Friday, 18 April 2014
Najua umezimis hizi picha 12 za uzinduzi wa TAFE embu jikumbushie kiduchu tuu..
Thursday, 17 April 2014
Tanzania: NMB All Out to Boost Agricultural Output
THE National Microfinance Bank (NMB) says enhancing knowledge and deeper understanding on efficient farming skills has proved to be the best way of improving productivity in the agricultural sector.
Statistics show that between 16 to 17 per cent of farmers in the country, where over 70 per cent of the population is employed in agriculture were the only ones making use of fertilizers and better seeds.
This undermines productivity. It is from this background the NMB Bank believes on the importance of training farmers on better farming methods before issuing loans for investment in the sector.
NMB Bank has now embarked on conducting seminars to farmers in different parts of the country. About 500,000 farmers from 500 groups of around 100 people each have benefitted from the seminars conducted by NMB Bank.
The bank disburses an average of 100bn/- annually for agriculture financing in different parts of the country.
The NMB Bank Head of Agribusiness, Mr Robert Paschal, said in an interview with the 'Daily News' that lack of knowledge and profound understanding of farming activities has remained a serious problem holding back nation's efforts to promote agricultural development.
"NMB agriculture financing has been a success due to continuous investment in knowledge, new product innovations and partnerships with key stakeholders which ultimately brings tailor made pool of products that are relevant to market needs and agribusiness value chains," he said.
He said the agriculture sector knowledge, market trends and price updates for selected agri-commodities are provided through the research unit to staff and clients.
Through agribusiness department, the bank has devised unique lending approach since 2008 and gathered adequate experience that makes NMB more competitive and knowledgeable in agriculture value chains financing in the market than its competitors.
The current portfolio of products range from upstream to downstream, financing from individual farmers, small, medium, large and cooperatives including agriculture input suppliers, agro processors, traders and exporters which allows agribusiness sectors to grow and create wealth for citizens.
The products offered in the scheme by the NMB Bank through agribusiness department include warehouse receipt finance product, out-growers loan schemes, NMB Kilimo Account (a saving account for farmers, short term loans and working capital.
To ensure the seminars are successful, NMB has been working closely with other stakeholders like agriculture research institutes and dealers in farm inputs so that they may understand the right time to provide farmers with the farming tools.
The Warehouse Receipt financing is a working capital facility for the purchase of non-perishable commodities like coffee, cotton, maize, cashew nut, sunflower, sesame, cocoa and other crops which are stored in approved warehouses.
The stored crop in the controlled and licenced warehouses by Tanzania Warehouse Receipt Licensing Board (TWLB) is the collateral for the loan which is assigned to the bank through warehouse receipts.
NMB can now provide funds to enable you to continue preparing for the next crop whilst your commodities are being sold.
These are loans given to registered farmer groups, individual farmers, commodity traders and businessmen dealing with non-perishable commodities like coffee, maize and cashew nut.
Some of the beneficiaries of the warehouse receipt financing are the registered farmer groups or primary cooperative societies or agricultural marketing cooperative societies (AMCOS), large farmers, local and International Trading Companies.
Its funding is extended against commodity stocked in bank's controlled and authorized warehouse after submission of warehouse receipt. The bank holds the crops stored in the warehouse until buyers pay for the crops they purchased.
The warehouse receipt system has several benefits including flexibility to farmers or primary producers to sell their produce when the market offers in good price, providing ample time and flexibility for primary producers to purchase raw materials.
Others are provision of good storage and reduction of post-harvest losses, easy access to credit for small and medium sized traders and producers, promoting quality of crops and facilitating price discoveries for farmers through participation in price setting and avoid being price takers.
The agro dealer input loan scheme is designed to facilitate or extending working capital to agriculture inputs stockist to purchase agriculture inputs and sell to farmers. The facility is given to traders to enable them withdrawal in their NMB business account balances up to a certain approved limit as overdraft.
The objective is to ensure farmers get inputs nearby, without shortages in supply and on the right time. Some of the benefits of NMB Agro-dealer Input financing are to provide extra working capital for a short period to agro dealers, available anytime, when applied for, flexible and easy to operate.
The NMB Bank out growers loans have been designed to facilitate farmers dealing with crops under contracting farming arrangements to manage getting working capital to meet costs of farming, inputs purchase, crop maintenance and meet other related costs for crop development.
The scheme works under arrangements of three parties including the bank as the financier, the buyer or processors (Off-taker) and the farmer. So far out grower loans have been extended to sugar cane farmers, barley, tea and tobacco farmers.
East Africa: Aflatoxin - EAC Countries Form Dialogue to Rescue Food Crops.
RECENTLY, East African countries met in
Bujumbura under the umbrella of the East African Community to discuss
the region's future on food security.
The fact that countries in the region lie on the equator, they are also prone to aflatoxin, which, according to experts, is not only posing a huge threat to food security but is also a hindrance to market opportunities. Countries were represented by various officials mainly from ministries dealing with agriculture.
Papers presented showed various efforts done to address the matter, though some countries admitted that no research had been done so far to establish the magnitude of the problem. Aflatoxins are toxic metabolites produced by fungal species during their growth under favourable conditions of temperature and moisture.
The main cereals affected are maize, sorghum, rice and wheat and other crops like groundnuts and cassava. Scientists have associated aflatoxin with liver diseases and cancer to both humans and animals. Statistics show that in Tanzania cassava and maize production stand at between 4.2million and 6.2million tonnes.
Cashew remained the most important crop, accounting for 128million US dollars in exports by 2011, maize and groundnuts accounted for 8 and 2million US dollars, respectively.
Presenting a paper on behalf of the government of Tanzania, the Senior Fisheries Officer, Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock Development, Mr Koddy Melkizedeck said that maize accounts for 33 per cent of the calorific value per capita while the rest remains to other food crops such as cassava and other grains posing a risk of aflatoxin contamination and putting the country's population at risk.
"We are therefore offering trainings to stakeholders (farmers, traders, animal and produce inspectors), registration of storage houses processing establishments, inspection to storage structures and lab tests," he said.
He also noted that institutions have been put in place that ensure quality and food security including the Ministry of Agriculture Food Security and Cooperatives, Tanzania Foods and Drugs Authority, Tanzania Bureau of Standards and Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Development.
"Various laboratory facilities have been put in place in various areas and research institutes as well as higher learning institutions," he said. He added, however, that the undertaking was faced by various challenges including in adequate capacity, facilities and skilled personnel.
"Coordination between agencies and ways of disposing of highly contaminated materials (heavy microbial load) also remains a challenge," he said. Lack of depth research for aflatoxin control, inefficient monitoring, surveillance and cost-effective measures as well as lack of awareness on aflatoxin prevalence and negative impacts is other challenges that need to be addressed.
Presenting a paper on the Burundian situation, a representative from Burundian government said aflatoxin is an area that needs to be studied, adding that the country has no data in place concerning the magnitude of the problem. "Knowledge on aflatoxins in Burundi is limited.
There are no baseline on the incidences and prevalence on aflatoxins," he said. He noted, however, that plans were underway to start sampling and establishing the baseline through the Burundi National Agricultural Research Institute (ISABU) in collaboration with APPEAR project and IITA.
"The Burundi Bureau of Standards and quality control ensures institutional coordination mechanism formed of a network of 14 laboratories. Similarly, it has set standards on corn and wheat flours, compound flours, peanuts, whole grain cereals, milk, butter and cheese," he noted.
The country has no initiatives or programmes on aflatoxin and the public is not sensitised about the harmful effects of aflatoxin on human and animal health. It neither has legal framework for the management of aflatoxins nor kit for its rapid detection. On its part, Uganda has recommended aflatoxin control practices in place for the whole value chain, particularly for grains and beverages but the challenge remains on implementation.
Presenting the country's situation, Mr Alex Bambona, Head of Food and Nutrition in Uganda said that cleaning, sorting and grading facilities have been established in some regional stores, adding that some private processers/grain traders especially those in export and regional trade have established cleaning, sorting and grading facilities crucial in aflatoxin control.
"Maize, cassava, rice and beans targeted for special infrastructure development as part of regional trade strengthening. Target is to formalize the bulk of trade in these products," he said. He noted that regional grain stores/silos were currently being built in all major producing districts as part of the food security reserve system.
Uganda also has institutions dealing with aflatoxin control and food control including National Food Advisory Committee, National Codex Committee and National Sanitary and Phytosanitary Committee among others. Mr Bambona said the Uganda Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has developed standards for most grain products which have been harmonized in the EAC region.
"State of the art testing facilities is now available at UNBS Chemistry laboratory and there are laboratory analysts trained in undertaking testing of aflatoxin," he said. Pointing out some of the challenges, Mr Bambona said a food safety regulatory authority is not yet in place, adding that simple cheap methods for fast detection of aflatoxins, in grain, are still limited and costly.
"Organized trade systems for produce are still inadequate since the collapse of cooperatives in the country. Guidelines for safe handling of grain at different stages of the value chain are still not widely used among the farming communities," he said.
He emphasized massive sensitization on aflatoxin prevalence in grain and how to abate it countrywide is required. Rwanda on its part has put in place a post harvest handling and storage task force with responsibilities of contributing to the prevention and reduction of aflatoxins.
The facilities are also aimed at ensuring food security in the country, reduce the post harvest losses from 23 per cent to 5 per cent for maize and other staples, training of farmers on preventing yield losses such as on appropriate drying before storage.
The country has put in place model storage facilities (Metallic Silos, warehouses), construction of drying grounds for different crops and distribution of post harvest tools and equipment to farmers. "The constructed warehouses, metallic silos, and drying grounds have increased the capacity of storage facilities to 137,700 MT," said a presenter from the country.
He added that Rwanda Bureau of Standards has a well equipped laboratory for analysis in order to prevent and control the contaminated products in Rwandan market. It was also noted further that post harvest handling and storage task force have acquired equipment to test moisture content, and aflatoxin and that data on aflatoxin contamination are being collected on maize from different parts of the country.
Rwanda has gaps on the information on the current situation of aflatoxin, capacity building in Aflatoxin detection, prevention and control also has limited equipment for rapid detection. In Kenya previous food surveys suggest that aflatoxin contamination of homegrown maize is pervasive, particularly in the Eastern region.
"This results in both chronic exposure that can lead to long-term health effects as well as acute exposure that can result in the recurrent outbreaks," said Mr Robert Kilonzo from the Kenyan Ministry of Agriculture. Mr Kilonzo noted that in Kenya aflatoxin poisoning has been associated with consumption of maize stored under damp conditions.
The 2004 aflatoxin-poisoning outbreak in Kenya is said to be the largest and most severe documented worldwide. The outbreak covered more than seven districts and resulted in 317 case-patients and 125 deaths. Kenya has a National Food Safety Coordinating Committee (NFSCC) under the chairmanship of State Department of Agriculture and a Secretariat of Ministry of Health.
Members in the committee include, Directorate of Veterinary Services, State Department of Livestock Production, State Department of Fisheries, Kenya Bureau of Standards, Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Services (KEPHIS) and the National Public Health Laboratory Services (NPHLS) among others.
The fact that countries in the region lie on the equator, they are also prone to aflatoxin, which, according to experts, is not only posing a huge threat to food security but is also a hindrance to market opportunities. Countries were represented by various officials mainly from ministries dealing with agriculture.
Papers presented showed various efforts done to address the matter, though some countries admitted that no research had been done so far to establish the magnitude of the problem. Aflatoxins are toxic metabolites produced by fungal species during their growth under favourable conditions of temperature and moisture.
The main cereals affected are maize, sorghum, rice and wheat and other crops like groundnuts and cassava. Scientists have associated aflatoxin with liver diseases and cancer to both humans and animals. Statistics show that in Tanzania cassava and maize production stand at between 4.2million and 6.2million tonnes.
Cashew remained the most important crop, accounting for 128million US dollars in exports by 2011, maize and groundnuts accounted for 8 and 2million US dollars, respectively.
Presenting a paper on behalf of the government of Tanzania, the Senior Fisheries Officer, Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock Development, Mr Koddy Melkizedeck said that maize accounts for 33 per cent of the calorific value per capita while the rest remains to other food crops such as cassava and other grains posing a risk of aflatoxin contamination and putting the country's population at risk.
"We are therefore offering trainings to stakeholders (farmers, traders, animal and produce inspectors), registration of storage houses processing establishments, inspection to storage structures and lab tests," he said.
He also noted that institutions have been put in place that ensure quality and food security including the Ministry of Agriculture Food Security and Cooperatives, Tanzania Foods and Drugs Authority, Tanzania Bureau of Standards and Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Development.
"Various laboratory facilities have been put in place in various areas and research institutes as well as higher learning institutions," he said. He added, however, that the undertaking was faced by various challenges including in adequate capacity, facilities and skilled personnel.
"Coordination between agencies and ways of disposing of highly contaminated materials (heavy microbial load) also remains a challenge," he said. Lack of depth research for aflatoxin control, inefficient monitoring, surveillance and cost-effective measures as well as lack of awareness on aflatoxin prevalence and negative impacts is other challenges that need to be addressed.
Presenting a paper on the Burundian situation, a representative from Burundian government said aflatoxin is an area that needs to be studied, adding that the country has no data in place concerning the magnitude of the problem. "Knowledge on aflatoxins in Burundi is limited.
There are no baseline on the incidences and prevalence on aflatoxins," he said. He noted, however, that plans were underway to start sampling and establishing the baseline through the Burundi National Agricultural Research Institute (ISABU) in collaboration with APPEAR project and IITA.
"The Burundi Bureau of Standards and quality control ensures institutional coordination mechanism formed of a network of 14 laboratories. Similarly, it has set standards on corn and wheat flours, compound flours, peanuts, whole grain cereals, milk, butter and cheese," he noted.
The country has no initiatives or programmes on aflatoxin and the public is not sensitised about the harmful effects of aflatoxin on human and animal health. It neither has legal framework for the management of aflatoxins nor kit for its rapid detection. On its part, Uganda has recommended aflatoxin control practices in place for the whole value chain, particularly for grains and beverages but the challenge remains on implementation.
Presenting the country's situation, Mr Alex Bambona, Head of Food and Nutrition in Uganda said that cleaning, sorting and grading facilities have been established in some regional stores, adding that some private processers/grain traders especially those in export and regional trade have established cleaning, sorting and grading facilities crucial in aflatoxin control.
"Maize, cassava, rice and beans targeted for special infrastructure development as part of regional trade strengthening. Target is to formalize the bulk of trade in these products," he said. He noted that regional grain stores/silos were currently being built in all major producing districts as part of the food security reserve system.
Uganda also has institutions dealing with aflatoxin control and food control including National Food Advisory Committee, National Codex Committee and National Sanitary and Phytosanitary Committee among others. Mr Bambona said the Uganda Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has developed standards for most grain products which have been harmonized in the EAC region.
"State of the art testing facilities is now available at UNBS Chemistry laboratory and there are laboratory analysts trained in undertaking testing of aflatoxin," he said. Pointing out some of the challenges, Mr Bambona said a food safety regulatory authority is not yet in place, adding that simple cheap methods for fast detection of aflatoxins, in grain, are still limited and costly.
"Organized trade systems for produce are still inadequate since the collapse of cooperatives in the country. Guidelines for safe handling of grain at different stages of the value chain are still not widely used among the farming communities," he said.
He emphasized massive sensitization on aflatoxin prevalence in grain and how to abate it countrywide is required. Rwanda on its part has put in place a post harvest handling and storage task force with responsibilities of contributing to the prevention and reduction of aflatoxins.
The facilities are also aimed at ensuring food security in the country, reduce the post harvest losses from 23 per cent to 5 per cent for maize and other staples, training of farmers on preventing yield losses such as on appropriate drying before storage.
The country has put in place model storage facilities (Metallic Silos, warehouses), construction of drying grounds for different crops and distribution of post harvest tools and equipment to farmers. "The constructed warehouses, metallic silos, and drying grounds have increased the capacity of storage facilities to 137,700 MT," said a presenter from the country.
He added that Rwanda Bureau of Standards has a well equipped laboratory for analysis in order to prevent and control the contaminated products in Rwandan market. It was also noted further that post harvest handling and storage task force have acquired equipment to test moisture content, and aflatoxin and that data on aflatoxin contamination are being collected on maize from different parts of the country.
Rwanda has gaps on the information on the current situation of aflatoxin, capacity building in Aflatoxin detection, prevention and control also has limited equipment for rapid detection. In Kenya previous food surveys suggest that aflatoxin contamination of homegrown maize is pervasive, particularly in the Eastern region.
"This results in both chronic exposure that can lead to long-term health effects as well as acute exposure that can result in the recurrent outbreaks," said Mr Robert Kilonzo from the Kenyan Ministry of Agriculture. Mr Kilonzo noted that in Kenya aflatoxin poisoning has been associated with consumption of maize stored under damp conditions.
The 2004 aflatoxin-poisoning outbreak in Kenya is said to be the largest and most severe documented worldwide. The outbreak covered more than seven districts and resulted in 317 case-patients and 125 deaths. Kenya has a National Food Safety Coordinating Committee (NFSCC) under the chairmanship of State Department of Agriculture and a Secretariat of Ministry of Health.
Members in the committee include, Directorate of Veterinary Services, State Department of Livestock Production, State Department of Fisheries, Kenya Bureau of Standards, Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Services (KEPHIS) and the National Public Health Laboratory Services (NPHLS) among others.
Monday, 14 April 2014
KAMA ULIKUWA HUFAHAMU HIKI NDICHO KINACHOENDELEA LUMESULE. Picha za matukio kinachofanyika viko hapa.
Seminar training for Beekeeping to 50 youth 30 girls and 20 girls trained on apiary management, honey processing, marketing and environmental protection especially forest resource at Lumesule village Nanyumbu Mtwara. The seminar was conducted by our chairperson of TAFE Mr. Victor William and TAFE staff member Mr. Charles Salu with Village officers
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