In a fresh bid to address challenges associated with food availability, Tanzania is stepping up efforts to significantly expand its food storage capacity.
The ambitious initiative has been unveiled by the Tanzania National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA).
According to NFRA Chief Executive Officer, Dr Andrew Komba, the initiative will involve a significant expansion of the Agency’s storage infrastructure through the construction of new warehouses and the rehabilitation of existing ones.
The overall objective is to increase the country’s grain storage capacity from the current 776,000 tonnes to 3,000,000 tonnes by 2030, in line with the Government’s directive.
“The initiative is intended to strengthen Tanzania’s national food storage capacity, address challenges associated with food availability and ensure adequate strategic reserves to meet domestic consumption requirements and other needs,” Dr Komba said.
He added that the state-owned Agency was continuing to implement various grain storage infrastructure projects across the country, with several projects already underway.
He explained that in the Dodoma Zone, NFRA was constructing a warehouse with a storage capacity of 10,000 tonnes at a cost of TZS 4 billion, while in Morogoro, construction was underway on a 30,000-tonne-capacity warehouse, alongside supporting infrastructure, at a cost of TZS 8 billion.
Dr Komba further revealed that in the Arusha Zone, the Agency was constructing a warehouse with a storage capacity of 5,000 tonnes at a cost of TZS 2.3 billion.
Meanwhile, in the Shinyanga Zone, construction of a 10,000-tonne-capacity warehouse was progressing in Nzega District, Tabora Region, at a cost of TZS 4 billion.
He said that alongside the construction of new warehouses, NFRA was also undertaking rehabilitation works on ageing storage facilities across several zones to restore and enhance their grain storage capacity.