3. In 2012, TAHA focused its activities on several
key areas namely mobilizing partners to support
horticulture, institutional strengthening, creating
business enabling environment for horticultural
development in Tanzania, technical support
services, marketing and information services
among others. These activities were implemented
to boost horticulture in various regions in Tanzania
including Southern Highlands, Coastal regions
(Tanga, Pwani and Dar es salaam), Northern regions
(Kilimanjaro, Arusha and Manyara) and Zanzibar.
In addition, the institution also undertook several
initiatives to build its capacity to cater for Industry
services growing demand.
In the quest to revamp the pineapple industry in
Tanzania, TAHA’s CEO Ms. Jacqueline Mkindi led a
Team of private sector partners and officials from
the GoT on a study tour to Ghana to study, evaluate
and analyze Ghana’s pineapple value chain and
the best practices around pineapple production
and marketing. The team later presented their
recommendations on how to address the key
challenges facing pineapple growers in Tanzania.
In another capacity strengthening activity that
involved a study on approaches to organizational
development, association management and
stakeholder engagement, TAHA’s Operations
Manager Mr. Amani Temu joined a study Team to
Major focus areas in
2012
Industry & TAHA
Capacity Strengthening
1
4. Zambia and Malawi to meet with the National Farmers Union of Zambia (ZNFU) and the National
Smallholder Farmers Association of Malawi (NASFAM). This study tour was organized by ACT with
support from USAID SERA. The lessons learned from similar farmer apex associations during this visit
would be a key input into the ACT’s strategic planning process. In order to assume the role of an apex
association, and to extend its services to the southern corridor and Zanzibar, TAHA established offices
in Morogoro and
Project Management & Coordination
In 2012,TAHA has been able to mobilize various partners to support horticultural development efforts.
Some of the key initiatives are as summarized below:
i. USAID’s program on institutional strengthening and support to Horticulture which aims at
strengthening the capacity of TAHA to serve the industry better especially around the TAHA key
strategic areas. TAHA becomes the first local organization in Tanzania to sign a direct grant award
with USAID.
ii. Establishing an industry bonded warehouse which focuses on addressing the long standing
challenges at the entry and exit points. This project is supported by Business Environment
Strengthening Program (BEST-AC).
iii. Enhancing planning and implementation of District Agricultural Development Plans (DADPs),
supported by BEST-AC; with a major objective of establishing strong connections between TAHA
2
TAHA Participates in G8 Summit 2012 in Washington DC, USA
5. 3
and district authorities in identifying issues, coming up with joint mechanism to address them and
making sure that horticulture is part and parcel of the ASDP-DADPs funding.
iv. A project on Horticulture incentives Package to attract investors, supported by BEST-AC; with an
objective of developing a white paper“wish list”of proposed incentives in the horticulture industry
in order to create conducive climate in the industry to attract investment in Tanzania.
v. A project on Horticultural Productivity and Market Access Improvement, This project is supported
by Winrock International- under the IWASH project in Morogoro. The project aims at improving
livelihoods of the rural poor communities in Mvomero and Kilosa Districts.
vi. Enhancing Market Competitiveness of Horticultural Crops from Small Holder farmers in Zanzibar
supported by Finnish Government through the Finnish Farmer Organizations MTK, Agricord and
Finnish Women Garden Association. TAHA is working with farmers in Zanzibar to provide technical
support to farmers, connecting them to the markets and improve infrastructure.
vii. Partnerships with Match Makers Associates / Maastricht School of Management (MMA/MSM):TAHA
signed a collaborative agreement with MMA/MSM on a project to identify and support growth of
potential Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to become investment ready so that they are able
to meet the eligibility criteria of SME Impact Fund or other financial institutions. This project is
financed through the Embassy of the kingdom of Netherlands (EKN) in Tanzania.
6. Other Strategic Partnerships/Alliances
TAHA believes in Strategic partnerships in addressing issues for Industry development. In the year
2012, TAHA was able to establish and cement partnerships at the local, regional and International fora.
These are platforms through which TAHA uses to push horticulture agenda forward. Good examples
are as follows:-
National and Regional Partnerships
1. Government of Tanzania:
TAHA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Agricultural Food Security
and Cooperatives (MAFC) to formalize our partnership on Industry development agenda. The MoU
came to put the newly Public Private Partnership (PPP) Act 2004 in motion as far as horticulture
transformation is concerned. It is through this MoU that MAFC allocated land for construction of
Horticultural Practical Centre of excellence and financial resources toTAHA to develop market support
and technology transfer infrastructure in agreed areas mainly in the SAGCOT. TAHA will continue to
engage with other Government Ministries on the same agenda.
2. SAGCOT & Kilimo Trust:
Severaldevelopmentsweremadein2012aroundTAHA’s partnershipwith thementionedorganizations
in fostering horticulture development in Tanzania. TAHA entered into a strategic agreement with
Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT-CENTRE) and Kilimo Trust which is a
strong regional organization supporting agricultural value chains in East Africa.
TAHA participated effectively in other National and Regional Platforms, safeguarding the interest of
horticultural players. Such Partners are ACT, TPSF, ATE, HCA, HODECT etc.
International Partnerships
3. G8 Strategic Alliance:
TAHA has signed a letter of intent, as one of the G8 partners in Tanzania. The Executive Director was
invited to speak at the G8 Summit 2012 in Washington DC joining H.E President Kikwete’s delegation
to the Summit.
4. German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF):
TAHA is a local partner of the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF).TAHA’s CEO was among
the panel presenters at the GMF Summit 2012 which was held in Brussels. Ms. Mkindi presentation was
on Horticultural Industry experiences and recommendations on how best agricultural transformation
in Africa can be achieved through transformational partnerships.
4
7. Partnerships with International consultants / Experts
5. John Deere
A Team of 8 experts from John Deere worked with TAHA to finetune a project plan of establishing a
self-sustaining center of excellence for horticultural practical trainings. The team also assisted TAHA
Fresh handling ltd on a plan to establish Horticultural collection points. However,TAHA will collaborate
with the GoT and the appropriate private sector entities in achieving these major undertakings.
6. International Business Machine (IBM)
A Team of 4 experts from the IBM (IBM Service Corps) worked with TAHA with an objective to
evaluate TAHAs Marketing Information System (MIS) and provided TAHA with expert opinion and
recommendations on how best the MIS system could be strengthened to better service the Industry.
Others:
TAHA interacted with other international organisations and participated in their events representing
the industry such organisations are: Partnership to Cut Hunger and Poverty in Africa, The World Food
Prize Foundation (WFP), Syngenta Foundation, Food and Agricultural Organization of the United
Nation, Corporate Council for Africa, UNDP, members of the American Congress, to mention but a few.
5
Flowers production in Zanzibar
8. TAHA has advocated for a number of reforms aimed at creating enabling environment for operation
of horticultural businesses.
The key achievements realized include:
i. Standards conformity exemption on importation and use of plastic bags for horticultural export.
The imported plastic bags will not be subjected to pre-shipment Verification of Conformity to
Standards (PVoC) programme.
ii. Signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between TAHA and MAFC on establishment of
centre of Excellence for horticultural practical training. The MoU provides for opportunity where
TAHA can be allocated land for establishment of any such facilities in Tanzania.
iii. Amendment of Finance/VAT Act to include special relief for horticultural farming and trade such
as VAT relief on agro-nets, greenhouses for horticulture, generators used in irrigation, water pump
used in irrigation, goods and services for building irrigation canals, construction of road networks,
godowns and similar storage structures and many other agricultural inputs.
Creating Business Enabling Environment
for Horticultural Development in Tanzania
iv. TRA waiver of import duty on boxes
imported from Kenyan companies
which were previously categorized
as operating under Duty Remission
Scheme.
v. Addressing the Non Tariff Measures
affecting horticultural trade with Kenya.
Kenya has agreed to:
• Remove import duty of KSH. 2 per kg of
fresh produce.
• Reduce road toll fee from US $ 32 to US
$ 15.
• Remove transit fees (KSH. 1,000 per
truck).
• Remove import ban of cut roses.
6
TAHA Chairman and MAFC PS during the MoU signing
9. This is one of the key pillars of the Association. TAHA works
with our partners especially in the area of identifying
challenges and coming up with mechanisms to address
them through our services. Our objectives have always
been to strengthen the horticultural value chains, by
directly providing technical support services to the industry
or by attracting and coordinating partnerships to ensure
service delivery to our members and the industry at large.
The following is a snapshot of what was achieved in 2012:
Technical Support
Services
• TAHA worked with 107 farmers groups which
translate to about 3,223 smallholder farmers in Zanzibar,
Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Morogoro, and Iringa. The services
directlyprovidedtofarmersincludedtechnicaltrainings
and advice on Good Agricultural Practices, access to
markets and farming as business, exposure visits of
farmers to Kenya, providing opportunity to farmer
Group leaders to compare notes, share experiences and
borrow best practices from their counterparts in Kenya.
• TAHA also developed 5 sets of training manuals,
(available at the Secretariat) to be used for farmers
capacity building. The manuals include: Financial
Literacy,valuechainanalysisanddevelopment,effective
farmer groups formation and development, farming as
business, and effective business groups’governance.
• Training on leadership and supervisory skills was
conducted on 200 farm workers of member companies.
• About4000representativesoffarmerorganizations,
private sector organizations and NGO’s from the East
African countries were trained on various aspects of the
7
10. TAHA has continued to be a one stop shop for information about the industry. TAHA is at the centre
of the industry transformation, and this year, we have been working to strengthen our marketing
and information department as our key department in ensuring optimal information flow inside and
outside the industry, while at the same time, helping in creating linkages amongst partners and other
key stakeholders.
To achieve this objective, TAHA implemented the following this year:
Industry database which maintains export and production horticultural data.TAHA has been sharing
this information with its key partners including the GoT, researchers, and other interesting parties.
Marketing Information System (MIS): TAHA has been running a MIS, whereby market data is
collected, analysed and disseminated to more than 12,000 farmers and other stakeholders.This system
has been strengthened to enhance its capacity, and it is in the process of introducing innovative
products for the industry as a whole.
Industry Promotion: Our focus this year was to enhance our promotion tools such as the website,
bulletin, logo, etc so as to improve the connections betweenTAHA and our partners.We are now using
Marketing and Information
8
horticulture value chain. This is a programme that TAHA is implementing with MS-TDC.
• Standards Promotion: as part of TAHA efforts to ensure that smallholder farmers are able to afford
the cost and knowledge of complying with international market standards, TAHA participated in
the process of translating the GLOBAL GAP Version 4 into Kiswahili. The document has already
been approved by the Global Gap International, and it has been posted on the GlobalGAP website
(http://www1.globalgap.org/cms/front_content.php?idart=2654&changelang=1).
• TAHA strengthened its internal capacity to be able to coordinate standard compliance
practices in the industry. In this regard, the TAHA Technical Manager and other identified experts
(including GLOBAL G.A.P inspectors and GLOBAL G.A.P lead auditors) have been undergoing
trainings at the local, regional and international levels with the objective of creating a pool of experts
to facilitate standards matters in the industry. TAHA is planning to establish an industry Standard
Business Unit (SBU) as a subsidiary of TAHA to manage and coordinate all standard matters and
protocol in the industry.
• Pineapple initiatives: TAHA under the strong support from the GoT and Development Partners is
championing a process of revamping the fruit industry as one of the key horticultural value chains,
with initial focus on transforming the pineapple value chain in the country. This initiative involved
study visits to other countries such as Ghana, as part of the learning process on how to build the
capacity of pineapple farmers and other value chain actors in the industry through technology
advancement and market access strategies.
11. 9
TAHAs upgraded website to announce various events and documentations. TAHA engaged in the
following in ensuring that the industry was highly promoted.
Recruitment Database: TAHA has opened up a database which captures good CVs from different
expertise for sharing with the industry
Publications: we have been promoting the industry by publicising horticultural articles through
printed media platform such as Kilimo Kwanza- the Guardian, Mkulima Mbunifu magazines, etc.
Trade shows: This year we represented the industry in the Nanenane agricultural show in Arusha and
Dodoma. TAHA emerged the third winner in the Arusha nanenane show, under the NGO’s category.
Membership Drive: TAHA recruited a substantial number of new members in all three categories
(Comprehensive, Allied, and Associate member categories)
Improved business connections/Linkages: about 20 farmer groups were linked to service providers
and local markets. Farmers were also trained on how to interpret the market information provided to
them, in a bid to empower them to negotiate business with their partners.
TAHA leads steakholders to discuss Industry issues with H.E President Dr. J.K.
12. TAHAFresh Handling Limited (TFHL) is growing stronger every year, and the members are enjoying
its reliable and quality services. The TAHAfresh Board and Management has been very active this year
in ensuring that the company is taking the right direction in becoming a competitive partner in the
logistic industry.
Industry Logistics services through
TAHAFRESH Handling Limited
10
We provide affordable, Reliable and Quality Logistic Services to the Industry
13. 11
Listed, are some of the achievements this company has realized in 2012:
i. Up to October 2012,TFHL has airlifted 710,042 Kgs of horticultural produce, and has trucked 751,772
Kgs across the Namanga border.
ii. The company is now operating two refrigerated trucks. Trucking is a new business line introduced
this year.
iii. TFHL Credit facility was introduced and has been put into operation. An amount of $ 64,644.36 has
been put into revolving credit to support transportation of fresh produce.
iv. The company has acquired licenses and has been accredited by several institutions improving its
competitiveness in the field:
a. TFHL has been Licensed or approved by TCAA (Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority) to operate a
Perishable Handling Facility at Kilimanjaro International Airport.
b. TFHL has been awarded agency for KLM
c. TFHL has also been inspected recently by IATA (International Air Transport Association) as a final
check to start operations.
d. TFHL is also an associate Accredited member of CASS Cargo Accounts Settlement System (CASS)
e. TFHL submitted its Clearing & forwarding license applications in July 2012, and were inspected
by TRA in Nov 2012 awaiting official issuance of the license early year 2013.
v. To be able to service its members best and in close collaboration with TAHA, TFHL has already
acquired an office at the Namanga Border for its daily operations, which will be officiated by January
2013. The company has an office at KIA as well.
Fresh produce at the exit point to export market
14. 12
• In a way to facilitate access to finance in the sector and as part of the TAHA work to ensure strong
connections between the industry and service providers, mainly financial institutions , TAHA
connected different financial institutions to members such as: Grassroots Business Fund, Acumen
Fund, Africa Enterprise Challenge fund, SME Impact Fund and Trade Mark East Africa Challenge
Fund.
• TAHA hosted visitors from the French Development Agency (AFD) who are interested to fund
companies with projects which have community impact. The AFD visited members who work with
small scale farmers and indicated interest in funding members or institutions which are willing to
offer credit to small scale horticultural farmers.
Access to Finance
