Clove Price: Farmers Denounce Foreign Marketeers
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Friday 14 December, 2012 SUPPORTING THE PROMOTERS OF THE GREEN REVOLUTION Talk to us for free sms KILIMO to 15774 [email protected] CLOVE PRICE: FARMERS DENOUNCE FOREIGN MARKETEERS SPECIAL REPORT: ANALYSIS: NEW GREEN REVOLUTION ‘NUISANCE’ TAXES, WHAT FOR? MODEL…WHO IS BEHIND IT? Pages 4, 5 Pages 12 - 14 Friday 14 December, 2012 Friday 14 December, 2012 The Guardian KILIMO KWANZA The Guardian KILIMO KWANZA 2 EDITORIAL FOOD SECURITY 3 inside Climate change threatens New EJAT award to change rural lives food security, incomes “climate-smart” agriculture across Tanzania, and especially in the south - ern highlands where much of the coun - try’s food is produced. This policy should seek to raise agricultural pro - ductivity in environmentally and so - cially sustainable ways. It should bolster the ability of smallholders to cope with the negative effects of climate change and should aim at reducing greenhouse gas emis - sions and increasing carbon storage on farmland. To develop and implement an appropriate and effective climate change policy for the country will be no easy task, but it is both urgent and es - sential. 6 Success will rest on building the knowledge and capacity of all stake - Clove farmers deserve more holders involved in the process. It is vi - tal to encourage informed discussion making and debate across the spec - trum of interested parties – from the than a spicy whiff of success general citizenry, farmers’ organisa - New green revolution tions and other local interest groups, like civil society entities, policymakers at all levels of government. TEMMING from the flower buds of ing in a deadlock that calls for a quick resolution. model in the offing A welcome and positive step in this an evergreen tropical plant, cloves The impasse has led to calls for increased direction is a 3-year Alliance for a are an aromatic herb that has many support and deregulation of the clove trade which Green Revolution (AGRA) funded proj - culinary, medicinal and aesthetic is a mainstay for the Isles’ economy. Coupled with ect that will be implemented by the uses. The aroma of the clove is pleas - intense international competition from other Tanzania Environment Policy Action ant, yet spicy and is used as deodor - clove producing states, the status quo is hurting Node and coordinated by the Open ant to freshen up rooms, drawers, closets and as the farmers as they heavily depend on the crop University of Tanzania’s Department of San ingredient in some perfumes and air freshen - for their livelihood. Environmental Studies. ers. Growing stiff competition in international The project will provide up-to-date When applied directly to muscle cramps, markets has also precipitated the need to brand information on climate change, and will clove oil has a stimulant and disinfectant effect Zanzibari cloves, which are believed to be a class strive to improve further the under - important in increasing blood circulation, disin - above the rest. Overall, there is a growing need to standing of the impact of climate fection and relieving pain and swelling. Used ex - revolutionise the clove trade. change on the smallholder agriculture ternally on the body, it can relieve the pain in In these days of the worldwide web and the and the coping and adaptation strate - chronic rheumatism, toothache and lumbago. free flow of facts, figures and opinion, it is regret - gies of the farmers in the breadbasket Cloves have also been used to relieve stomach table that our farmers still lack an appropriate region. gas and pain, to alleviate nausea and vomiting means of gauging international clove markets This information will be used to and are also used in the manufacture of body and thus set the prices for their crop. 12 promote the development of an evi - soaps, oils and toothpaste. In cooking, cloves are If, indeed, deregulation of the industry is the By Evelyn Namubiru-Mwaura, the growth of the agricultural sector is son as well as the shortening of the The government of Tanzania un - dence-based climate change policy, and invaluable in spicing up a wide range of foods. path to higher profits for farmers, then the pow - AGRA significant because it implies deepen - rainy season failure to accurately pre - derstands the importance of agricul - to encourage more political attention Pemba and Unguja islands are famous for ers relevant authorities should figure out how to ing poverty for the majority of the rural dict the onset of a rainy season has ture as a driver of general economic and commitment of resources – both the cultivation of the aromatic herb and were loosen the strings without hurting the revenue Country’s mainstay population. meant that some farmers are caught growth and that pinning economic de - public and private – to climate change once leading producers of the crop globally. gained from the trade. GRICULTURE, 95 per unprepared. velopment plans on improved agricul - issues in Tanzania. After years of setbacks in the development of Furthermore, greater access to agro-inputs cent of which is rain-fed, Challenges Some plant too early while others tural productivity is a risky strategy in An important part of the initiative the crop, last year the government and other like improved seeds, fertilisers and pesticides for supports the livelihoods of Increasing socio-economic growth, plant too late and end up losing their the face of impending climate change. entails capacity building for policymak - stakeholders launched a special plan to regener - the farmers should go a long way in upping the Is organic farming a two thirds of Tanzanians reducing food insecurity, and accelerat - investment in agriculture. The nation’s As a response, it has developed a ers and other stakeholders on what ate clove growing. However, shortage of proper quality and quantity of cloves reaped year on and employs 80 per cent ing poverty reduction in Tanzania, par - farmers – the vast majority of which fairly comprehensive plan, legislative adaptation to climate change implies, information on world market clove prices is hurt - year. solution to Africa? of the rural workforce. ticularly in rural areas, necessitates an are resource-poor smallholders – must and policy frameworks for environment and the necessary elements of an effec - ing Zanzibar’s clove farmers. We anticipate that cloves will continue to Majority of Tanzania’s population lives increase in agricultural productivity. find ways to adapt to these changing and natural resources management. tive adaptation and mitigation policy. The farmers have resorted to stockpiling the shape the economy of the Isles for the foreseeable Ain rural areas where communities rely Unfortunately, agricultural productivi - circumstances. For example, in 2007, the government Platforms for sharing information herb in the hope of gaining higher prices for their future. As such, rapid measures aimed at ensur - heavily on natural resources. For in - ty in Tanzania is highly susceptible to did develop a National Adaptation will be established, and workshops will produce. They have also complained of poor ac - ing that clove farmers reap more than a spicy stance, over 90 per cent of Tanzanians extreme weather variations and poor Programme of Action (Napa), which be held to improve the development cess to agro-inputs like seedlings, which in turn whiff of success from their sweat and toil, are rely on fuel wood from trees and other capitalisation. provides some useful information and and implementation of an effective cli - adversely affects their output. m o r e t h a n w e l c o m e . vegetation for their domestic energy re - Climate variability, a precursor of identifies several ways farmers can re - mate change policy. The government’s decision to raise the official quirements. climate change, is already affecting duce the impacts of climate change. The project will initially focus on price of cloves from 3,000/- to 15,000/- a kilo last Agriculture is the main economic Tanzania. Climatic patterns are becom - However, Napa is generally consid - five districts in the Southern Highlands year has gone a long way in curbing illegal trade activity, accounting for 45 per cent of ing both less predictable and more se - ered an inadequate framework for the which constitute part of Tanzania’s in the crop. But this has not translated into ready the country’s GDP and 55 per cent of vere. The National Vulnerability and An important part of kind of detailed planning and delivery breadbasket area. The lessons learned profits for the farmers, who are still losing out to foreign exchange earnings. The sector Adaptation Assessment of Tanzania es - of options needed for limiting the cli - there will help scale up adaptation and rogue traders and lack of direct access to the in - employs more than 80 per cent of the timate that northern and south eastern the initiative entails mate change impacts. A recent update mitigation practises across the country ternational markets. Citing high prices, some Wallace Mauggo population. In view of its importance to sectors of the country would experience capacity building for of the NSGRP includes the goal of en - and over the longer term. traders have abandoned the business, culminat - Editor the country’s economy; the trend in an increase in rainfall ranging from be - suring food and nutrition security, en - Still, this is only an initial step to - Tanzania’s agricultural sector has been tween 5 per cent and 45 per cent. The policymakers and vironmental sustainability, climate wards a comprehensive, evidence- of concern. central, western, south western, south - other stakeholders on change adaptation and mitigation, but based climate change policy. The path During the period 2000-2008 agri - ern and eastern parts of the country to achieve these goals requires a more that must be followed extends well into 16 culture realised a modest average might experience a decrease in rainfall what adaptation to specific policy on climate change.