Tanzania has hatched a multibillion-shilling investment plan to revitalize its Kilimanjaro Malting Plant, a move that is poised to benefit barley farmers across the country by boosting their production and marketing.
This comes at a time the country’s statistics show that the crop’s production has been growing at an average annual rate of 13.11 per cent since 1972 to 2021 but as a result of unstable market, farmers’ morale has been reducing.
“The multibillion-shilling investment by Tanzania Breweries Limited (TBL), I trust, puts the country in the right direction that will lead to the export of barley once the plant is fully operational,” said Hussein Bashe, Tanzania’s Minister of Agriculture.
The Kilimanjaro Malting Plant is being built in Moshi.
Modern technology
According to Joel Msechu, a senior TBL official, in the revival plan of the malting plant, the country is set to deploy new-age technology called RimoMalt that helps minimize costs of production.
“RimoMalt is the first fully modular all-in-one standardised malting technology developed by Swiss equipment manufacturer Bühler and represents a breakthrough in the malting industry as it offers a plant structure that can grow with the demands of customers,” said Msechu.
The plant was forced to stop its operations some years back as a result of high operating costs, particularly water and energy running costs due to outdated technology.
17,500 outgrowers targeted
The country is set to engage some 17,500 outgrowers contract farming to cultivate barley as raw material to feed the local company for further processing.
This exercise which will be supervised by the government and TBL is set to be implemented in phases with the first beneficiaries being barley farmers in the regions such as Manyara, Kilimanjaro, Mbeya, and Rukwa.
According to Bashe, this will set the stage for Tanzania to benefit from the Africa Continental Free Trade Area as a signatory member; a move that will ensure Tanzania not only becomes a major exporter of malted barley but also a leader in the use of modern technology.
“Our plan is that in the coming three years, Tanzania will not be importing any more malted barley but instead will be exporting it to other countries,” he said.
In 2021, Tanzania exported $81.4k in barley, making it the 64th largest exporter of barley in the world.
The fastest growing export markets for barley of Tanzania between 2020 and 2021 were Uganda ($64.5k) and Ireland ($3).
Revival in phases
TBL says the Kilimanajro Malting Plant revival project will be implemented in phases, where the first for 2023/24 fiscal year will involve investing $10.5 million to produce the 12,000 metric tonnes of malt.
Phase two, which will be implemented in the 2024/25 fiscal year, will involve scaling up the project’s construction to produce 16,000 metric tonnes of malt with an investment of about $6.3 million.
The revival of the malting facility will see the plant’s capacity for processing barley, a key ingredient in the production of beer, shoot up to 32,000 tonnes a year from 15,000 tonnes previously, according to Bashe.
