DAR ES SALAAM: THE National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) has paid farmers who supplied food crops a total of 347bn/- between July 2024 and February 2025.
The agency has set a new crop-collection record for the 2023/2024 fiscal year.
NAFRA Director General, Dr Andrew Komba, said that the government’s policy is to ensure food producers are promptly paid for their crops by the agency.
Payments must be completed before the start of the next purchasing season. He said that all suppliers from the last season have been paid.
“We are guided by the government’s directive – producers must receive payment through their accounts as soon as their produce is collected by the agency. We handle online payments. If any farmer claims they haven’t been paid, it could be for two reasons. One, the farmer may not have checked their account for payment entries, or two, the farmer might not have verified the personal information they submitted to us. As far as we are concerned, we have paid all suppliers from the last season and are starting the new purchasing season with a clean slate,” Dr Komba said.
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NAFRA, a statutory food agency, buys food crops from farmers as part of Tanzania’s internal food security plan, which aims to sustain national food security and contribute to feeding Africa.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan has urged NFRA to increase its storage capacity to 3 million tonnes by 2030.
The agency is expected to be self-sustaining and it is empowered to export crops once the national food reserve is secure.
So far, NAFRA has exported 600,000 tonnes of food crops, with the earnings used to repair and build new roads, establish food storage infrastructure and settle bank loans.
NAFRA has exported food crops to China, India, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
According to Dr Komba, the agency has set a new record for crop collection by storing 776,000 tonnes in the 2023/2024 fiscal year.
“We expect to perform even better in the upcoming purchasing season, which is just around the corner,” he said.
