CPB in Lake Zone makes strides in Samia’s two years
THE Cereals and other Produce Board (CPB) in Lake Zone said it has made strides in terms of developing the cereals and other produce in two years of President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s leadership.
“In Lake Zone we received 5bn/- during her leadership for buying the produce from farmers and investing in processing industry. This enabled us to increase the number of employment opportunities in the agriculture value chain,” Acting CPB’s Lake Zone Manager Alfred Kalimenze stated.
Meanwhile, Mr Kalimenze assured that the board was well prepared to enhance production of food crops in the zone, hence allaying fears over possible hunger.
Under the Act of its establishment, the board is mandated to facilitate trade, promotion, and development of cereals and other agricultural products with quality that sustains profitability to the entire value chain to ultimately contribute to the growth of the subsector and improved livelihood amongst Tanzanians.
Speaking to journalists recently, Mr Kalimenze further said the board plans to facilitate the increase of the production from 5500 tonnes to 20,000 tonnes during the 2023/24 season.
Mr Kalimenze cited rice as strategic crop in the Lake zone, whereby they buy paddy from farmers, process it and sell to citizens at affordable prices, including supplying them to neighbouring countries.
“After processing the paddy, we pack it in different size in order to reach every segment of customers according to their financial ability. We also sell the rice in the neighbouring countries of Rwanda, Uganda, and South Sudan,” he explained.
To curb hunger in Lake Zone, the board was also planning to buy other crops such as beans and green beans so that citizens could get food with variety of nutrients.
CPB in Lake Zone keeps its food stocks at its centres in Kagera Shinyanga and Mwanza Regions as well as at Rusumo.
“I welcome farmers to come to do business with us because we offer competitive prices which we are sure that we do not exploit farmers,” he explained.
On his part, CPB Marketing Officer Ally Mango said the industry has the capacity of processing 96 tonnes of paddy per day.
However, due to shortage of paddy in the area, they managed to process only 594 tonnes since the factory was established last year.
Mr Mango noted that the target now is to process 20,000 tonnes of paddy in the 2023/24 season, which would enable the board to earn 26bn/- after selling the rice.
