Tanzania: Tanzania Breweries was advised by Premier Minister to contract local barley producers

Tanzanian Prime Minister Edward Lowassa has advised Tanzania Breweries Limited (TBL) to contract local farmers with a view to increasing barley production in the country, Tanzania Daily News posted October 20.

Addressing concerns raised by TBL's Managing Director, Craig McDougall, Lowassa said such arrangement was the only way to push up production because of guaranteed market. "Once you have contract farming in place, farmers will be assured of their market, hence they will increase barley production which you need for your factories in Dar es Salaam, Arusha and Mwanza," he said.

TBL is currently importing 25 per cent of the required barley to produce beer in the three factories in Dar es Salaam, Arusha and Mwanza.

McDougall noted that in 2006, they produced 15,000 tonnes of malting barley in collaboration with small-scale farmers in Karatu, Monduli and West Kilimanjaro. He told the Premier that if the local production could be doubled, they would stop importing barley from abroad.

He assured the PM that despite the current power crisis, they are not scared of investing more in the country, adding that they are stable because they had foreseen the problems. They produce thermo-power at the factories.

The Prime Minister regretted the power cuts facing the country at the moment, which were caused by relying on one source of power. "In the past there were reasons to rely on the hydro-power alone, but now we need to switch to thermal - the Government is doing everything possible to arrest the situation."

Earlier, the TBL Chairman, Hon. Cleopa Msuya, briefed Lowassa that their company was planning to increase production capacity by 25 per cent starting with the Mwanza plant and later Arusha before switching to Dar es Salaam. He said the plan would be implemented in four phases.

Commenting on their corporate social responsibility as requested by the PM, the TBL Corporate and Planning Director, Phocas Lasway, said that the company had done a lot and that currently they are helping to build a fence at Mchikichini area where petty traders have been moved.

"We have provided a water borehole for them to access clean water, and have granted them toilet facilities and we intend to fence the area," he said.

20 October, 2006