CRDB throws weight behind AMCOs
DAR ES SALAAM: CRDB Bank Foundation has signed a cooperation agreement with three key agricultural stakeholders in its efforts to promote farmers and agri-entrepreneurs in the country.
The three partners are Tanzania Cooperative Development Commission (TCDC), the Warehouse Receipts Management Commission (WRRB) and Tanzania Merchandise Market (TMX), targeting at least 10 Agricultural Marketing Cooperative Societies (AMCOs).
CRDB Bank Foundation Managing Director, Ms Tully Esther Mwambapa said during the signing ceremony that the contribution of agriculture to the GDP is great, starting from food production to the provision of employment, especially for women and youth groups.
“We target to reach at least ten AMCOs and offer loan facilitation of between 1.0m/- and 30m/- depending on society’s needs,” Ms Mwambapa said, “We believe this strategy will help grow the business of farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs.” The agricultural sector provides some 75 per cent of the country’s total employment and contributes 26 per cent to the national income while guaranteeing 95 per cent of food demand.
The CRDB Bank Foundation is implementing various empowerment programmes under its IMBEJU flag, and so far been able to reach over 125,000 women and provide some 5.0bn/- for affordable loans.
The Foundation is expected to provide financial education and entrepreneurship and seed capital while TCDC will coordinate access to active cooperatives. WRRB will ensure careful storage of agricultural products while TMX will bring together farmers and buyers.
The TMX Chief Executive Officer, Mr Godfrey Malekano said that their main responsibility is to ensure that a farmer gets a maximum price for his/her crops.
“The competition takes place with high transparency [using technology] to ensure farmers get the best price in the market,” said Mr Malekano.
TMX was established in 2018, and has registered several crops including sesame, lentils, cashews, peas and livestock products and they are currently completing the process of including minerals.
The TCDC Registrar and Chief Executive, Dr Benson Ndiege, said there are more than 7,000 cooperatives in the country set to benefit from the signed collaboration. WRRB Chief Executive Asangye Bangu said they are going to implement everything that they put into the agreement for the benefit of the country’s farmers.
