That warehouse receipt system in Geita is really doing work for lentil farmers. Over two years, it moved over three thousand tons of pulses in more than a dozen auctions. That brought in around three billion shillings. The acting Regional Administrative Secretary, Dr. Elfas Msenya, broke down the numbers. Before the system started last year, the region grew just five hundred and twenty tons. Now they produce over three thousand tons. That is a jump of more than eighty percent. The whole crop got sold through these organized auctions. The system lets farmers store their harvest in certified warehouses. They get a receipt for it, which they can use as collateral for loans. It also gets them better prices through transparent bidding.
Multiple agencies run the show. The Warehouse Receipts Regulatory Board and the Tanzania Mercantile Exchange handle the auctions. Other groups, like COPRA and the cooperative commission, set quality rules and provide oversight. The goal is to expand this model to other crops like green grams and sunflowers. Regional Commissioner Martine Shigela wants more farmer education on how the system works. Officials believe this structured market access is key to commercializing agriculture and stabilizing incomes.
Multiple agencies run the show. The Warehouse Receipts Regulatory Board and the Tanzania Mercantile Exchange handle the auctions. Other groups, like COPRA and the cooperative commission, set quality rules and provide oversight. The goal is to expand this model to other crops like green grams and sunflowers. Regional Commissioner Martine Shigela wants more farmer education on how the system works. Officials believe this structured market access is key to commercializing agriculture and stabilizing incomes.
