Tanzania Agricultural Projects Receive Funding Boost

Several agriculture projects in Tanzania have been awarded grants worth almost 650,000 US dollars by the Agriculture Fast Track Fund (AFT).  “The AFT has granted two new agribusiness operators in Tanzania with funding for project development.  The first project, Tanga Fresh UHT Milk Factory, will receive 150,500 US dollars to expand its production capacity in order to maintain the milk supply throughout the dry season,” the African Development Bank (AfDB) said.

The AfDB also stated, “The second enterprise is Kijani Agro, granted 490,000 US dollars for producing a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables in high tech irrigated tunnel houses and open-fields in Iringa and Morogoro.”  The AFT fund, which was approved by the AfDB board of directors in May 2013, has been utilized by Tanzania as well as Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mozambique and Ethiopia.

According to the AfDB, Tanga Fresh in Tanzania is expected to focus on developing an implementation strategy for improving milk quality while Kijani is set to conduct an independent study on the horticulture market in Tanzania, Kenya and South Africa.  The AfDB also stated, “Tanga Fresh seeks to expand the sales of its Long Life UHT milk to other cities besides Dar Es Salaam by involving at least 13,000 smallholders.  The company plans to provide a safe and healthy source of calcium and protein to communities living far inland where imported UHT milk isn’t available.”

The AfDB then concluded, “Kijani Agro is planning to have 3,000 smallholders benefitting from the project, 60 per cent of them women.  The company has a training program to ensure that local farmers adopt rigorous standards for environmental and social practices.”

Source: CNBC Africa