WFP: Sorghum farmers have vast world markets

William Lasway, the World Food Programme (WFP) country monitoring officer, issued this encouragement here yesterday, addressing a forum for sorghum crop stakeholders including farmers, buyers, seed producers and input distributors.

Rosemary Senyamule, the regional commissioner, officiated at the forum tailored to enable the participants to brainstorm over the development of the vital agricultural sub-sector.

The WFP official said the UN agency plans to purchase at least 200,000 tonnes of sorghum locally each year, noting that WFP needs the produce as part of its relief activities among refugee communities and strife torn countries.

He said Tanzania has favourable agroclimatic zones and suitable soil for the cultivation of the crop, but efforts are needed to assist farmers to engage into vast and professional production of sorghum.

WFP has for a long time collaborated with the government to assist local farmers to increase production in the crop sub-sector, while Meshack Panga, the Farm Africa project officer, affirmed that the NGO was running a project to scale up production of sorghum in all Dodoma Region districts.

“Through the robust project, we have so far managed to reach out to 30,000 farmers across the districts and the initiative continues to support the farmers until 2028 where it will phase out,” he expressed.

Improved quality had also enabled prices to increase substantially to 800/- per one kilogram, nearly four times the price less than a decade ago, he said.

Patric Byeshulilo, an officer from Apeck International Ltd linked with producers in several countries in the region, told the forum that his company was working to search for vast markets for the crop in different countries, saying they have so far managed to get a market for at least 6,000 tonnes in Burundi.

Mwanahamisi Msangi, the Cereals and Other Produce Board of Tanzania (CPB) quality assurance officer, said the board is the major buyer of local sorghum.

During the 2020/21 harvest season upwards of 1,000 tonnes were purchased rising to 3,000 tonnes during the 2021/22 season.

The board has expectations for at least 10,000 tonnes to be purchased next season, she elaborated, while Ezekiel Noah, the Tanzania Agricultural Seed Agency (ASA) agricultural and marketing officer, said the agency has in stock 200 tonnes of improved seeds for assisting the farmers. ASA indicative prices specify a price of 3,000/- for one kilogram of the seeds, he said.

In her closing remarks, the RC said each district has been directed to set aside 2,000 hectares for professional cultivation of the crop, to meet market demand.

Dan Collison, the Farm Africa CEO at Farm Africa is implementing a robust project to help introduce 100,000 sorghum farmers in the region to climate-smart agriculture techniques.

With the generous funding packages from Irish Aid, the Mastercard Foundation and the World Food Programme, by enabling the farmers access to better seeds and improved post-harvest practices.

“Despite facing dry conditions in 2023, through the project, the beneficiary farmers have achieved an incredible 300 percent increase in sorghum production. And they’re now selling their sorghum for up to 780/-per kilo this year, from 250/- per kilo three years ago,” he said.

In the semi-arid region of Dodoma, most smallholder farmers rely on the sorghum they grow to feed their families, but low yields have regularly pushed people into hunger, he added.