The dairy factory which belongs to Kahama Fresh Investments Ltd is being constructed with a loan from the Tanzania Agricultural Development Bank (TADB).
Speaking to this paper yesterday, TADB Managing Director Japhet Justine said that the bank is gearing up for financing sustainable agricultural projects that impact smallholders in various parts of the country.
“TADB is dedicated to facilitating farmers and pastoralists financially as we aim at being a leading financial institution in providing financial and technical assistance pertaining to agricultural activities. Our aim is to transform particular sub-sectors throughout the product’s value chain” he stated.
TADB deployed an expert on dairy farming for guidance and technical advice to the factory management on how to run the business and increase productivity, he further noted.
About 600 small-scale dairy farmers will directly and indirectly benefit from the construction of the factory, with TADB financing covering the purchasing of machinery and working capital for milk purchasing from small farmers in the area of the project, he elaborated.
“At TADB we value the development impact that such projects bring to smallholder farmers. When our smallholder farmers’ income is raised we are certain that the per capita income of the country can also rise;
“To us a project such as this has multi-developmental features and we are proud to be part of it.We want to play a catalyst role to ensure the real transformation of the agriculture sector in Tanzania,” the director underlined.
Josam Ntangeki, CEO and owner of Kahama Fresh Investments said that he started milk processing in 2017 with the capacity to process about 1,000 liters a day that increased to 2,500 liters by the end of last year.
“The plant construction started a few weeks ago and the laying of the foundation stone makes it official. With the loan disbursement from TADB, processing will be boosted to 10,000 liters per shift of 12 hours,” he affirmed.
The company farm area covers about 3,300 hectares, keeping 4,130 Friesian-Ankole cross breed cattle suited to that environment, he said, noting that the TADB financial facility will assure expansion of milk processing for a bigger market share.
For his part, Prof Lusato Kwirijilah a dairy industry consultant hired by TADB to provide technical assistance to the projecto said iit will be the largest milk processing factory in the Kagera region and will unlock markets for smallholder dairy farmers in the region.The financing enabled the company to supply best breed dairy cattle to smallholder farmers […]
