A farmer harvests sisal. PHOTO|FILE
Tanga. The global ban on the manufacturing and use of plastic products due to environmental concerns has increased the demand for natural fibres.
As a way to control plastic use, Tanzania set severe punishments, including a two-year prison sentence or a fine of up to $400,000, equivalent to Sh920 million for defaulting manufacturers.
Also, the government said a person found carrying a plastic bag would be subjected to an on-the-spot fine of $13, which is about Sh30,000.
The government’s decision was greeted with applause by conservation stakeholders, who called plastic a silent killer of the natural environment as it takes over 100 years to decompose.
Tanzania’s measures are similar to those taken by the neighbouring countries of Kenya and Rwanda, bringing notable improvement in addressing the challenge, despite the products being smuggled in from some countries where the ban is non-existent.
In a recent interview with The Citizen, the Tanzania Sisal Board (TSB) director general, Mr Saddy Kambona, said the intensified global ban on plastic materials is an opportunity for sisal growers.
He said global abolition of plastic materials, especially plastic fibres due to environmental concerns has increased world demand for sisal used for the manufacture of sisal fibres.
“Since plastic or nylon fibres are harmful to the environment, the global market has shifted demand to sisal fibres because they easily decompose and therefore are friendly to the environment,” said Mr Kambona.
He said vehicle manufacturers for example have switched to sisal materials for car body manufacturing, triggering demand for increased sisal production in the country and worldwide.
Mr Kambona said following the opportunity, TSB has scaled up provision of education and stakeholders’ engagement, especially farmers, in the country’s mobilisation to increase sisal production.
According to him, the board has also been connecting farmers with international buyers in order to increase market accessibility and ultimately benefit individual farmers and the government in general.
“Through the use of online marketing systems, the board has been improving export and access of new sisal markets in the world,” he said.
As TSB advocates increased sisal production, the Bank of Tanzania (BoT)’s 2020/21 annual report shows that production increased to 43,500 tonnes in the 2017/18 season, up from 35,600 tonnes recorded in the 2016/17 season.
However, production declined to 33,300 tonnes in the 2018/19 season, and to 33,200 tonnes and 30,600 tonnes in the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons respectively.
Similarly, the level of exports increased to 17,000 tonnes in 2017, up from 8,600 tonnes recorded in 2016, before an abrupt decline to 12,300 tonnes; 12,200 tonnes and 11,200 tonnes in 2018, 2019 and 2020 respectively.
Mr Kambona said following the government’s decision to include sisal on the list of strategic crops prioritised for economic growth, the board forecasts to produce 120,000 tonnes by 2025.
“Not only will increased production benefit individual farmers but also the country through revenue upsurge,” Mr Kambona told The Citizen.
According to BoT’s 2020/21 annual report, Tanzania earned $101.6 million between 2016 and 2020 from sisal exports while $17.2 million and 28.7 million were earned in 2016 and 2017 respectively. Furthermore, the Central Bank report shows that $18.8 million; $19.3 million and $17.6 million were generated respectively in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
Mr Kambona said revenue collection from domestic sisal trading declined from Sh43.9 billion obtained in 2019 to Sh36 billion generated in 2020, noting, however, that the amount increased to Sh41.7 billion last year.
He said measures undertaken by TSB have yielded positive results following a slight increase in sisal production to 39,484 tonnes last year. He mentioned lack of value addition machines as the main challenge that discourages farmers from increased engagement in the crop’s production, saying that for sisal to be traded should be processed to fibre.
“Only a few processing machines are available in the country and not only are they insufficient but aldo they are not properly functioning to produce quality fibre. This is the area where TSB is working hard so as to improve the situation and meet our expectations,” said Mr Kambona.
According to him, the government is planning to allocate Sh1 billion in the next fiscal year for procurement of value addition machines in order to increase the quality of the merchandise.
He said poor technology negatively affects sisal production and crop development, hinting that only single product fibres are the outcome of domestic value addition.
Sisal production
Mr Kambona said the production area under sisal is 120,000 hectares, making Tanzania the second largest global producer after Brazil.
This signifies that the moment Tanzanians would be mobilised to increase production of the crop, there is a possibility of the country becoming the global major producer, according to Mr Kambona.
He said many regions produced sisal in 1964 when the country was the major global producer.
“Over 442,000 hectares of land were subjected to sisal production that time, which gradually declined to 120,000 hectares in 2021,” he said.
He named regions with suitable climate for sisal farming as Tanga, Morogoro, Coast, Dodoma, Singida, Manyara, Shinyanga, Mwanza, Mara, Kagera, Kigoma, Lindi and Mtwara.
Suitable weather
According to him, sisal thrives in semi-arid areas with temperatures ranging from 24°C to 36°C, hinting that the crop produces more fibre when cultivated in areas with average rainfall per annum.
Regarding the altitude, Mr Kambona said sisal thrives in places ranging between five metres and 1,500 metres above the sea level.
Markets
Sisal produced in Tanzania is exported within the continent especially to Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa, according to the TSB boss.
Furthermore, he said while China is the largest importer of Tanzania’s sisal, the merchandise is also exported to Saudi Arabia, Spain and The Philippines.
Sisal products
Sisal fibres are used in the production of sacks and baskets and in the beauty industry, it is used in the production of weaves and artificial hair for women.
Mr Kambona said that in China, sisal is used in the assembly of vehicle boards as the crop’s fibres are considered to be environmentally friendly and stronger than fibres made from plastics.
According to him, in developed countries like China, sisal is also used in the production of sugar, something that has forced those countries to start producing sisal on a large scale.
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