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Edible oil is a game changer, says Mkumbo
Dar es Salaam. Investors need to look at the opportunity in edible oil and sugar, as it is an area with the potential to quickly return capital due to its large market.
The Minister of Investments and Planning, Prof Kitila Mkumbo, said this at the meeting of the Africa’s Food Systems Forum 2023 Summit, which is ongoing in Dar es Salaam and has brought together various stakeholders from within and outside the country.
“In many African countries, including Tanzania, cooking oil and sugar are among the five most imported products.
At the same time, agricultural raw materials are among the products that Tanzania exports the most,” he said.
He said that this is evidence that if a person invests in agriculture and the chain to add value to the products of the sector, he will return his capital in a short time.
“Food insecurity is a global challenge that requires joint solutions, just like climate change. Africa is in a unique position to face this global crisis because it has enough land to produce food,” said Prof Mkumbo.
He said the AGRF platform should provide methods to face the challenge of ensuring food security around the world.
On his part, the Bank of Tanzania Governor Emmanuel Tutuba highlighted its priorities, including continuing to monitor to ensure the agricultural sector is stable.
The Governor said the central bank’s strategies include monetary policy for sector stability and resilience and providing funds to other institutions to support farmers.
“Agriculture’s land stands at about 80 percent, but only 44 percent of it is utilized.” Different institutions are looking for financing to see how to cultivate the land,” he said.
He noted that they aim to provide resources to different actors in the agriculture sector.
“We create and monitor policy instruments to attract banks to lower interest rates through a statutory minimum reserve of around 6 percent to allow agriculture players to access loans at 9 percent interest,” he said.
