Posted on December, 17, 2018 at 10:28 am
IN efforts to protect farmers’ interests and promote productive agriculture to attain the industrial economy goal, the Weigh and Measures Agency (WMA) has intensified a war on over-packaging of crops in bags (lumbesa).
As a result, farmers are exploited since a sack supposed to be packaged only in 100km is packaged in at least 180km. WMA Executive Director, Dr Ludovick Manege, said the move was part of WMA’s responsibility to ensure packaging was done in accordance with section 340 of the Measures Act, 2002 (R.E 2016).
“As we envision Tanzania becoming the industrial economy, it’s our role to ensure measurements in all businesses are correct so that nobody is at a disadvantage,” he said.
The director noted that WMA was operating country- wide to prevent crop sales based on a lumbesa system, but only on an authorised process, which used proper packaging.
According to him, the move is in response to President John Magufuli’s directives that small- scale farmers’ rights should be protected through the use of authorised measurement equipment.
He noted that to ensure the President’s directives were well-implemented, Prime Minister, Kassim Majaliwa also directed all municipalities countrywide through the Regional Administration and Local Government Authorities to support WMA’s war on dishonest traders, who were exploiting farmers.
According to him, the lumbesa system has also led to low revenue collection in municipal councils and destruction of roads. Recently, the media reported that WMA carried out inspection and verification of weighing scales in five regions, where cashew nuts were being
cultivated, namely Mtwara, Lindi, Ruvuma, Coast and Tanga.
During the exercise, weighing scales of 26 districts, 1,726 villages and 623 Agricultural Marketing Cooperatives (AMCOS) were inspected and verified.
Source: Daily News