Mali offers good lessons to Tanzanian mango growers on markets

 Mali offers good lessons to Tanzanian mango growers on markets – Amagro

 

By Beatrice Philemon, The GUARDIAN, TANZANIA.

14th January 2015

 

Hamad Mkopi (C)an agronomist with the Association of Mango Growers.

Mango growers in Tanzania have been advised to have a packing-house and other processing facilities where the fresh fruits are kept in the wait in cold so that they could be exported while they are fresh.

Hamad Mkopi, an agronomist with the Association of Mango Growers in Tanzania (AMAGRO) who was in Mali last year told The Guardian on Monday that Tanzanian mango growers need to have a packing-house so that they can benefit from the huge market for fresh mangoes which they have in Middle Eat and other neighbouring countries. Mkopi was accompanied by other AMAGRO members during the visit.

He said the best way to do this is to have the government invest in this area by building a big packing-house that could be used by all farmers including those engaged in the production of other fruits.

Alternatively, Amagro has called on donors who can support them in-terms of funding to do so so that they can build the facility. 

He said Amagro is also of the view that instead of giving the money directly to the association, the donor can just build the facility and hand over the same them on agreement.

“With the support of donors, mango farmers will be able to start building up their own packing-house and its mango industry to serve export markets on a much larger scale,” he said.

“Just look, in Mali growers have a good packing-house for mangoes and this facility has helped them to export fruits that meet customer needs to Europe,” he said.

Elaborating on the tour which was organised by Amagro members in Mali, he said, in April, 2014 four members were paid a tour to Mali to see how mango growers operate there as a way of improving their ventures once they return home.

The trip was organised by the International Trade Centre. While there, they met with farmers engaged in mango produces, government officials, mango buyers including officials from the institutions that supervise mango growing that country, he said.

According to him, mango growers in Mali have advanced greatly as they have proper equipment for mango harvesting, have packaging materials, a way to fend off diseases, as well as a packing-house for export mangoes. 

Besides, in Mali mango growers have managed to secure a huge market in European because they focus on organic farming. 

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN