| Abstract |
Maize is the main staple crop in Tanzania. The average annual national maize consumption is estimated at over 3m metric tons (MT) (USAID, 2017), while production in 2016 was 5.9m MT harvested from 4.0m ha with a productivity of 1.46 t/ha (FAO, 2018). Maize is consumed in a variety of forms including ugali, green boiled or roasted maize, or as a popcorn snack. Tanzania consumes 85-90% of its maize production and exports the rest, mainly to Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Malawi, Somalia and South Sudan (USAID, 2017). In 2015, about 61,498.4 MT of maize grain was exported. Due to the importance of the crop, Building Nutritious Food Basket (BNFB), through the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), conducted a study in 2018 to assess the country’s production and processing of maize grain, the demand and supply of seed, the status of Pro-vitamin A (PVA) maize, and the export of maize. This information will help in understanding the position of the PVA maize value chain in the larger maize value chain, in addition to filling gaps in data for the maize seed value chain in Tanzania. The study was comprised of a review of the published reports, and field surveys in 24 regions of the Tanzanian mainland, namely, Dodoma, Geita, Iringa, Kagera, Katavi, Kilimanjaro, Kigoma, Lindi, Manyara, Mara, Mbeya, Morogoro, Mtwara, Mwanza, Njombe, Rukwa, Ruvuma, Singida, Simiyu, Shinyanga, Songwe, Tabora and Tanga. The study established that in the past three years (2014/2015, 2015/2016 and 2016/2017), a total of 41,705.61 MT of certified maize seed was available on the market, averaging 13,902 MT per annum. It was observed that the production of Quality Declared Seed (QDS), was not progressing well. Information about QDS was only available in the Tanga region. The data gathered from the 24 regions showed that the annual demand for maize seed was about 96,042 MT. The recorded amount of improved maize seed supplied in 2017/2018 from the regions was 43,964 MT, which was only 46% of the demand, and the amount used was 32,726 MT, or 34% of the demand. About 11,238 MT was not used due to the availability of recycled seed and farmers’ saved seed, which was 64,868 MT, or 66% of the demand. Currently, there are 106 registered seed companies in the country, but only 50 (47%) are active and of these, 37 (35%) deal with the maize seed business. Out of the 37 seed companies, 24 produce seed in the country, while 13 import and market maize seed from abroad. The study assessed the areas with potential for agricultural production and for maize production, the current area under maize cultivation, and the production and processing of maize grain. The data shows that the area with potential for agriculture in Tanzania is about 29,246,727 ha. Of this, the area with potential for maize cultivation is 16,195,384 ha (55%), but the current area that was under maize cultivation during the 2017/18 season was only 4,839,842 ha (30% of the area with potential for maize). These data indicate that there is still a lot of land (70%) suitable for maize cultivation currently not being used for the crop. The results of the current study were very similar to those of a sample survey conducted by the Tanzania National Bureau of Statistics in 2016/2017, which indicated that 17,120,571 ha of land in Tanzania could potentially be used for maize cultivation, while the total area planted with maize was 6,067,966 ha (35%), (NBS, 2018). The study shows that maize grain production in Tanzania has been improving. Production has increased from 5,115,688 MT in 2012/2013 to 8,019,953 MT in 2016/2017. Maize productivity increased from 0.5 t/ha in 2003/2004 to an average of 1.8 t/ha in 2016/2017, while in the southern highlands, Ruvuma, Rukwa, Katavi, Songwe and Mbeya regions recorded an increase in productivity of up to 3.4 t/ha (Ministry of Agriculture, 2018). This increase may be attributable to the introduction of an agricultural input subsidy program in 2003/2004. Data collected indicate that about 7,806,409 MT (85.4%) of the maize grain produced are processed, and 1,127,347 MT (14.6%) are consumed without processing. Maize processing is carried out in factories and by small milling machines. The capacity of milling machines/factories ranges from 250 MT per year to 3,500 MT per year. The BNFB project supplied small packs of samples of PVA maize to selected stakeholders in Tanzania. The study established that some of these seeds were planted at zonal agricultural show grounds (Nane-Nane) at Arusha, Morogoro and Mbeya to create awareness in farmers, while others were planted and harvested for own consumption. Further, about 290 farmers were trained in Mwanza and Morogoro regions on the importance of PVA maize. Through this training process, four shops in Mwanza and Morogoro became agents for selling PVA maize products. PVA maize has become popular in Dar es Salaam, and more than 25 retail shops are currently selling PVA maize products. In the 2017/2018 season, AFCO Investments Company Limited contracted four farmers from Kilimanjaro and Coast regions to produce PVA maize grain. Of the four farmers, three were from Kilimanjaro region and one was from Msata village in Bagamoyo district, Coast region. However, the study established that there was little awareness about PVA maize seeds among farmers in the Lake Zone. Recently, AFCO started to create awareness among consumers on the importance of PVA maize in Mwanza and Morogoro regions. Apart from AFCO, Sokoine University Graduate Entrepreneurs Cooperative (SUGECO) received 200kgs of PVA maize seed from Meru Agro Tours and Consultants Company, which they distributed to 10 contracted farmers. |
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