AfricaPress-Tanzania: WAREHOUSE receipt system has proved to be the best practice that besides assuring farmers with market, also presents them with good prices.
That was said on Wenesday in Parliament by the Agriculture Deputy Minister, Hussein Bashe adding that last year, cocoa farmers through the warehouse receipt system managed to sell at 5,011 per kilogramme in comparison to 3,000/- they were earning in 2015/16 season.
He gave the assurance while answering Kyela Member of Parliament -Ally Mlaghila (CCM) who wanted to know when the warehouse receipts system will change to benefit farmers and cooperatives against allegations that it was not meeting its target.
The Deputy minister said the warehouse receipt system has increased transparency and price, hence presenting farmers with best market prices.
Elaborating, he noted the system has supported the government to collect revenue and get correct data of production from cocoa farmers.
Mr Bashe cited 2018/19 case study when more than 7,532.13 tonnes of cocoa were sold and 33.6bn/- collected and paid to farmers leaving almost 1bn/- as revenue to the councils.
In 2019/20 season, 9,483.4 tonnes of cocoa were sold making famers pocket 45.7bn/- and the councils getting more than 1.3bn/- as revenue collection.
He said the system indicates the kind of trade and farm produce stored in a licensed warehouse, where the owner of the farm produce also receives a receipts with details of value, type, quantity and quality among others .
Elaborating, Mr Bashe said the warehouse receipt facilitates storage, future trade and access to credit, without necessarily moving the said commodities from the licensed warehouse.
“The main objective of establishing warehouse receipts system in the country was to foster the efforts of the government to formalise the existing marketing systems aimed at minimising various constraints, which hamper effective production and marketing of the agricultural produce.
“The constraints include post-harvest losses, poor quality, price fluctuations, and lack of reliable market information as well as poor finance and polarized trade.
” It is the expectation of the government to improve the earnings of smallholder agricultural producers and small-scale traders of the commodity trade by reducing vices such as selling produce before harvests, selling without using standards and approved weighing equipment, minimize of trade tariff barriers, which ultimately increases their shares and volumes in the marketing channels and encourage value addition,” added the deputy minister.
