Tanzania: Coffee Processing Plants to Be Opened in Three Regions

AGRICULTURAL Marketing Cooperative Societies (Amcos) plans to open three coffee processing factories in Shinyanga, Simiyu and Geita regions to support President John Magufulis ambitious industrialisation drive.The three factories will be Kahama Coope...

AGRICULTURAL Marketing Cooperative Societies (Amcos) plans to open three coffee processing factories in Shinyanga, Simiyu and Geita regions to support President John Magufuli's ambitious industrialisation drive.

The three factories will be Kahama Cooperative Union (KCU) in Shinyanga, Chato Cooperative Union (CKU) in Geita and Simiyu Cooperative Union (SCU) in Simiyu.

Speaking during an exclusive interview with the 'Daily News' recently Tanzania Cooperative Development Commission (TCDC) Assistant Registrar of Cooperative Societies and Head of Marketing and Investment Section Edward Massawe said all that was attributed to President Magufuli's efforts to revive cooperative societies in the country.

He noted that since ascending to power, the fifth phase government had so far demonstrated political will to revive cooperative societies in the country, saying the efforts had started producing good results.

Mr Massawe insisted that cooperative unions gave fresh impetus to various sectors of the economy, especially the agricultural sector which was the engine of the national economy.

"Farmers in different parts of the country are busy forming cooperative societies after realising that the system benefits them more when they join groups than working as individuals," he noted.

He added that cooperative societies addressed numerous challenges facing farmers, especially when it came to the availability of capital, inputs, markets and better prices.

"For instance, through cooperative unions, members (farmers) buy inputs through bulk procurement and the system makes them stand a better stance to lobby for better prices for their produce," he explained.

However, apart from notable achievements in the whole exercise of revamping the performance of cooperative unions, he said the private sector was still facing some challenges such as lack of awareness among members of the public and lack of cooperative society officers.

The Tanzania Cooperative Act No 6 of 2013 provides for the establishment of TCDC, formation, constitution, registration and operation of cooperative societies for the promotion of cooperative development and for other matters incidental to or connected thereto. 

Original Source: All Africa

[Author:Nairobi]