TBL wins accolades for supporting contract farming

THE government has commended the Tanzania Breweries Limited (TBL) for its initiative to support farmers through contract farming which has eventually enabled them to be skilled, connected and financially empowered.

Speaking at the launch of TBL Smart Agriculture Report in Dar es Salaam on Thursday, Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Mr Anthony Mavunde, pledged to support the private sector in empowering local farmers to improve productivity.

“By supporting these farmers to be skilled, connected and financially empowered, TBL has helped them to improve their productivity, their profitability, and their efficient use of natural resources such as soil and water,” Mr Mavunde remarked.

“TBL as a manufacturing company engaging in the full value-chain is well positioned to play its part in the realisation of the third FYDP (Five-Year Development Plan III) goals and its committed focus on skills development and socio-economic inclusion and protection fosters human capital development”.

Mr Mavunde stated that as part of the government’s initiative to create an enabling environment for private sector, the ministry allocated 20 per cent savings in 2021 on locally malted barley.

“This incentive has allowed TBL to kick-start its investment portfolio towards the installation of a malting plant as our goal is to reach 100 per cent local sourcing in the next five years.

“This project is a key factor not only for our sustainability targets but for the overall operations of ensuring our economic support to the growth of Tanzania through industrialization,” he stated.

The Deputy Minister pointed to the fact that the Smart Agriculture Initiative creates valuable connections, imparts skills and expert lessons, and gives Tanzanian farmers the tools they need to build sustainable livelihoods.

“In fact, across Tanzania, AB InBev and TBL are doing more every day to support the livelihoods of Tanzanians by establishing more sustainable practices, and assist local communities to lead better lives,” Mr Mavunde observed.

Earlier, the Managing Director of TBL, Mr Jose Moran, said TBL introduced contract farming in the year 2019 and it has so far engaged 4,524 farmers from Dodoma, Arusha and Manyara regions while partnering with research, insurance, financial institutions and government entities.

“This engagement has resulted to an output of 15,233 tonnes of produce from these farmers and generated over 68bn/- over the past four years.

“We depend on high-quality agricultural crops to create our products. That is why we support the livelihoods of farming communities worldwide, working with direct farmers to grow natural ingredients that allow us to brew the best beers and create the best wines,” he explained.

Mr Moran said the Smart Agriculture initiative does not only benefit individual farmers, but it has an impact that ties into broader sustainability objectives, notably the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).