities trade can be attributed to a number of
factors including the following:
The horticultural products value chain analysis
involves a sequence of activities that start at farm level ending at market
level. Such activities include production, harvesting, collection, sorting,
packing, transportation and processing. Basically these processes involve the
farmer (producer) on one hand; and middlemen (traders), processors and
consumers on the other. The production and harvesting processes are normally
carried out at farm level by the farmers themselves after which traders collect
the products for further processes. Here traders buy the products at farm gate
prices but at certain times producers may upon harvesting, collect and assemble
their products for sale to traders, processors and consumers at the designated
collection centres. However because of
the increasing growth in horticultural trade, traders and middlemen normally
buy straight from the farmers. In Tanzania most of the horticultural products
produced in the remote rural areas are transported to urban areas for
processing and/or marketing.
As can be noted from Box
11, the cross border trade in horticultural products between Tanzania
and neighbouring countries like Kenya is rapidly gaining momentum (URT/World
Bank, 2007). The informal trade with Kenya in products like onions, tomatoes,
potatoes and oranges has more direct links to small and resource poor farmers,
many of whom are actively engaged win trading as can be noted in box 11; and
hence creates a potential avenue for enhancement of poverty eradication
especially in areas neighbouring Kenya.
Box 1: Marketing Chain for Oranges and
Onions
Orange
Marketing and Competitiveness
Most of the oranges imported into Kenya
originate from Tanga and Morogoro. Tanzania’s competitiveness in Kenya markets
is due in part to the absence of greening disease, a problem that affects
Kenya’s higher elevation growers. In addition, Kenyan producers face tighter
land constraints, and orange production competes with more profitable export
crops.
External
Support to Farmers to Facilitate Competitiveness
Government provision of new planting material
in the Muheza district, in the Tanga region, helped establish significant
orange production in the 1970s. More recently, the development Alternative Inc.
Private Enterprise Support Activities project has helped farmers for marketing
associations that streamline the marketing chain, with farmer associations now
selling straight to Nairobi-based traders. Over time, farm-gate prices have
almost doubled as farmers’ marketing options have increased, and the bargaining
power of local traders has declined. The project continues to document and
assess the effect of taxes and fees levied during transport to the border,
which appear to be a continuing constraint on the trade.
The Marketing
Chain for Onions
Tanzanian exports now account for a
significant portion of the Kenyan onion market. Tanzania exports throughput the
year, mainly from Mang’ola in Arusha region. The marketing chain includes rural
brokers who, for a fee, introduce wholesale traders to farmers who have onion
for sale. The trader buys the crop from the farmer, packs it, and hires
transport to the Arusha market, where the produce is unloaded and sold by the
wholesaler. Some efficiencies could perhaps be achieved by having by the Nairobi
trader work directly with the Tanzanian trader who buys from the farmer, rather
than through the Arusha market. This approach would save handling costs, market
fees and the wholesaler’s margin and would allow a greater portion of the sales
price to be returned to the farmer. Reducing the number of times that onions
are handled would also improve quality further. During interviews, traders
stated that there was a law or rule that all produce destined for Nairobi had
to be traded through the Arusha market. This information needs verification.
Mang’ola onion producers have not yet
received support from a donor-funded project, but their competitiveness is
based on both their proximity to Nairobi and their higher yields, which are
probably due to lower incidence of fungal diseases in Tanzania’s drier
production areas. Tanzania producers also have a quality edge in the Nairobi
market: farmers grade the onions, and the better ones are exported. Farmers and
traders note that their competitive position could be improved further by
improvements in onion seed quality and an increase in the range of seed
varieties.
Source: URT/World Bank 2007.
Preferential trade opportunities
The Tanzania agricultural export sector has been
and is enjoying the existence of various preferential accesses into certain
countries and trade blocks within the World Trade Organization (WTO) framework.
WTO was established in 1995 after the eight year Uruguay Round negotiations
from 1986 to 1994, as the successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade (GATT). As a global international organization dealing with the rules of
trade between nations, the nucleus feature of WTO is trade agreements, which
are negotiated and signed by the bulk of world’s trading nations and ratified
in their parliaments (Kweka, J 2004). The WTO aims at enabling producers of
goods and services, exporters and importers conduct their business smoothly,
predictably and as free as possible in view of improving the welfare of the
peoples of the member countries.
Tanzania is one of the WTO founding members[15]
and out of several WTO trade agreements and negotiations, the Country has
selected agriculture as one of the priority areas[16].
The issues of concern in this area include agricultural subsidies in developed
countries, sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures and technical barriers,
tariff escalation and tariff peaks and appropriate adjustment or development
friendly mechanism to mitigate the negative impacts of the reform process.
Investment areas in horticulture are
numerous ranging from production, processing and trading. The following can be
among the areas of interests:
·
Introduction and multiplication of quality improved planting
materials and seed adapted to different agro-ecological zones for distribution
to farmers;
·
Introduction of large and small scale
fruit and processing and extraction of essential oils from spices;
·
Quality spawn production and large scale
mushroom production, processing and marketing;
·
Establishment of large scale/ estates for fruits, vegetables,
flowers and spices in regions with great
potential;
·
Supply
and distribution of quality packaging material to meet the target market;
·
Large scale flower production in regions with great
potential; and
·
Horticultural improved seeds distribution.
Categories of
investors
Three categories of investors in the horticultural
subsector existing in Tanzania include the current investors, current investors
in non-horticultural/agricultural sectors and potential domestic and foreign
investors.
Current investors
These may be institutions
and/or individuals who are currently investing in horticulture including the
following:-
·
Local
farmers with experience in local farming techniques and responding to local
conditions.
·
Domestic
businesspeople with an understanding of the business of horticulture and the
opportunities for business development along specific elements of the value
chain.
·
Foreign
investors who have some experience in the sector, who are likely to know of the
market demand for horticultural products that can be produced within certain
areas.
The challenge when targeting these investors is to
understand their current constraints and expectations. These people have a good
understanding of the business environment and can quickly identify the major
constraints to expanding their investment base. There is a great opportunity to
work with these people to mobilize greater levels of private investment in the
agricultural sector.
Expanding the investment base of current investors
in horticulture will involve:
·
Identifying
and responding to current investor concerns.
·
Broadening
the networks and access to information (i.e., market and producer information)
of current investors.
·
Creating
a supportive policy, legal and regulatory framework for investment in
horticulture.
Current
investors in the non-horticultural/agricultural sector
Included here are investors participating in the
non-horticultural/agricultural sectors such as trade, tourism and construction
but could diversify their investment portfolios by investing in
horticulture/agriculture. The challenge when targeting these investors is to
help them better understands the opportunities that can be found in
horticulture/agriculture in their respective areas. Agriculture is likely to be
a sector they know little about or have biased views of.
Supporting the transition from
non-horticultural/agricultural to horticultural/agricultural investment among
domestic investors is likely to involve:
·
Improving
networks and access to information on horticultural/agricultural investment
opportunities within given areas.
·
Identifying
and responding to current investor concerns.
Potential domestic and foreign investors
This is a category of investors who for some
reasons, are not currently investing in the horticulture/agriculture. The
reasons may include:
·
Uncertainty
concerning the security and rate of return of their possible investment in the
countries of investment.
·
Better
investment opportunities available in other countries in Africa or globally
(i.e., more competitive investment climates).
·
Lack
of awareness of the potential investment opportunities that exist in the given
countries.
Thus, enticing these potential investors to put
their investments in horticulture/agriculture is likely to involve the
following:
·
Reforming
the business environment to make it more competitive, stable and predictable.
·
Raising
awareness concerning the potential for investment in horticulture/agriculture
in given countries
Among potential domestic and foreign investors, it
is proposed that priority attention be given to the following groups:
·
Foreign
institutional investors engaged in the agricultural sector, with a priority
given to those located in other African countries (e.g., South Africa) or
located in Europe and the US with investments in other African countries.
·
Potential
investors from the African Diaspora who can provide remittances to the in the
form of agricultural investments.
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
Economic researches have confirmed that sectors
dominated by Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) realize greater output growth and
productivity compared with domestic firms[17].
The role of FDI in enhancing development in host countries is with respect to
increased output growth and productivity;
and is widely recognized in the
following areas:
·
Filling
the gap between desired investment and domestically mobilized savings;
·
Increasing
tax revenues; and
·
Improving
management and technology as well as labour skills.
In short, FDI contributes to total factor
productivity and income growth in host economies, over and above what domestic
investment would trigger and is a valid alternative in the fight against rural
and urban poverty in developing countries.
Following the improving economic performance and
investment climate resulting from the economic and political reforms that
started in early 1990s, Tanzania has witnessed an increase in the inward FDI
stock from US$224 million in 2001 to US$6,028.8 in 2005 (E. Msuya 2007).
Despite the enormous investment potential in the agricultural sector[18],
the FDI resources that have been directed to the sector are too small relative
to the manufacturing[19]
and mining sectors, leaving the sector with an average of about 2.1 percent of
the total FDI flows to Tanzania (Msuya, E 2007). Much (about 90 percent) of the
country agricultural FDI inflows goes into crop production where it has
stimulated tremendous growths in the manufacturing related crop industries like
sugar and tea (Msuya, E and Ashimogo, G 2006). The FDI is also reported to have
enhanced growth in the production and productivity of tobacco in Tanzania
amongst smallholder growers (URT 2001)[20].
In the northern Tanzania regions of Kilimanjaro and
Arusha, the growth of the flower industry that has been experienced in recent
years, is a result of FDI from the Netherlands (the major flower importer from
Tanzania). The export of vegetables to the European market is also on the increase
especially in Arusha region following the adoption of the contract grower and
out grower system between smallholder vegetable growers and foreign companies
(mainly supermarkets in Europe), through the Market Intermediary Management
arrangements[21]
(TAHA, 2007). In the Dodoma region there are indications of revamping grapes
production following the FDI in the construction and operation of a modern
winery by CETAWICO, an Italian firm. With an installed capacity to process 500
tons of grapes per season and with an expansion programme for processing or
4,000 tons per year in three years, the winery processes only 150 tons of
grapes per season or 300 tons per annum[22].
The ongoing campaigns by the Government aims at mobilizing smallholders in all
areas with potential for grape cultivation to grow the crop on contract with
CETAWICO. Such examples demonstrate that FDI flow to agriculture/horticulture
is viable and beneficial to smallholders.
The Tanzania FDI report of 2004 (URT 2004)
indicates that the regional distribution of FDI in Tanzania is consistent with
natural resources endowment and the level of social and economic infrastructure
development in a given region[23]. This goes with the fact that the FDI flows
to rural agricultural areas where the infrastructure is poor are negligible,
hence the failure of FDI to make linkages to the local economy and cause a
significant impact on poverty reduction. On the other hand, FDI has little
impact on the employment situation, as it is in most cases directed to the
capital intensive sectors. Therefore after registering commendable achievements
in other sectors like mining and manufacturing as already said, the challenge
for Tanzania should now be to push FDI to important poverty reduction sectors
like agriculture as advocated by the government. Speaking at the Tanzania
Investment Centre (TIC) tenth anniversary climax in Dar es Salaam, the Prime
Minister Mr Edward Lowassa underscored
the need of collaborative efforts between TIC, Government Ministries, public
institutions and key stakeholders in working out strategies that would ensure
there is an increase of investors in the agricultural sector (IPPMEDIA, 2007).
There are several constraints that are currently
limiting the development of the horticulture sub-sector in the country. These
constraints are related to production, processing, marketing and policy aspects
as outlined below:
Production
The horticultural production in Tanzania is mostly
impeded by the following factors:
·
Low
productivity as most farmers experiences low yields of horticultural crops due
to poor management practices including insufficient use of recommended levels
of fertilizers (industrial or organic) and agrochemicals for pests and diseases
control;
·
Un-specialized
production in small scale scattered farms/plots of different types of
horticultural crops, which leads to difficulties in marketing and even
provision of extension services.
·
Use
of low quality seeds and other propagation materials which are prone to pests
and disease conditions and not adapted to the local environment in given
agro-ecological zones;
·
High
dependence on imported seed especially for important commercial vegetables
crops; and
·
Inadequate
functional horticulture producer organizations.
The seasonal availability of horticultural produce
can be attributed to dependence on seasonal rains for horticultural production.
There is also little production off-season horticultural production which is
normally carried out along or near water sources with few farmers who can
afford to bore water charcoals (in areas with high water tables). Such
practices are reported to have started causing severe degradation of the
environment (Njombe District Council, 2005). Horticultural production practices
along water sources in areas like Njombe are getting blamed for exhausting
water sources whose long term effect if not checked, will have a far reaching
impact for example, to people in the Usangu plains that get water from sources
in Njombe district.
Marketing
Lack of markets for horticultural products in
Tanzania is undoubtedly the single greatest obstacle to developing the
horticulture sub-sector in the country (URT 2006). It is largely linked to
seasonality in production because effective demand fails to cope with surplus
production in the peak production period. Because of the limited capacity for
processing the horticultural produce relative to surplus production in the peak
harvesting period, coupled with unavailability of technologies for storing
surplus perishable horticultural products, most of the produce gets spoilt
hence causing great losses to producers. One can therefore conclude that specific
marketing constraints in the horticulture sub-sector include the following:
·
High
seasonal domestic markets characterized by over supply of common produce types
during peak seasons and low returns to
farmers due to low prices as well as higher prices to farmers during off season
(acute shortage period);
·
Limited
access to market information, inadequate marketing knowledge and agribusiness
skills;
·
Poor
transport infrastructures as most rural roads are impassable during rainy
season.
·
Poor
handling of fresh produce with long transport distances leading to high post
harvest losses;
·
Lack
of and or insufficient experience in producing products for export markets; and
·
Inadequate
functional horticulture marketing organizations.
Agro-processing
The existing few processors for horticultural crops[24]
especially for fruits and vegetables can only absorb small amount of the
surplus produce. Because of the limited capacity for processing the
horticultural produce relative to surplus production in the peak harvesting
period and the unavailability of technologies for storing surplus perishable
horticultural products, most of the produce gets spoilt hence causing great
post-harvest losses to producers. Also most horticultural produce is
transported unprocessed and sometimes without proper sorting resulting to
unnecessary high transport costs due to bulkiness. The processing industry
faces a number of problems such as:
·
High
initial investment cost for processing plants, as most parts are to be
imported.
·
Lack
of reliable market for processed products due to unfair competition with cheap
and sometimes sub-standard imports.
·
Availability
of fresh vegetables or fruits can sometimes hinder or limit the business
prospects by agro processors as consumers may prefer cheap fresh produce
available in the market to processed products;
·
High
operating costs associated with costly imported packaging materials,
preservatives/additives, poor infrastructure (roads) increasing costs for raw
materials, high electricity costs, and various taxes;
·
Seasonal
and low quality supply of raw materials leading to seasonal closure of
processing factories, and hence inconsistent availability of processed products
in the market; and
·
Insufficient
organization, training to small scale processors and promotion of the locally
processed products.
The Government has been and is challenged to
promote agroprocessing investments in the area of horticulture as a marketing
assurance strategy to horticultural producers that would in the short and
medium term minimize post harvest losses experienced during peak production
periods and add value to the produce. The existing local investors could be
enticed to invest in this area but most importantly also, the FDI could be
directed in this area. However, since horticultural production in the country
is also characterized by acute off-season scarcities, another important
challenge has been that of raw materials supply assurance to the agro
processors during the off-season. The fact that once established, horticulture processing
facilities will have to source the raw materials on a competitive basis[25],
poses another big challenge to investments in vegetable and fruit
processing.
Quality and Standards
Recent developments that emanate from the Sanitary
and Phytosanitary (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) agreements pose a
great challenge in the development of the horticulture sub-sector in Tanzania.
The agreements, which originated from the General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade (GATT), are recognized in the framework of the Final Act of Urugway round
that established WTO in 1995; and they generally aim at ensuring the
availability of safe and quality products in the market. However the SPS
agreement is aimed at protecting animals and plants from pests and diseases as
well as humans from healthy risks associated with additives, contaminants,
toxins or disease causing organisms in food and beverages (Mohamed, R and
Mwakasungula, G 2007). More importantly is that SPS measures are designed to
use strict health and safety regulation to ensure food safety as well as animal
and plant health safety.
The
Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) is one of the SPS measures that
are continually being promoted through incorporation into Food Safety
Legislation in many countries. It involves identification
and close monitoring of Critical Control Points (CCPs) in food production and
preparation processes with the view of ensuring that food is safe for human
consumption. The HACCP principles avoid traditional “end product testing” and
seek to identify hazards and reduce risks throughout all stages from producer
to plate. The system places responsibility on operators to prevent, eliminate
or reduce physical, chemical and microbiological hazards in their food
businesses by identifying the hazards that need to be controlled, establishing
effective procedures that control the hazards, ensuring that these procedures
work and are being applied; and providing evidence of their control procedure.
The SPS measures are supposed to be regulated
through internationally accepted standards approved by International Standard
Organization (ISO). However, in recent years the commonly used standards are
the ones developed and used by private sector organizations such as the British
Consortium (BRC), EurepGAP, SQ2000, and Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI).
The
EurepGAP standards for example, go beyond higher food safety standards to also
include environmental and social demands, which are too difficult if not
impossible for Smallhoder producers to comply with. The traceability system
being advocated by EU countries as part of EurepGAP entails tracing and
following food, feed, food-producing animal, or substance intended to be or
expected to be incorporated into a food or feed, through all stages of
production, processing and distribution (EU General Food Law Regulation
178/2002). The entire system requires rigorous record keeping for facilitating
spot auditing checks, inspection, testing and verification of adherence to set
standards such as Minimum Residual Levels (MRLs) in line with HACCP
requirements.
In Tanzania the SPS measures are enforced through
government institutions such as Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS), Tanzania
Food and Drugs Authority (TDFA), Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and
Cooperatives (MAFC) and Ministry of Livestock Development (MLD).
Organic
farming
Organic farming is slowly gaining momentum in the
Tanzanian agricultural context following the existence of niche markets that
offer higher premium prices for the organically produced products compared with
the conventional ones. Organic
production is also internationally recognized as a system that complies with
the HACCP food safety requirements as it involves a series of certification
procedures. However, organic farming seems to be too expensive because of the
cumbersome inspection and certification procedures required. There is still one
organic certification body in the country known as Tanzania Certification
(TanCert) which is mandated to offer inspection and certification services to
organic growers. However, because TanCert is not internationally accredited,
its certification has to be approved by other internationally accredited
certification bodies.[26].
In order for the Tanzania organic products to access other international
markets, the inspection and certification exercises have to be carried out by
the hired expensive inspectors who are internationally accredited. Even the
local organic inspectors and certifiers who are being trained[27]
through regional and national initiatives will require international
accreditation before they can become useful.
Producer
Organizatiosn
To mitigate the horticulture production and
marketing constraints, the challenge that Tanzania needs to address is on
developing strong producer organizations which can also attract the FDI flows into horticultural production and processing.
Producer organization is also increasingly becoming an important aspect
in enabling the producers to access markets. The establishment of organizations
such as the Tanzania Horticulture Association (TAHA) in 2004 was geared to
promote the horticulture subsector in the country so as to become more
profitable, sustainable and effectively contribute towards economic development
of the country. Likewise, the Association of Mango Growers (AMAGRO) was
registered in 2003 to spearhead the cultivation and export of mangoes amongst its members. Although TAHA has a national outlook and is
expected to address all horticultural crops, at present its activities are
concentrated in the northern regions of Arusha and Kilimanjaro[28]
and its promotional activities are mainly directed to exportable flowers,
vegetables and some temperate fruits[29].
In order for TAHA to be more effective, it needs to expand its operational territory
through inclusion in its list, members from other horticulture growing areas.
TAHA’s horticulture development agenda also needs to focus on all horticultural
crops including the new high value crops that are currently gaining prominence.
Emerging high
value crops
The emergency of new high value horticultural crops
particularly spices such as vanilla and paprika and mushroom cultivation in the
economy of Tanzania is a challenge to the Government, researchers,
extensionists and horticultural industry stakeholders to work out their
promotion and marketing strategies. Since some of these require special and
sophisticated agronomical, processing and storage prior to marketing, special
efforts is required to ensure that extension personnel are adequately trained
to be able to provide the meaningful technical advice to farmers.
Policy Issues
The 1997 agriculture and livestock policy is the
one that guides horticulture sub-sector development in Tanzania. The policy
however lacks specific emphasis on specific horticultural crops but it rather
features in the policy as a generic aspect in the agricultural spectrum. In
view of its importance, Nyomola A.M.S (2005) proposes the formulation of a
separate horticulture policy that will address specific aspects of production,
processing, and marketing and support services[30]. Although stakeholders
have been pressing for a policy on the horticulture sub-sector, there are no
indications of formulating an independent policy from the broad agricultural
policy (URT, 2006). Stakeholders have been attributing lack of a sound
horticulture industry to low priority accorded to the sector in terms of
resources allocation for programme and strategy development; and that a
specific policy document would change this tendency. Formation of horticulture
section/division in the structure of the MAFSC and or formation an autonomous
institution to cater for horticulture development issues are some of the
critical policy issues that were thoroughly discussed at the national
Horticulture Stakeholders’ Workshop held in Arusha - December 2005.
Airfreight Charges
Exporters of fresh vegetables and flowers in the
major northern export zone face cargo airlifting problems due to lack of a
dedicated cargo flight from Tanzania. The current state of affairs has
compelled them to airlift their cargo through Nairobi airport which add extra
trucking costs. Following increased
production volumes at the moment, it is possible now to use charter flight
services as the volumes are reported to be sufficient. However, the sustainable solution to this
problem is being worked out by TAHA through a project to spearhead cargo
freight out of Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA).
Production
The government through the Ministry of Agriculture,
Food Security and Cooperatives is providing resources for the rehabilitation of
six government orchards of mother trees which are serving as sources of
planting materials for farmers and for training purposes. The investment and
capacity building needs for horticulture development at district levels are
handled through District Agricultural Development Plans (DADPs) which receive
funding from the ASDP basket fund. Rehabilitation of the abandoned district
orchards that can also serve as source of improved horticultural planting is an
important investment initiative towards revamping the horticulture industry in
the respective districts that can access ASDP funding through DADPs.
Promotion of contract farming and out grower
schemes between large scale growers and smallholder growers especially in
production of flowers and vegetables for export is seen as a valid approach that
will alleviate the problem of inadequate use of fertilizers and other inputs in
horticultural production. To reduce dependence on imported seeds especially for
vegetable production, the Ministry in collaboration with the Danish Government
has been facilitating the on farm seed production for vegetable crops. As the
project comes to an end in June 2008, the on farm seed production initiatives
will be integrated into DADPs.
Of late there have been deliberate efforts to bring
together horticulture sub-sector stakeholders under the Private-Public
Partnership (P-P-P) with the aim of working out the joint strategy to improve
horticulture production in the country. Through such fora, stakeholders get an
opportunity to deliberate, make decisions and recommend workable actions that
need to be taken for revamping and developing the sub-sector.
Marketing/agro-processing
The ongoing government initiatives include the
establishment of market infrastructure and rehabilitation of rural feeder roads[31]
to promote marketing of horticultural products. Agro-processing is a basic
agenda in the Tanzania Investment Promotion Strategy with an emphasis on
processing of horticultural produce as a value addition initiative and a move
to minimize post-harvest losses for perishable crops.
SPS issues
The Plant Protection Act of 1997 gives a mandate to
the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives (MAFC) to oversee
all aspects pertaining to plant health. The crucial aspects that fall under
MAFC jurisdiction include provision of inspectorate services at all points of
entry and exit; including airports, ports and borderposts. Inspection services offered by these centres
aim at preventing entry/exit of plant pests and diseases into/out of the
country. At present, the Ministry is directing resources towards strengthening
the 30 phytosanitary inspectorate points by providing adequate staff, office
building, laboratories and working tools. The Ministry also organizes training
to inspectors that aim at equipping them with adequate skills and knowledge not
only on the phytosanitary, quarantine and other PPA issues, but also on SPS
issues in relation WTO trade agreements.
The enforcement of quality and standard as
advocated in the WTO trade agreements (the SPS and TBT) needs to be preceded by
a thorough comprehension by public including horticultural producers. This could be achieved through sensitization
and training of producers, leaders, technocrats and enforcers. It has been realized
that the enforcement of such standards will not be a responsibility of one
institution but rather a joint effort of various public and private sector
institutions[32].
Organic
farming
What has been done and achieved towards promoting
and sustaining organic farming in Tanzania includes the identification and
registration of 40,000 organic farmers and 64,000 hectares under organic
production of different crops including horticultural ones. Efforts are going
on in identifying, recruitment and training of local organic inspectors and
certifiers to cope with the increasing food safety requirements by consumers
globally. This goes with strengthening or building the capacity of TanCert to
be an internationally organic accreditation body. The ultimate goal is to
simplify the organic inspection and certification procedures with the view to
minimize the costs associated with organic farming.
High value crops
Various technologies on the production of new high
value crops with niche markets abroad have been collected and documented in the
form of booklets and leaflets for distribution to training institutes, farming
communities and other horticultural stakeholders. This is going along with the
dissemination of market information, collection and assembling germplasm
materials for research and multiplication of quality planting material for
distribution to farmers.
9.6 Conclusions and the Way Foward
The constraints analysis above mentions the
inadequate application of inputs to be one of the major reasons for low
productivity being experienced in the horticulture sub-sector. Therefore any strategy to revamp
horticultural production in the country should adequately address the
sub-sector inputs problems. Although for some years the government has been
providing subsidies on inputs (fertilizers, improved seeds and agrochemicals);
the subsidized input quantities are small compared with the actual
requirements. Due to inputs subsidy inadequacies, the subsidized inputs are
mostly used in the production of major traditional cash and food crops. Although the validity of the subsidy
programme in terms of its potential benefits to the farmers is being questioned[33],
it is obvious that if well managed the programme can cause a positive impact on
productivity. In order for the non-traditional crop sub-sector to also benefit
from the inputs subsidy programme, the government should increase the quantity
of subsidized inputs. This should go along with the consolidation of the
on-farm seed production scheme especially for open pollinated vegetable seeds.
The government should also continue allocating
resources for the rehabilitation and maintenance of government
nurseries/orchards to ensure availability of improved and suitable varieties of
horticultural crops planting materials. The private nursery operators who are
at present supplying fruit tree seedlings need to be organized, trained and
where possible be facilitated through DADPs to produce quality planting
materials. The government orchards should be centres where the private nursery
operators can access improved germplasm and get trained on nursery
operations.
The way forward and towards managing the
horticultural marketing issues requires the formulation of sound and
sustainable strategies which should involve formation and strengthening
horticulture producer organizations and infrastructure development. Producer
organization is of great importance in managing horticultural marketing
problems because through such organizations producers can easily:
·
Access
services necessary for increasing their volumes of production;
·
Access
marketing information (including the value chain of their produce) and make
valid decisions;
·
Collect,
bulk and grade their produce for marketing;
·
Bargain/negotiate
for better prices;
·
Improve product qualities to meet market
required standards;
·
Access
resources for investing in value addition operations, storage facilities; and
·
Contribute
to critical development initiatives such as infrastructure development.
District councils should plan and incorporate
promotion of horticulture producer organizations and infrastructure development
into District Agricultural Development Plans (DADPs).
The ongoing efforts to entice the private sector to
invest in horticultural processing should go together with contract farming
promotion initiatives being spearheaded by the government through MAFC. The
contract farming initiatives need to be promoted not only as a raw material
supply assurance to processors or market assurance to producers; but also as a
basic inputs supply assurance to horticultural producers. Through Marketing Intermediary Management
(MIM) arrangements, it has been realized that smallholder horticultural
produces are able to access niche markets through intermediate companies such
as Gomba Estate in Arusha.
Policies should aim at promoting the
active private sector to be fully engaged in production, procurement and
distribution of horticultural production inputs such as seeds, fertilizers and
agro-chemicals. This should include provision of incentives to seed agencies
and local horticultural crops seed producers such as facilitating smooth
acquisition of land, taxes relief etc.
As a matter of policy, investments in local manufacturing of quality
packaging materials should be encouraged and/or taxes on imported materials
should be reduced so as to minimize operational costs to processors and
exporters of horticultural products. The Government has a role of creating
techno commercial environment for attracting freighters for airlifting fresh
produce to various destinations.
Investments in irrigation at district
levels should be given top priorities in the DADPs as a means of mitigating the
problem of environmental degradation associated with the exhaustion of water
sources resulting from cultivation for horticulture.
Although the role of FDI in enhancing
agricultural production and productivity is appreciable as argued in Chapter 3,
efforts to get credible foreign investments in the sector seem to be
unsuccessful even after expensive meetings, seminars, dialogue etc between the
Government and foreign investors have been conducted. What could be done now is
to invest in the rural infrastructure development and to focus on promoting
local investments in the sector as an interim measure towards achieving the
vibrant FDI in agriculture. Investors in sectors other than agriculture wishing
to diversify their investment portfolios should be persuaded to invest in
agriculture.
The Public-Private-Partnership (P-P-P)
spirit in the context of horticulture development recently culminated in the
establishment of the Horticulture Development Council of Tanzania (HODECT[34]). The Council
draft MOU (May 2007) describes HODECT as an apex of public private partnership
institutions with the goal of promoting the development of horticulture
sub-sector in Tanzania to maximize the economic benefit to the country and its
people through the promotion of production, processing and export. Stakeholders
should therefore take a full responsibility to ensure that the HODECT grows to
achieve its aspirations (see Annex 4). The Government should develop strategies
that aim at promoting the use of the locally processed products by among
others, organizing producer-consumer fora that aim at promoting the consumption
of the locally produced. This should be done in the spirit of
Public-Private-Partnership (P-P-P).
The highly dependable EU market for
Tanzania’s fresh produce is likely becoming fragile if producers and exporters
of such products fail to conform to the market stringent food safety and
quality standard requirements as described in chapter 3. Therefore, rather than
later, Tanzania should develop national plans and strategies for public food
safety sensitization and enforcement amongst producers and exporters of fresh
produce so as to sustain the fresh produce business with EU and other
countries. The marketing strategies also
need to target the existing fresh produce business opportunities in domestic
and regional markets.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food
Security and Cooperatives should make an inventory of all new crops with
socio-economic potential and establish a museum of these crops at each of its
research centres and orchards. Research and Training department in the Ministry
of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives should develop a non-traditional
crop research programme with the focus on horticultural and new crops to
generate local technologies for their promotion. The marketing promotion
strategy for new crops should integrate the value addition aspects.
Finally, although the
non-traditional crop sub-sector is at present widely acknowledged for its
contribution to the country’s economic growth, continual lack of accurate data
defeats this perception as it may lead not only to the failure in capturing its
actual significance to the economy but also to failure in the formulation of
workable strategies for the sub-sector development. Therefore interventions are
required to establish a sustainable data collection and dissemination system
for all non-traditional crops, especially under the prevailing smallholder
dominated production system. A study
could be commissioned to find out the modalities on the establishment and
management of such a system. The study
should come up with the practical ways for capturing the data for perishable
fresh products with short shelf life.
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[1] B.P. Singh, 2002
[2] Currently valued at 55
million USD per annum.
[3] Agricultural Sector
Management Project, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives.
[4] The major policy objectives
include the following:-
· Ensure food security for the
nation, including improvements in nutritional standards;
· Improve standards of living
in rural areas;
· Increase foreign exchange
earnings;
· Produce and supply raw
materials and expand the role of the sector as a market for industrial outputs;
· Develop and introduce new
technologies for land and labour productivity;
· Promote integrated and
sustainable use and management of natural resources (environmental
sustainability);
· Develop human resources;
· Provide support services
· Promote access of women and
youth to land, credit, education and information.
[5] URT 2000 (National Land Policy)
[6] See also Ngwediagi et al,
2007
[7] Director responsible for
Crop Development in the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperative
[8] Tanzania, Report on
Diagnostic Trade Integration Study-Volume I. June, 2005
[9] WTO Trade Policy
Review-Tanzania, 2000.
[10] This involves
identification of sectors to be protected, the rationale and costs of
protection as well as the maximum duration of protection.
[11] The policy goal is that of
raising efficiency and widening linkages in domestic production and building a
diversified competitive export sector as the means of stimulating higher rates
of growth and development.
[12] From 2005/2006 to 2006/2007
the company exported a total of 80 tons of strawberries and raspberries (TAHA,
2007).
[13] Hundreds of millions of
people at risk of drug resistant falciparum malaria are in urgent need of
access to quality Artemisinin based-Based Combination Therapy (ACTs).
[14] Examples include Tanzania
Mushroom Clusters and Region/District specific Mushroom Growers Associations.
[15] As of April 2003, WTO had
over 146 members.
[16] URT 2003, National Trade
Policy (Trade Policy for a Competitive and Export-led Growth.
[17] Msuya E., 2007.
[18] Under which horticulture
falls
[19] Where foreign investors
have restructured privatized enterprises, boosting their competitiveness,
typically contributing to transfer of technology and skills.
[20] There are two major foreign
merchant companies (the Alliance One Tanzania Tobacco Ltd (AOTTL) and Tanzania
Leaf Tobacco Company Ltd (TLTC) supporting the contracted smallholder tobacco
growers through Primary Cooperatives. The companies own and operate two tobacco
processing factories in the Morogoro Municipality.
[21] Smallholder vegetable
growers are contracted by the supermarkets in Europe to grow and supply
vegetables suited to agreed quality and standard through existing companies
such as Gombe Estate.
[22] Grapes sub-sector study,
Dodoma Region 2007.
[23] The report showed that FDI
concentration was 51.7 percent (Dar es Salaam), 11.5 percent (Shinyanga), 10.8
percent (Mwanza), 8.3 percent (Arusha/Manyara), 5.5 percent (Morogoro) and 2.4
percent (Urban West-Zanzibar).
[24] DABAGA (Iringa Region), RED
GOLD (Arusha Region); NATURAL CHOICE (Tanga-Lushoto District); CHEMI INDUSTRIES
(Dar Es Salaam); and SNOW CAP
(Kilimanjaro Region)
[25] Fruits and vegetables
producers are and shall not be bound to sell to such agro-processors because of
the liberalized market.
[26] Include IMO, Natureland,
EcoCert, KRAV and Bio Inspecta.
[27] According to TanCert, there
are at present …. trained local organic inspectors and certifiers in the
country.
[28] 85 percent of TAHA members
are based in Kilimanjaro and Arusha (TAHA, 2007).
[29] Flowers such as cut roses,
chrysanthemum cuttings, licianthus and ornamental sunflower; Vegetables such as
green beans, peas, courgettes,
chilies, baby corn, baby carrots and baby leeks; and
some Temperate fruits such as strawberries and raspberries.
[30] Research, training,
extension and regulatory services.
[31]Mainly through Agricultural
Marketing Systems Development Programme, District Agricultural Investment
Project and ASDP/DADPs initiatives.
[32] Such as MAFC, TBS, TFDA,
TIRDO, SIDO, TPRI Government chemist, TCCIA, TanCert etc.
[33] The Ministry of
Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives has commissioned a study to
evaluate the impact of fertilizer subsidy on agricultural productivity.
[34] HODECT has a formal registration as a Company
with Limited guarantee.