Samia fulfills 13bn/- pledge for tobacco farmers

DODOMA: TOBACCO growers now have a reason to smile following President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s fulfillment of her pledge to provide 13bn/- as fertiliser subsidies in the current farming season.

President Samia made the promise during her working tour of Tabora, the country’s leading tobacco-producing region.

She directed the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Hussein Bashe, to design a special fertiliser subsidy scheme for tobacco farmers.

While presenting the 2024/2025 budget for his ministry in the National Assembly, Mr Bashe announced that the government had allocated 13bn/- for the tobacco fertiliser subsidy.

At a recent event in Dodoma, Mr Bashe handed over a 13bn/- cheque to the Tobacco Competitive Joint Enterprises (TCJE) Chairperson, Mr John Ntezilyo, on behalf of all tobacco growers.

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The funds were provided by the Tanzania Fertiliser Regulatory Authority (TFRA) on behalf of the government. According to Minister Bashe, Tanzania has made remarkable progress in tobacco production, ranking second in Africa after Zimbabwe.

“In previous farming seasons, we used to produce less than 50,000 tonnes of tobacco, but now we are producing 122,000 tonnes per year,” said Mr Bashe.

He added that farmers’ incomes had increased to 269 million US dollars, while revenue from tobacco exports had surged to approximately 484 million US dollars.

During the handover, Mr Bashe urged TFRA to ensure that the funds benefit tobacco growers as intended.

Speaking after receiving the cheque, TCJE Chairperson John Ntezilyo expressed gratitude to President Samia’s government for keeping its promise.

He noted that since last farming season, tobacco production has continued to rise.

According to him, over 2.3 million farmers are expected to benefit from the subsidy.