Tanzania: Refugee Camp Inhabitants Excel in Tobacco Production

Source from:  Tanzania Daily News 02/23/2010

Dar Es Salaam - ULYANKULU settlement camp for refugees last year recorded bumper tobacco harvests, raking in some 2.7bn/- to the region. Settlement Officer Abdulkarim Mnacho told the 'Daily News' at the camp today that even though the area has only 50,000 people, production was high because of what he described as hard working inhabitants. He said out of the 16,000 tonnes of tobacco produced in Urambo last year, some 900 tonnes were produced in the resettlement camp, with sales from the produce to Alliance One and Tanzania Leaf Tobacco Company bringing in 2.7bn/-. Alliance One is this year targeting to buy from the resettlement camp some 700 tonnes out of the 1,400 tonnes expected to be produced and marketed by the camp inhabitants. Production had dwindled last year allegedly due to undersupply of seeds. The government has already declared its firm commitment to increase tobacco production from the 58,702 tonnes produced last crop season to 60,000 tonnes envisaged in the current 2009/2010. Tobacco, one of the country's major cash crops, has great contribution to government coffers as official government figures show that a total of 340bn/- has been collected as tobacco taxes in the last five years. Some 52bn/-, 59bn/- and 62bn/- were collected in 2003/2004, 2004/2005 and 2005/2006 crop seasons, respectively. A further 77bn/- and 90bn/- were racked in the 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 seasons, respectively. Tobacco production rose to 59,000 tonnes in 2009 from 22,000 tonnes produced in 2000, with local producers' earnings ranging from 300,000/- to 500,000/- per hectare. Enditem