Investors set to inject billions into agriculture

The Citizen | 16 December 2010

Premier Mizengo Pinda (C), flanked by Morogoro regional commissioner, Colonel (rtd) Issa Machibya (L), Kilombero district commissioner Evarist Ndikilo and Kilombero Plantations Limited (KPL) manager Carter Coleman. KPL is owned by Agrica Limited of the UK.

by Venance George

Kilombero — The widely publicised agricultural revolution, under the Kilimo Kwanza (Agriculture first) banner, is real in Kilombero District, where large swathes of land are being earmarked for large-scale rice production.

Thousands of Kilombero residents are expected to secure employment as food production in the district is expected to far outstrip demand when three investors pump money into three large-scale rice production projects, Kilombero District Commissioner Evarist Ndikilo said here on Wednesday.

"Three companies are in various stages of developing large-scale rice production projects in the district...we are on the move," Mr Ndikilo told The Citizen in an interview.

The three areas include the Kihansi and Merera valleys. In the former, Syngen Company (owned by C.C. Reddy) is in the process of acquiring 12,000 hectares for rice production while in the latter, Merera Plantation is currently undertaking an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to acquire 10,000 hectares for paddy production.

Chita National Service Unit (JKT Chita) is also in final stages of developing a 5,000-hectare area on which to irrigate rice. "We also have 5,128 hectares of land at Utengule that is fit for rice production and we are still searching for a serious investor," Mr Mdikilo said.

He added that the district was also searching for a serious investor to develop 10,000 hectares of Rupia Valley.

"Our aim is to have a modern sugar factory in Rupia Valley which will help to curb frequent sugar shortages in the country....realisation of these projects will surely make the district a force to be reckoned with insofar as commercial agriculture is concerned in the entire country," he said.

Already, Kilombero Plantation Ltd (KPL), which runs a rice estate at Mngeta in the district, has helped to raise the area's profile. (KPL is owned by Agrica Ltd.)

The company owns 5,818 hectares in the district. It produced 3,900 tonnes of rice from 3,000 hectares during the 2009/2010 farming season.

So far, Mr Ndikilo aid, the company had invested Sh30 billion in the project.

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The Citizen (Dar es Salaam) | 13 December 2010

Tanzania: Govt Unveils Strategy to Triple Rice Output

by Bernard Lugongo

http://allafrica.com/stories/201012141095.html

The government is working in partnership with a Pan-African research organisation, Rice Africa Centre (AfricaRice), to implement a project that would see rice production triple within the next three years, it was revealed yesterday.The project, according to Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives minister, Prof Jumanne Maghembe, would see farmers produce rice in amounts that would surpass local consumption needs, enabling Tanzania to be a notable exporter of the globally popular cereal.

The partnership, which was sealed in Dar es Salaam yesterday, would involve seeds production, research, cultivation, yielding and post harvest activities. The AfricaRice is a leading research body with a mission to combat poverty by improving food security in Africa through research, development and partnership activities. Speaking in Dar es Salaam yesterday, Prof Maghembe said the partnership would lead to the realisation of the long-time goal of massive production of rice in Tanzania.

"We are sure that with this project, in the next three years, the country will be producing three times more than current rice production capacity," the minister said.

He said his ministry has put in place strategies to improve rice production and the partnership with AfricaRice was one of the plans to carry out the plan.

Currently, the country produces about 900,000 tonnes of rice every year, which amount to only 70 per cent of the national needs.

Should the project be successfully implemented, he said, the country would produce at least 2.7 million tonnes of rice annually, which would give Tanzanian some 1.5 million tonnes of surplus rice.

He said from early next year, the government and AfricaRice Company would start doing research over types of land in various places in the country to establish areas that would be suitable for the implementation of the project.

The research is expected to enable the stakeholders to distribute quality rice seeds in accordance to particular land requirements, he said.

Prof Maghembe acknowledged that some of the areas that the ministry had already earmarked to kick start the new programme included Rufiji River basin where big farms are being prepared.

"This is a partnership, and the government and AfricaRice will jointly bear the cost of the implementation of the project," he said without, however, stating how much the project would cost.

The Director General of the AfricaRice, Dr Papa Seck, confirmed that Tanzania has high potential tracts of lands most suitable for rice farming.

"We are ready to work with the government to enable the country to achieve its goal as far as rice production is concerned," he said after meeting with the minister to sign the agreement.

Speaking over the challenge the country faces due to its dependence on rainfall for agriculture, Prof Maghembe noted that the new rice growing initiative would put a lot of focus on irrigation and would use rice species that do not require much water.

"We are going to use rice varieties that can also be grown on the mountains slopes, the type that doesn't require much water like common rice varieties" he said.

The partnership would, among others, make use of genetically modified seeds of rice called new rice for Africa (Nerica) that combines the ruggedness of local African rice species with the high productivity varieties from Asia.

The panicles of Nerica hold up to 400 grains compared to the 75-100 grains of its African parents and can potentially double the production of rice.

Nerica also matures between 30 and 50 days earlier than traditional varieties, allowing farmers to grow extra crops of vegetables or legumes alongside rice. They are taller and grow better on the fertile, acid soils that comprise 70 per cent of the upland rice area in the country.

With this variety, for instance, Guinean farmers have managed to increase their yields by 50 per cent without the use of fertilisers and by more than 200 percent with fertilisers. Cultivating Nerica varieties also has shown a positive effect on schooling rate of children. This effect is partly the result of Nerica's shorter growth cycle and higher weed competitiveness, alleviating the labour burden put on children, and partly as a result of the higher yields and quality, generating higher revenues.
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