AfricaPress-Tanzania: THE National Food Reserve Agency—NFRA will be guided by the market price in setting up pricing of cereals, Agriculture Minister, Japhet Hassunga said on Wednesday.
The minister told the National Assembly that it is unrealistic to set a cap price for cereals, which it buys from different farmers for the national food reserve.
Last season, NFRA bought maize at between 350/-and 500/-per kilogram, an amount that was slightly higher in the local market. The local market had sold the same quantity of maize at between 200/-and 170/-.
The agency, according to the minister, has been buying less than 2 per cent of the excess national cereals production due to limited storage capacity that stands at 251,000 tonnes.
Nkasi-South Member of Parliament (MP), Desderius Mipata (CCM), initially wanted to know what pushes NFRA in setting prices for cereals it intends to buy from farmers.
The lawmaker said farmers in Rukwa region have been producing maize at a cost of 700,000/-per hectare.
He said, “Farmers end up harvesting between 15-17 bags of maize. Despite the high cost of production, the national food reserve agency has been buying maize at a price of 380/-per kilo, the amount that won’t help farmers retain their investment cost,”.
NFRA is charged with ensuring food security by buying and reserving food crops that could respond to food shortage pushed by natural disasters in the country.
The Minister said the agency has been buying food depending on available budget. He assured that the price announced by the agency considers the market price and production cost.
The Minister further urged farmers to use modern farming technologies to reduce production costs and boost productivity.
