Dar es Salaam. Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania on Tuesday, May 9, 2023.

TPDF delegation tours Bangladesh University of Professionals

A Tanzania People’s Defense Force (TPDF) delegation visited the Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP) this week as the military force is mulling over the possibility of establishing the same university in Tanzania.

Based in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, BUP is a public university run by Bangladesh Armed Forces. On its website, the university says it exists to enable the South Asian nation to keep pace and to be at par with the fast-developing world in such areas as national security, war strategy, and medical, engineering and technology.

A press release by the university said the delegation visited the university to “have sufficient knowledge and experience which would contribute to establishing a similar university in Tanzania.”

The delegation consisted of Commodore Bagancwera Traseas Rutambuka, Colonel Nilinda William Duguza, Colonel Robert Epimark Kessy, Colonel Laurent Elias Mgongolwa, Lieutenant Colonel Erasto Samwel Babere, Major Richard Stanford Mlindika, and Fatuma Omary Katumbili.

BUP vice-chancellor Major General Md Mahbub-ul Alam, hosted the delegation. During the visit, they were briefed about BUP’s laws, basic functions, affiliated institutions’ management procedures, etc.

BUP pro-vice-chancellor, registrar, and deans of various faculties were also present. Finally, the delegation visited Moot Court Lab, Media Lab, the Bangabandhu Chair, and the campus area.

Australia’s Base Resources identifies rutile in early-stage Tanzania exploration

Australia-based mineral sand company Base Resources Limited announced Tuesday that phase one exploration drilling at its Umba South prospect in northern Tanzania had confirmed the presence of rutile mineralisation but in a wide grade range.

The company said that average grades from the 3,000-metre programme were around 20 per cent for the heavy mineral but varied between five per cent and 50 per cent.

It explained that three primary geological domains were identified. However, a preliminary mineralogical assessment of drill samples is yet to be completed, with rutile calculated based on XRF analysis of the non-magnetic fraction of heavy minerals.   

A phase 2 infill drilling program to assess the continuity of saprolite mineralisation, one of the three zones identified, has been completed. The results are expected to be available in the third quarter of 2023.

These results will assist in planning future exploration activities at Umba South. However, a current moratorium on new mining permits restricts access to areas over the border in Kenya.

Agri-tech company iProcure expands to Tanzania, partners with Farm to Market Alliance

iProcure, a data-driven African agricultural input supply company, announced Tuesday its expansion into Tanzania through its partnership with the Farm to Market Alliance (FtMA), a consortium of public and private institutions that aims to increase income and strengthen the resilience of smallholders.

The company said its partnership with FtMA will improve access to supplies and services to over 125,000 farmers in Tanzania.   

iProcure says it has revolutionised traditional agricultural supply chains in East Africa by developing its own distribution infrastructure connecting major agricultural input suppliers directly to local agro-dealers via its proprietary distribution technology system. 

“By cutting out the multiple levels of middlemen in the traditional agricultural supply chain and providing technology-driven insights on supply levels and price, iProcure ensures the availability, quality, and delivery of critical agricultural inputs like fertilisers and seeds while delivering savings. Agrodealers, in turn, can provide the farmers that depend on them with the products they need when they need them,” the company said in a press release.

In addition to procuring and delivering supply to over one million farmers, iProcure says its software and data management solutions digitise agro-dealers’ businesses and provide invaluable data insight into regional agricultural input demand, price sensitivity, and creditworthiness. 

FtMA offers a platform to provide last-mile service delivery and structured market access to 125,000 farmers in rural Tanzania through its network of 295 Farmer Service Centers spread across six regions. The services offered include market access, farm inputs, financing, mechanisation, advisory services, and insurance. 

Through this collaboration, iProcure will deploy its supply-chain tracking technology and business management software solutions to 100 Tanzanian agro-dealers to enhance their operational efficiency and supply traceability. The partnership aims to deploy iProcure solutions to 100 FtMA Farmer Service Centers by November 2023.   

“iProcure has had its sights set on Tanzania, and this partnership with FtMA presents the perfect opportunity to roll out our technology to an established agro-dealer network,” Niraj Varia, iProcure’s CEO, commented. 

“FtMA shares our vision of digitising agriculture, helping farmers, and improving supply chains, so we are excited to enter this new market alongside them,” he added.

Mads Lofvall, Managing Director of FtMA, said the network was excited about the partnership with IProcure in Tanzania. 

“At our core, FtMA seeks to bridge the gap between service delivery and market access at the first and last mile,” he noted. “Digitalising the work of our Farmer Service Centers is key to bridging this gap, and we are looking forward to seeing how our FSCs and farmers will benefit from this new partnership.”

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