Posted on December, 14, 2018 at 10:33 am
THE Private Agricultural Sector Support (PASS) has supported more than 170,000 agribusiness projects worth 122.7bn/- across the country since last year.
PASS managing director, Nicomed Bohay said this on Tuesday when speaking before the Danish ambassador to Tanzania Einar Jensen, who visited some of the PASS funded projects in Tanga Region.
Bohay said the projects had created more than 700 employment opportunities in agriculture and livestock sectors.
The official said that PASS was determined to register more than 200,000 projects before the end of this year.
PASS is committed to the provision of business development and financial services to small and medium agribusiness entrepreneurs through linkages to financial institutions.
“Our goal is to stimulate investments and promote growth of commercial agriculture and agri-businesses in the country,” Bohay said.
The 18-year-old organisation provides the banks with a 60 per cent guarantee (up to 80 per cent for women) of the loan amount. Beneficiaries can be individuals (SMEs or farmers) or farmer groups.
For his part, Danish ambassador expressed his satisfaction on the implementation of the PASS-funded projects, which in turn had relieved people from the poverty trap, vowing to continue funding more newly projects.
The envoy toured Tanga Sisal Spring Mill, which was funded at the tune of US$1.7million dollars.
Mill’s plant manager, Hussein Mkombora told the ambassador that the 12-year-old factory had employed 30 people and supports more than 300 sisal growers in Tanga Region.
The Danish ambassador also visited Tanga-based small scale dairy cattle investment, which was funded at the tune of 25m/-.
The Private Agricultural Sector Support Trust (PASS) is a facility established in the year 2000 in order to stimulate investments and growth in commercial agriculture and related sectors. It was registered in 2007 as non-profit making and non governmental organisation under the Trustees Incorporation Act, 2002 and is taxed as charitable organisation.
Source: IPP Media