Cotton production in Tanzania, East Africa’s biggest producer of the crop, fell 19 percent short of the country’s target after farmers used less pesticides and high quality seeds, the industry regulator has said.Output in the marketing year that started July and runs through June is estimated at about 202,000 metric tons, compared with the target of 250,000 tons set in June, Gabriel Mwalo, director for finance and administration at the Dar es Salaam-based cotton board, said in an e-mail on Wednesday.
The target set in June replaced an initial goal of 287,500 tons after “erratic weather” affected the crop. Last season’s harvest was 246,000 tons. There’s no forecast yet for the next marketing year, Mwalo said. Tanzania plants the crop from November to mid-December in the main producing western region, while planting in the eastern region runs from February to mid-March, according to Mwalo. The country reaps the crop from April through August, according to the board, and exports the bulk of its crop to China, Indonesia, Thailand, Kenya, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and India.
Throughout history, cotton production in Tanzania has been faced with low productivity, poor quality and a low level of mechanisation that has resulted in demoralisation of cotton farmers, who started opting for alternative cash crops such as tobacco and onions.
Among the problems, according to the TCB boss, include uncertified cotton seeds, farmers using little or no fertilisers coupled with little utility of pesticides and lack of farming machinery as the main reasons for stagnating cotton yields in the country.Tanzania earned $159.3m/- (about 254.4bn/-) from cotton exports during the year 2012 to June 2013, according to the Bank of Tanzania’s Monthly Economic Review for July 2013.
Currently, Tanzania is Africa’s fourth-largest producer of the crop after Mali, Burkina Faso and Egypt, according to Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) figures. But TCB believes if its efforts of raising production to 1500kg per acre of land is achieved, then the country should move some steps forward.
Cotton production surged 57 percent last year from 225,000 tons produced in 2011, helped by the introduction of contract farming across the country following a three-year pilot programme in the northwestern Mara Region.
“Under the system, farmers agreed with buyers to supply specific quantities and qualities of the crop, and farmers gained access to credit for inputs such as pesticides”, Mwalo said. “This eliminates the need for agents and local lenders to facilitate relationships between growers and buyers,” he added. “The bottom line is contract farming system which has been suspended and must be improved to enable farmers increase productivity,” he said. If the government fully backs with prompt action contract farming, cotton may lead to rise of exports it will still earn the famers good revenues. The 2012/13 season saw farmers earn as much as 700/- per kg.
Tanzania’s cotton sub-sector employs 14 million people, about 40 percent of the country’s population. Experts believe that it might collapse, if the government fails to take swift measures to rescue the situation.
The target set in June replaced an initial goal of 287,500 tons after “erratic weather” affected the crop. Last season’s harvest was 246,000 tons. There’s no forecast yet for the next marketing year, Mwalo said. Tanzania plants the crop from November to mid-December in the main producing western region, while planting in the eastern region runs from February to mid-March, according to Mwalo. The country reaps the crop from April through August, according to the board, and exports the bulk of its crop to China, Indonesia, Thailand, Kenya, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and India.
Throughout history, cotton production in Tanzania has been faced with low productivity, poor quality and a low level of mechanisation that has resulted in demoralisation of cotton farmers, who started opting for alternative cash crops such as tobacco and onions.
Among the problems, according to the TCB boss, include uncertified cotton seeds, farmers using little or no fertilisers coupled with little utility of pesticides and lack of farming machinery as the main reasons for stagnating cotton yields in the country.Tanzania earned $159.3m/- (about 254.4bn/-) from cotton exports during the year 2012 to June 2013, according to the Bank of Tanzania’s Monthly Economic Review for July 2013.
Currently, Tanzania is Africa’s fourth-largest producer of the crop after Mali, Burkina Faso and Egypt, according to Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) figures. But TCB believes if its efforts of raising production to 1500kg per acre of land is achieved, then the country should move some steps forward.
Cotton production surged 57 percent last year from 225,000 tons produced in 2011, helped by the introduction of contract farming across the country following a three-year pilot programme in the northwestern Mara Region.
“Under the system, farmers agreed with buyers to supply specific quantities and qualities of the crop, and farmers gained access to credit for inputs such as pesticides”, Mwalo said. “This eliminates the need for agents and local lenders to facilitate relationships between growers and buyers,” he added. “The bottom line is contract farming system which has been suspended and must be improved to enable farmers increase productivity,” he said. If the government fully backs with prompt action contract farming, cotton may lead to rise of exports it will still earn the famers good revenues. The 2012/13 season saw farmers earn as much as 700/- per kg.
Tanzania’s cotton sub-sector employs 14 million people, about 40 percent of the country’s population. Experts believe that it might collapse, if the government fails to take swift measures to rescue the situation.
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