SACGOT corridor anchors 110 million Euro agricultural investment project in tea

From left to right: Juliet Kairuki, CEO, Tanzania Investment Centre, Peniel Lyimo, Deputy CEO, Presidential Delivery Bureau, Mrs Sophia Kaduma, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Agriculture; Hon. Chiza, Minister of Agriculture United Republic of Tanzania, Pierre Luigi Sigismund, Board Member and Head of Global Supply Chain Unilever; Dr Ramadhaan Mwinjika, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Transport; Ambassador Modest Mero, Permanent Representative of the Government of Tanzania to the United Nationsin Geneva. 

By A Correspondent,

Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC) has confirmed that 2014 has kicked to a positive start with respect to investment in the agriculture sector in Tanzania.

As signal of their strong confidence in the Tanzanian investment climate and the country's future economic prospects, Unilever has chosen the SACGOT corridor to expand its tea project.

The planned investment will triple Unilever’s production of tea from smallholders through outgrowers schemes. This will not only generate significant export revenue (projected at 110 million Euro), it will also position Tanzanian Tea as an original tea of international repute. 

As a partner of Tanzania’s SAGCOT initiative, Unilever has expressed its full commitment to ensure that it’s investment also addresses social economic and environmental goals.

Smallholders will be accredited according to the rain forest alliance certification. The investment will catalyze significant socio-economic development in the Iringa and Njombe regions by creating 10,000 more jobs, enhancing the livelihoods of another 2000-3000 tea small holders, and in total, touching the lives of an estimated 50,000 people.

At the recent World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Mr Pierre Luigi, Board member of Unilever, met with the Minister of Agriculture, Honourable Chiza and the team that played a key role in supporting Unilever with the development of the project and reiterated Unilever's commitment to investing in Tanzania. 

Mrs Sophia Kaduma, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, advised that Unilever has signed an MOU with the Ministry, the Tanzania Tea Board and the Tanzania Smallholder Tea Development Agency, to progress the development of the project in line with the social and economic aspirations of the Government of Tanzania.

TIC, Executive Director, Mrs. Juliet Kairuki, confirmed that Unilever had applied and was granted NationalStrategic Investor Status in December 2013 at a National Investment Steering Committee (NISC) meeting convened by the Honourable Prime Minister, Hon. Mizengo Peter Pinda in Dodoma.

Unilever is a leading global supplier of fast moving consumer goods with operations in 100 countries and sales in 190 countries. It directly employs 30,000 people and has a turnover of 3.5 billion Euros. Africa remains at the heart of their global business strategy.