Tanzania: Government acts against maize price drop

Maize (Corn)

Tanzania

Published Jul 27, 2021

Tridge summary

Dar es Salaam — The government, through the ministry of Agriculture, is taking several measures in an effort to stabilise maize prices which have fallen significantly in the past few months. With bumper harvests and Covid-19-induced export restrictions - compounded by Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) in some key regional markets - maize prices in some areas of the country have dropped to levels that are below production costs.

Original content

Available data show that a farmer spends between Sh356 and Sh479 to produce one kilogramme of maize. But the same kilogram fetches between Sh310 and Sh475 in the market. Against this background, the government has directed the National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) to procure maize on prices that are above market ones. The NFRA chief executive, Mr Milton Lupa, said recently that the agency plans to buy 150,000 tonnes of maize in the 2021/22 fiscal year, and prices would follow the directive from the Ministry of Agriculture - and that it would be within the region of Sh500 a kilogramme. The minister for Agriculture, Prof Adolf Mkenda, said in Dar es Salaam recently that prices were even lower in some southern zone regions where a kilogramme of the item currently fetches between Sh200 and Sh250. "These prices do not favour farmers' returns, and make it difficult for them to afford inputs," he said. Another institution that helps in tackling the challenge was the Cereals and Other ...

Source: All Africa