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2018/19 season cashew woes under scrutiny

Dar es Salaam. Cashew nut stakeholders are expected to review the challenges they experienced during the 2018/19 farming season and gauge prospects for the 2019/20 season commencing today.

They will also outline the achievements recorded in the last season, with the recommendations gathered during the stakeholder’s meeting slated for October 3 expected to enable the government to improve cashews trading in the season.

The government has allayed the fears that there is a hidden agenda behind the decision to convene the meeting in Dar es Salaam, as it is not among the major cashew nut producing regions. Major producing regions are Mtwara, Lindi, Ruvuma, Coast and Tanga.

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“It’s an ordinary meeting, according to regulations. All crop boards convene such meetings ahead the new farming season to discuss the achievements and challenges recorded in the previous season - and proposals to improve activities for the new season,” said Agriculture deputy minister Omary Mgumba, who was in Tanga attending a sisal stakeholders’ meeting.

Responding to farmers concerns, the Cashewnut Board of Tanzania (CBT) acting director general, Mr Francis Alfred, said the law doesn’t restrict the government from convening stakeholderss meetings - especially cnsidering that the number of major cashew-producing areas have increased from five to 17.

He said ‘stakeholders’ is a broad term that includes farmers, ministry officials, representatives from cashew-growing areas, cooperative unions - and many more. “We have invited 150 farmers out of the 400 meeting participants. The government will cover transportation and accommodation costs to ensure they attend this important meeting,” he said.

Regarding the newly-adopted Tanzania Mercantile Exchange (TMX) system to be used in the 2019/20 harvestseason, stakeholders have been given awareness education - and it welcomes ideas in improving the system.

But, the the Tandahimba Farmers Association (Taffa) chairman, Mr Faraji Njapuka, conjectured that the meeting was convened in Dar es Salaam in efforts to avoid farmers’ questions on the unpaid Sh50 billion for cashews sold in the 2018/19 crop season.

“This is because they know that most of the farmers will not be able to meet the transportation and accommodation costs to and from Dar es Salaam - something that would also enable them to pass the newly-introduced TMX system without opposition,” he speculated.

The secretary of Tandahimba union of cashew producers (Uwakota), Mr Said Mwaya, said enough education on TMX was required - and that the challenges which plagued the Warehouse Receipt System (WRS) last season need to be addressed in the interests of farmers and sustainability of the crop.

The Tandahimba and Newala Cooperative Union (Tanecu) chairman, Mr Shaibu Aifai, wondered how farmers would be able to follow auctions and agree with the final prices reached.

However, the Ruangwa Nachingwea and Liwale Farmers’ Cooperative (Runali) chairman, Mr Hassan Mpako, said the important thing is the outcome of the meeting - and not where it is held.

“In-depth explanation of the TMX system’s operations and farmers’ involvement during the auctioning are required,” he said.

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