By Lake Zone Watch Writer
Mara Farmers’ Cooperative Union (WAMACU) has been declared the first best national producer of coffee for the year 2024/2025 in a competition which also involved other 11 cooperative societies.
The competition was held in Moshi, Kilimanjaro region, at the headquarters of the Tanzania Coffee Board (TCB) between December 16 and 20.
The second and third positions were won by Arusha region’s Burka Coffee Estate and Finagro Plantation respectively.
For several years, WAMACU Ltd has been the leader in winning trophies for producing the best tasty Arabica coffee in the country cultivated in Tarime district in the north east of Mara region.
WAMACU Ltd General Manager, Mr Samwel Marwa Gisiboye, attributed the society’s remarkable progress to unwavering support from the Tanzania Agriculture Development Bank (TADB).
“The trophy we have received is indeed an honour to coffee farmers in Mara region and our stakeholders — especially TADB. We’re very grateful to TADB,” Mr Gisiboye told Lake Zone Watch shortly after WAMACU was declared the winner.
Tarime’s Arabica coffee has won international acclaim in the world market, generating the much-needed foreign exchange for Tanzania.
The flavoursome coffee has attracted such global markets as The Netherlands, Greece, Spain, Germany, Costa Rica and Columbia, according to Mr Gisiboye.
The society has a licence that allows it to sell coffee directly to the world market after collecting the produce from farmers through their primary cooperative societies in Mara region and then selling it to markets within the country, the United States and Britain.
Currently, WAMACU Ltd is on a vigorous drive in Mara region to help farmers improve the production of the best coffee and other crops such as tobacco and maize.
The cooperative society collects coffee produce from the farmers for value addition before securing foreign markets for export and sale, Mr Gisiboye said.
“Our victory as the first cooperative society for producing the best coffee in Tanzania is a prestige to farmers in Mara region,” Mr Gisiboye explains.
In October last year, WAMACU Ltd scooped an award as the best distributor of fertiliser in the Lake Zone regions during celebrations to mark the World Fertiliser Day held at national level in Tabora region.
The award was initiated by the state-run Tanzania Fertiliser Regulatory Authority which oversees all matters related to fertiliser production, transportation and distribution in the country.
WAMACU Ltd is one of the cooperative societies entrusted to distribute fertiliser subsidy to farmers in collaboration with the Cereals and Other Produce Board (CPB), OCP Tanzania Limited and Tanzania Fertiliser Company.