AfricaPress-Tanzania: SEVENTEEN crop storage schemes with a capacity of over 80,000 tonnes in ten different points countrywide are being built to reduce post-harvest losses estimated at 3.92bn/-, equivalent to USD1.8 ml.
The Tanzania Agricultural Development Bank (TADB) is representing the government in this public-private venture, according to a document released in Dar es Salaam yesterday.
The document indicates that some five silos and 12 warehouses are currently being built. Out of the 80,000 tonnes, 34,000 tonnes of maize will be stored in the proposed structures.
According to the document, expert estimates show that an astonishing 30 per cent to 40 per cent of cereals and an even higher percentage of perishable foodstuffs are recorded as post-harvest losses. “These losses are incurred at different points of the value chain, where the supply chain is less mechanized, larger losses are incurred during drying, storage and processing.
There remains a critical gap pertaining to farmer’s access to modern post-harvest management technologies, a situation which calls for joint stakeholders’ efforts to attract investment in this important segment of agricultural chains,” he said.
He added that the bank joined stakeholders to build the structures because its mission is to improve productivity, support and strengthen value chains and transform the agricultural sector.
