MORE than 120 cotton farmers in Simiyu and Shinyanga regions, registered under the Tigo cotton project have received 189m/-as payment for the cotton sold during the 2018/2019 season.
The Tigo cotton project is a mobile money payment system designed specifically for cotton farmers, after signing of a contract between Tigo and other Agricultural Marketing Cooperative Unions (AMCOs).
The Simiyu and Shinyanga Tigo Regional Manager, Phares Sadock said they are happy to partner with AMCOs and have so far managed to pay 189m/-to the cotton farmers.
“We are happy to be partnering with the cashew nut farmers’ cooperatives through the Tigo Cotton project; we believe this service will provide a practical solution to their payments and daily financial transactions. With over 100,000 merchants available in every corner the country, transacting upwards of 1.481bn/-every month, Tigo Pesa undoubtedly speaks to financial inclusion which also is a boost to the national economy.”
Elaborating on how the system works, Sadock says said that farmers are first required to register and subscribe to receive the service through their AMCOs, upon which they are provided with information on collection, transportation, auctioning and purchase of their cotton produce through the AMCOs.
Once the money from the sale is received into the accounts of the AMCOs, Tigo Pesa agent through Tigo Cotton project transfers the payments directly to farmers who have registered to receive the service, with the farmers being alerted of the payments via an SMS message.
The farmers are then afforded the convenience to withdraw, transfer or conduct other transactions as they wish via the Tigo pesa platform and wide network of agents.
Sadock further said they have made payments to farmers from Zanzui, Kidabu, Gumali and Nuya Agricultural Marketing Cooperative Unions (AMCOs).
He promised to make sure in the new cotton season 2020/2021 they will reach more farmers from different AMCOs in the region to ensure they have access to the Tigo cotton project services.
He also commended the efforts of Bank of Tanzania (BOT) for allowing them to make money transaction of over 10million/- to farmers.
He said through Tigo Cotton project offers farmers the convenience of not merely transferring funds, but also the benefits of reliability by receiving their payments on time whenever expected, and security of receiving their payments directly into their mobile accounts, thus eliminating the hassle of travelling with, and the risk of carrying around hard cash.
The Chairman of the Zanzui AMCOs, Daniel Mashilimbi, said that through their AMCOs they have received 48m/-from Tigo Tanzania for the payment of their farmers located in Mwamashimba, Hitilima and Zanzui ward in Simiyu Region.
A farmer from Zanzui, Philipo Daud thanked Tigo Tanzania for receiving his payment and called upon his fellow farmers to make sure they are re-registering their Tigo sim cards via the biometric system to enjoy the Tigo Pesa services.
He also called upon the government to continue supporting Tigo Tanzania so that they can help farmers to get various farming services and inputs.
Tigo Tanzania Cotton project coordinator, Rushaka Abdul said they aim to reach over 384 AMCOs located in Simiyu and Shinyanga region in 2020/2021 season.
