Mtwara RC warns against pigeon pea smuggling

MTWARA: AS the pigeon pea trading season begins this August, Mtwara Regional Commissioner Colonel Patrick Sawala has warned exporters, clearing agents and the public against engaging in undocumented exports or smuggling of the produce.

Speaking recently, the Regional Commissioner said that the regional government has not issued and will not issue export licenses to individuals, as all pigeon peas produced in Mtwara will be traded through the warehouse receipt system.

“We (regional government) have not provided licenses to export pigeon peas out of the region as there are no plans to do so; all the produce will be sold through the warehouse receipt system,” he said and vowed legal measures against the smugglers.

Col Sawala was speaking during a stakeholders’ meeting organised by the region to evaluate the sesame trading season 2024/2025 that ended in July this year.

He said the government in the region is well-prepared to ensure all the pigeon peas produced are documented and sold in line with the country’s requirements.

Speaking during the meeting, General Manager of Mtwara-Masasi Agricultural Cooperative Union (MAMCU) Ms Biadia Matipa said more than 20,000 tonnes of pigeon peas are expected to be produced.

“We (MAMCU) are expecting to produce over 20,000 tonnes of pigeon peas in this season (2024/2025), exceeding 10,000 tonnes compared to the 2023/2024 production year,” she said.

Mr Matipa said the union has made all the essential requirements available, including packages enough to handle the production of pigeon peas.

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She asked pigeon pea growers to observe quality while handling the pigeon peas for better market competition.

Meanwhile, the RC highly commended sesame growers for improving production in the 2024/2025 season. He said over 27,000 metric tonnes of sesame were produced compared to 17,000 tonnes produced in 2023/2024, earning farmers over 100bn/-.

He said the government will continue providing necessary support to ensure a conducive farming environment, ensuring quality production of sesame and other cash crops grown in Mtwara Region.