Dar es Salaam. Poor quality and failure to meet international standards are some of the factors identified as causing almost a half of the products produced in East African states not to reach international markets, according to a trade expert.
Mr Rashid Kibowa, the East African Community (EAC) business director, said the challenge makes most of the products to fail to cross the boundaries of the region, that is, failing to compete in the international markets. “We need to strengthen ourselves to compete with other people in the world,” said Mr Kibowa.
He was speaking in Dar es Salaam during the granting of the “EAC Quality Awards 2022.”
He noted that this can also be viewed as a threat to losing business in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) that all the members have recently ratified.
“There is a big need for entrepreneurs to produce products and expand their businesses, but most of them do not have the skills and knowledge that enable them to comply with international quality standards,” he added. He said there was a need to build the capacity of businessmen and entrepreneurs in all their product manufacturing processes to ensure that quality standards are not left behind.
Another way that would help producers compete with their African and international counterparts is to remove various barriers, including unnecessary taxes and difficult conditions for exporting products from one country to another, he said.
Standards and policy manager of the East African Business Council (EABC) Frank Dafa said that the community continues to remove obstacles that hold back businessmen and open up opportunities for them to benefit from the international markets. “In East Africa, we have taken various measures to set up systems to harmonize our laws to ensure that they do not become an obstacle to business,” he said.
The awards were given for the first time to motivate producers to realize the importance of providing quality products that will guarantee a good international market.
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Tanzania: Samia Hands Over NBC’s 354m/ – Crop Insurance Compensation to Farmers Affected By Hailstorms
President Samia Suluhu Hassan, has handed over a cheque of 354m/- from the National Bank of Commerce (NBC) as compensation to tobacco farmers, who were affected by hailstorms during the previous farming season in various regions across the country.
Handing over the cheque in Dodoma, the compensation is part of the crop insurance service provided by NBC in collaboration with the National Insurance Corporation (NIC).
Furthermore, President Samia has also handed over health insurance coverage to members of the Lindi Mwambao Cooperative Union based in Lindi Region, through the Farmers’ Health Insurance service provided by the bank in partnership with Assurance Insurance Company.
While visiting the bank’s pavilion at the Nanenane Agricultural Exhibition and being received and briefed by the bank’s Managing Director, Mr. Theobald Sabi, she said: “This crop insurance is one of the crucial solutions in ensuring farmers have a reliable income, without fear of challenges such as natural disasters, including hailstorms.
“I call upon all farmers in the country to make the best use of this important opportunity by accessing these kinds of insurance services. I also highly commend NBC and all the stakeholders participating in this programme.”
Elaborating further on the crop insurance service, the Minister of Agriculture, Hussein Bashe, stated that it will help to recover the loss farmers incurred, especially in various calamities beyond their control.
Citing them as floods, fires, and hailstorms, which have significantly affected the well-being of farmers and caused some to be reluctant to invest in the crucial sector, Mr Bashe added: “However, our President, this step by NBC is just the beginning, as this is the second year since they started offering this service, and the results are already visible.
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“As the government, we promise to continue supporting the wider implementation of this service, with the goal of ensuring that this crop insurance service reaches more farmers.”
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On his part, Mr Sabi said that the farmers who benefited from the compensations are from 23 primary cooperative unions in the regions of Shinyanga, Geita, Tabora, Mbeya, Katavi, and Kigoma.
He added: “In addition to these insurance services, as a bank, through this exhibition, we have continued with our programme of providing financial education and various banking opportunities to farmers, alongside offering them various loans, including loans for agricultural equipment, particularly tractors, to eligible farmers.:
At the NBC booth, President Samia also had the opportunity to be briefed on the various services offered by the bank to the farmers namely crop insurance and health insurance services.
There, the President had the chance to speak with some of the beneficiaries of the services, including the Vice-Chairman of the Lindi Mwambao Primary Cooperative Union, Mr. Hassan Mnumbe, whose union has been provided with a health insurance card from the bank.
Source: allafrica.com
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