Market News

AGRICULTURE sector grew by an average of 5.2 per cent in the past five years and still remains one of the biggest pillars of the country's economic growth.
And, for almost five years, products from farmers contributed about 17 per cent in the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the government has said.
According to Permanent Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Finance and Planning, Dotto James, the sector also raised employment opportunities by 58 per cent as of 2018.
Mr James who doubles as the country's Pay Master General (PMG) made the speech, while officially opening the National Workshop on the implementation of Warehouse Receipt System and Tanzania Mercantile Exchange (TMX) on Sesame and Cashew nut farming products.
The workshop was organised by TMX in collaboration with other stakeholders including Financial Sector Deepening Trust (FSDT), Warehouse Receipt Regulatory Board, Cashew nut Board of Tanzania (CBT) and Tanzania Cooperative Development Commission (TCDC).
In his speech read on his behalf by the Commissioner of Financial Sector Development, Dr Charles Mwamwaja, the PS said that between 2015 and 2019, the agriculture sector continued to grow at an average of 5.2per cent, while the sub sector of agricultural products continued growing at an average of 5.8per cent.
However, Mr James pointed out that based on the fact that the agricultural sector was key to the country's economy, the government saw the importance of organizing a workshop to convene stakeholders in Sesame and Cashew nut products so as to address the challenges in order to increase efficiency.
"Because of this, the main agenda of this meeting is to look on supervision of Warehouse Receipt System (WRC) and selling of agricultural products through TMX on Sesame and Cashewnut," he noted.
According to TMX Chief Executive Officer, Godfrey Malekano, his institution was the first commodity exchange in Tanzania.
The exchange was established as a platform where farmers, traders, exporters and other various market actors should be able to access domestic and global market and obtain a fair price in selling or buying of commodities.
He insisted that TMX was an organized marketplace, providing a platform where buyers and sellers come together to trade, and become assured of quality, quantity, payment, and delivery.
Equally, he underscored the need for the government to improve the Warehouse Receipt System so as to increase efficiency to farmers and as well allow local and international businesspeople to purchase products online.
Source: allafrica.com

Machinga — Over 800 people engaged in gold mining in Machinga on Friday were delighted when government reaffirmed its commitment to enhance the mining industry in the area and country at large.
Minister of Mining, Rashid Gaffar, visited people engaged in illegal gold mining in Busiri River in traditional authorities Liwonde and Nsanama in the district. Busiri River borders the two traditional leaders.
In his statement, Gaffar assured people from the area government would guide them to follow proper procedures so that they carry out their mining activities legally and freely.
"I have learnt that people here have built houses and paid school fees for their children through this illegal mining.
"The Tonse Government wants to uplift lives of the local people, as such, we will help you follow proper procedures so that the mining activity that are taking place here should be legal and you should do it freely," said the minister.
He, therefore, advised people from the area not to allow foreigners to engage in the activity.
"My ministry was informed that foreigners are the ones doing mining here, but we have all witnessed that these are people from Malawi.
"As such, we can't stop them using force, but rather help them so that they can be self reliant and that government should also benefit.
"The government created the Ministry of Mining to be a stand-alone portfolio so that we should put the mining activities as one of the priority areas," Gaffar said in an interview during the tour.
He added, "We need to provide these local miners with equipment so that they can carry out their works properly. We have witnessed that they are using old methods of mining which are tiresome and a long process.
"For this activity to be a success there is need for these people to be in cooperatives so that we can easily assist them," added the minister.
Traditional Authority Liwonde said he was glad with the current administration for showing commitment to uplift people from his area who are engaged in gold mining.
"When we heard that the minister is visiting my area, we were worried that the mining activities would be stopped while our people employed themselves in this industry to find food for their families," said T.A. Liwonde.
Machinga District Commissioner, Rosemary Nawasha asked the minister to consider devolution of the mining industry and that the council should be advised accordingly.
"Over 800 people from this area are the ones involved in gold mining activities and we are told the surveyors are from Ntcheu, Balaka and Lilongwe," said the DC.
Source: Malawi News Agency (Mana)

Falling costs and improved sales networks mean that small-scale solar power for households or micro-businesses is taking off across Africa. Crucially, this is fast becoming a self-sustaining sector that can generate its own revenues, and allowing numerous companies of all sizes to cater for demand on a commercial basis.
The reasons for this change in the landscape for small-scale solar are not hard to find. As consultancy Kleos Advisory put it in a recent report on the sector: “In 2010 a typical solar unit could replace a kerosene lamp for around three hours per day – hardly a replacement for grid power. Today an affordable solar unit can power a 32-inch television with satellite, 24 hours a day. In five years’, time affordable solar units are expected to be able to power all the key routine devices many Africans have in their homes, such as mobile phones, TVs, fans, lights and the Internet.”
The widely used pay-as-you-go model for the sector enables consumers to buy a small solar unit with a rechargeable battery pack on a rent-to-own basis. They make repayments via mobile phone at a cost similar to those of buying kerosene for lighting and paying someone else for phone recharging. Typically, they can pay off the costs of the solar unit and other equipment in around 18 months and then own it outright.
GOGLA, an association representing the off-grid solar industry, estimated in 2019 that over 5m pay-as-you-go sales had been made in Africa since 2015, with more than 1m sales in the first half of 2019 alone.
Sustainable business
Kleos, whose report was carried out in collaboration with small-scale solar provider Azuri Technologies, says this means that up to 25m people are getting the benefits of off-grid power via this model without any direct government or development institution financial support, and with the prospect of a rapid rise in uptake over coming years.
However, there is little prospect that household-scale solar installations could power heavier duty equipment, such as washing machines or hair dryers – and this is not going to be a solution for powering cookers anytime soon. Kleos says that for most off-grid Africans using small-scale solar this won’t be a problem because they have limited power needs or have access to a diesel generator to run any more power-hungry equipment. But, at the moment, that is unlikely to include the very poorest Africans.
This has led to some criticism that proponents of small-scale solar are overstating the benefits to those without electricity access, because the poorest remain excluded. They might be able to acquire a simple solar powered lamp, or even a non-rechargeable battery powered torch with a long lifespan, but not a generator or a solar system.
A report published in February 2020 by consultancy 60 Decibels, and backed by UK development finance institution CDC, notes that despite the growing availability of financing, the poorest were underrepresented among users. Some 37% of off-grid energy customers around the world live below the $3.20 a day poverty line, compared to 60% of the population as a whole in the developing markets in which 60 Decibels operates.
“These data suggest that whilst off-grid energy offers tremendous promise to bridge the global energy divide, to do so we need to see more accessible financing options, lower prices, smarter subsidy, and wider distribution,” the report says.
Supporting the sector
CDC Chief Executive Nick O’Donohoe says greater inclusivity is needed but there are Africans who are so poor that it is hard for energy businesses to serve them on a commercial basis and they will continue to require aid, grant support or subsidies.
However, this shouldn’t detract from the benefits off-grid solar has brought. “There are probably 50m low-income Africans that have access to power who wouldn’t have been able to afford it before. And in most cases, it’s replacing kerosene in homes. So, it’s a win-win by any standards,” he says.
One element of CDC’s support for the sector has been its investment in M-KOPA, one of the world’s largest pay-as-you-go solar energy companies. The company’s off-grid solar home systems now operate in over 750,000 low-income households in Kenya and Uganda.
CDC invested $11.6m of equity in M-KOPA in 2016 and a further $7m in 2017. In 2017, CDC also provided $20m of debt financing, as part of a $55m local currency facility with Stanbic, FMO and Norfund.
Source: African Business Magazine.