Dar es Salaam — Tanzania has signed a $1 billion partnership agreement with a Chinese firm to commercialise cassava farming and processing, raising hopes to growers who have been grappling with the challenge of accessing reliable markets.
Tanzania Agricultural Export Processing Zone Limited and Epoch Agriculture (TAEPZ) from China said they created an out-grower scheme that will ensure sufficient production of cassava for processing. The firm will also establish an industrial park comprising of factories to produce cassava flour, cassava starch, animal feeds, organic fertiliser and paper pulp, starting with three regions of Mtwara, Lindi and Coast, according to firm’s chairperson Dior Feng. “The next phase will include production of industrial sugar and ethanol,” she said.
It was not clear when exactly this will start but Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF) said it will intervene to make sure it kicks off as soon as possible.
