Sisal cultivation spreads in Tanzania

Sisal growing, until recently a monopoly of coastal regions of Tanzania, particularly Tanga, Morogoro and Coast regions, is now turning into a universal occupation as far as the crop is concerned.

The plant, a drought resistant cash crop, is grown by almost every household in Lake Zone regions as hedge to protect destruction of farms by animals.

It is from mature sisal that poles are harvested for use in house building while fibres extracted manually from sisal leaves, are utilized in both house building and other household uses.

“After identifying vast potentials available in Lake Zone in respect of sisal growing, the government decided to develop the industry and make it a sustainable commercial crop,” according to Hamisi Mapinda, Tanzania Sisal Board (TSB) director general.

Presently, says Mapinda, TSB has wound up preparations for establishment of a project aimed at commercializing sisal growing in Shinyanga, Mwanza and Mara regions as part of implementation of a feasibility study done in 2006 by FINTECS Consultants under the sponsorship of Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA).

TSB has prepared a 10 year Crop Development Plan – a 2010 Election Manifesto -MKUKUTA II for the purpose of promoting production and productivity in the sisal industry – hence reduction of poverty and ensuring food security. Under the proposed plan, to be unveiled soon, small scale farming is set to expand.

“The plan envisages to increase participation of small holder and out grower farmers in the industry from the current 419 households in 2010 to 4,440 households at the end of the development plan so as to improve farmers income and alleviate rural poverty,” revealed Mapinda recently.

He said also included in the plan are sisal small scale farmers operating under sisal small holders and outgrowers scheme (SISO) who are implementers due to their significant contribution to the total performance of the industry in terms of production ( 9 percent) planting (19 percent) and 11 percent (2010 statistical data).

“The proposed plan also considers involving other new families in the sisal business, both individually and others in groups, reported to develop interest in various parts of Muheza, Korogwe, Mkinga and Lushoto districts,” according to the TSB boss. “The ultimate aim is to have 3,000 households with 5 hectares each in ten yeas.”

During the plan, said Mapinda, one of the few sisal experts who is said to have brought about changes towards revamping the sisal industry, companies that use outgrowers system would be encouraged to develop.


‘It is government’s intention to encourage companies which use sisal outgrowers system to consolidate and share their experiences with other companies, in respect of problems and prospects of integrating outgrowers system and revive sisal growing in Lake Zone- Mara, Mwanza and Shinyanga regions through International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), BADEA and other organizations.’

According to Mapinda, TSB would solicit funds from donors to enable the smallholders/outgrower farmers to be financially capable in preparation of land and maintaining sisal for the initial period of three years before harvesting.

Presently, he said the country enjoys 7 percent market share which TSB envisages raising to 39 percent within the Plan period.

It is envisaged that in execution of the Plan, major prominence will be in crop development. In every year, 10 percent of the total fallow land will be put under sisal and maintenance of existing sisal land,” according to the ambitious Plan.

The sisal industry, through Tanga based sisal marketing and processing company-Katani Ltd, entered into agreement with NSSF, the country’s largest security fund whereby the fund disbursed a massive USD 10 million loan for development of the sisal crop.

IPP Media

Global shortage opens up markets for Kenyan sisal

Kabati division farmers of Kitui West District are a keen lot. When rains failed three times in a row and food production suffered, they turned to commercial sisal for a new market that is developing on the back of a global shortage.


Sisal was once the world’s main raw material for agricultural twine and sacks, but as global buyers turned to polypropylene and synthetic alternatives, the market collapsed, leaving areas such as Kabati using the plant to mark boundaries and for fencing.


In particular, carpet manufacturers have turned to it and the part made from sisal has more than doubled in recent years, to more than one-in-ten of all sales worldwide. It is also being used by the global paper industry, where its added strength is a bonus in papers with high volumes of recycled content.


It’s a bounce back that last month saw the Tanzanian sisal board report global sisal demand running at 230,000 tonnes a year, against supply of just 130,000 tonnes, causing a shortage that has seen global sisal prices rise to $1500 a tonne.


At the same time, in Kabati, sisal has continued to thrive, unaffected by the harsh climate and drought that has knocked out many other crops. Made up of a rosette of spear shaped leaves about 1.5 to two metres tall, sisal has a seven to 10-year life span and produces 200-500 usable leaves, each leaf containing around 1,000 fibres.


Women are now forming themselves in groups to produce large quantities of the sisal fibres, driven by the scale of the demand from local merchants.


Over the last five years, the volume of sisal production in Kenya has risen by 40 per cent —from 25,009 tonnes in 2005 to 35,119 tonnes in 2010—with Sisal Estates like Rea Vipingo and Voi Sisal Estate producing four-fifths of the output and smallholders the other one-fifth.

However, demand is still running ahead of supply. Currently, a kilo of sisal fibre sells at between Sh30 and Sh32 in local markets, but due to the rudimentary production methods one farmer can only manage to produce a maximum of 10 kilos a day. However in a group, where tasks are delegated, farmers are managing to produce as much as 100 kilos daily.


The fibre is extracted by a process known as decortication, where the leaves are crushed and beaten with blunt knives so that only the fibres remain as the outer green layer is evenly removed. The improvised machine used for decortication in Kibati is made of two blunt knives placed on tree stumps facing each other.

The traders first scan a canopy of sisal plants to choose the best leaves, from which they then meticulously remove the sharp thorns, being cautious to avoid the poisonous sisal leaves. The leaves are then dissected into several pieces that are dried in the sun for 30 minutes to lessen the moisture content. “If you fail to dry them, most of the fibre would be wasted, since it will come off together with the outer layer,” said Mueni, one of the women traders specialising in sisal fibres. The pulp which is left behind is dried and used as livestock feed or compost manure.

Tony Mwanza, a merchant at the Kabati Market buoyed by the overwhelming demand for sisal fibre, has put prices up by an extra two shillings a kilo in an effort to encourage farmers to produce more.


Most of the creamy white sisal fibres that Mwanza delivers find their way to foreign countries. Over 80 per cent of the sisal produced in Kenya is currently being exported, primarily to Spain, Morocco, Portugal and Saudi Arabia.


As well as the surging demand for sisal in carpeting and paper, it is also enjoying rising demand as a raw material for industrial scratching brushes, shopping bags and clothing. Sisal is valued for its strength, durability, ability to stretch and resistance to deterioration in salt water, as well as for its ‘eco; credentials as a natural product.

Kenya is among the world’s top five producers of the fibre, alongside Brazil, China, Mexico, and Tanzania. For the women traders of Kabati this was a status that had little meaning until recently. But as they turn to commercialising the plant, propagating it by using the small bulbs at the leaf axil or by suckers growing around the plant, being a top producer to a market in short supply is suddenly looking like a sweet place to be.

Business Daily Africa

Tanzania to boost electricity generation from sisal

by Dorothy Ndeketela

The Tanzania Sisal Board has set aside US$ 31.1 million to increase the capacity of its sisal biogas electricity plants to contribute power generation in the country.

This move is meant to increase biogas production from one plant to 14, with the capacity to produce about 7000KW of electricity. Each plant is expected to consume about 500KW, with the surplus to be sold and channeled to the national grid...

...Business Week

Tanzania: New sisal industry act seeks to reviltalize sector

by George Sembony

A Sisal Industry Regulation Act of 2010 that would guide the running of the sisal industry is being prepared by the Tanzania Sisal Board in cooperation with the Sisal Farmers’ Association of Tanzania.

The board’s acting director general, Mr Hamis Mapinda, said the regulation, which would repeal the Sisal Industry Act of 1996, aims at strengthening the quality of sisal and encourage farmers to use improved farming methods.

Mr Mapinda said that despite the existence of good opportunities such as better prices and wide markets, sisal production was still unsatisfactory because of low productivity due to non-adherence to improved farming methods.

“For instance, the 2010 production was only 70 per cent of the 35,000 tonnes targeted for that year,” said Mr Mapinda. A total of 24,676.60 tonnes of sisal fibre were produced in 2010, a 17 per cent increase compared to the 2009 production of 21,060.32 tonnes. He also revealed that a total of 11,557.85 tonnes of fibre worth $10.4 million were exported, a 40 per cent increase in foreign sales over 2009 exports. In 2009, a total of 8,239 tonnes of fibre worth $ 6.8 million were exported.

Speaking about the internal fibre market, he said that a total of 12,086.98 tonnes of fibre worth Sh11.78 billion were sold in the local market in 2010 compared to 12,880 tonnes of fibre worth Sh10.08 billion sold in the previous year.

He also revealed that there has been an increase in exports of sisal products other than fibre in 2010 noting that a total of 6,408.43 tonnes of sisal products worth $8.31 million were exported last year compared to 5,349.33 tonnes of sisal products worth $6.90 million exported in 2009.

There was a similar increase of sales of sisal products in the internal market with a total of 6,145.75 tonnes of sisal products worth Sh10 billion sold in 2010 compared to 4,493.81 tonnes worth Sh7.81 billion sold in 2009. He said the major challenges facing the sisal sector included lack of capital and a shortage of credit opportunities which have deterred farmers from increasing production.

The Citizen

Tanzania to revive sisal industry

by George Sembony

Tanga. The Tanzania Sisal Board (TSB) is set to unveil a proposed ten-year crop development plan that would expand cultivation and ulitisation of sisal. According to the TSB acting director general, Mr Hamis Mapinda, the proposed plan aims at transforming the current state of the sisal industry, making it self-sustaining and competitive in the world market.

He said the major thrust behind the plan was to increase the utilisation of the sisal plant from the current level of two per cent to at least 50 per cent within 10 years.

He noted that the proposed plan earmarks 146,061.69 hectares of sisal for development. They include 131,079.79 and 14,981.90 hectares of mature and immature sisal land respectively. The blueprint, according to him, was set to be forwarded to the TSB Board of Directors for approval.

The proposed plan is estimated to cost about $160,235,674 in ten years. Under the proposal, the government would contribute nine per cent of the cost, other beneficiaries 25 per cent while seven per cent would be sourced from donors, Mr Mapinda said, adding that loans from financial institutions would amount to 59 per cent of the total cost.

“The Industry has a vision to increase the area under sisal cultivation that is owned by estates from the current 45,165.15 hectares to 123,861.69 by 2020,” he said, adding:“The proposed plan also has a vision to increase area owned by small-scale sisal farmers from 6,748 hectares in 2010 to 22,200 hectares by 2020,” he said.

The Citizen

Tanzania plans increase in number of small-scale sisal farmers

by George Sembony,

Smallholder sisal farming is set to expand under the proposed 10-year sisal crop development plan, according to theTanzania Sisal Board (TSB) acting director general, Mr Hamis Mapinda.

“The plan envisages increasing the participation of smallholder and outgrower farmers in the industry from 419 households in 2010 to 4,440 households at the end of this development.”

The proposed plan also brings on board smallholder farmers for the crop who operate under the banner of the Sisal Smallholders and outgrowers Scheme (SISO). Figures for the 2010 calendar year indicate that SISO members contributed nine per cent, 19 per cent and 11 per cent in production, planting and sales respectively.

“We have already managed to identify some 419 farmers in these areas but our plan is to have 3,000 households with five hectares each in ten years time, Mapinda said. The board is also working to commercialise sisal farming in other parts of Shinyanga, Mwanza and Mara regions.

“In a nutshell, a total of 22,200hectares will be put under sisal by smallholder farmers by 2020 whereby about 4,400 households will be involved apart from SISO scheme,” he said.

The Citizen

Tanzania urged to pay more attention to non-traditional export crops

Traditional export crops, on which this article focuses, are crops that have been the major foreign exchange earners for the country over the years. These include coffee, cotton, cashew nuts, tobacco, tea, sisal and pyrethrum. Non-traditional export crops include oilseeds, pulses, spices and cocoa.

Cash crops production in Tanzania has been recording an upward trend since independence in 1961. Tanzania produces an average of 70,000 tonnes of wheat annually. The major production area is Hannang Wheat Complex in Arusha Region. The complex consists of seven autonomous farms with about 4,000 hectares of cultivated land. The farms recorded steady development from the 1970s with the financial and technical assistance f the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) to 1993 when they became autonomously operating schemes. Wheat production is complimented with large-scale private farmers in Arusha, Iringa and Kilimanjaro and other small-scale farmers in Ludewa, Njombe and Makete districts.

Another cash crop is sugar cane. For decades, it has been primarily grown in four estates, namely Kilombero Sugar Company, Mtibwa Sugar Estate, Tanganyika Planting Company and Kagera Sugar Limited. Apart from some out growers in Kilombero and Mtibwa estates, reports from the Sugar Board say that the annual sugar production is recorded at bout 115,000 tonnes per annum. This is an indication of a gradual increase, though the quantity is short of meeting the estimated market demand of 300,000 tonnes. Recent export reports show that this shortage has forced the country to import over 200,000 tonnes of sugar.

Then we have coffee, which enjoys a high ranking among the traditional export crops and is grown in various parts of the country. Agriculture experts say that in the past 20 years, coffee production has doubled, currently reaching about 50,000 tonnes per year. Production has declined due to reduced production in public estates; old age of trees, low input use and increased incidence of diseases, low returns to producers and the escalating costs of production. Coffee is predominantly produced in Kilimanjaro, Arusha, Mbeya and Ruvuma regions especially Mild Arabica, while Bukoba region produces Robusta. Hard Arabica is produced in Kigoma and Morogoro regions.

Another cash crop is cotton. It is traditionally grown in the Lake Zone, Tabora, Morogoro, Singida and Coast regions. Cotton Board reports show that in recent years, production of the cash crop has been on the upward trend, though yield per hectare is low, at 0.4 tonnes, as opposed to 0.6 – 2.0 tonnes in other African countries. The reports show that lack of better varieties, non-use of fertiliser and inadequate application of pesticides are threatening productivity. The soil infertility in the cotton producing regions has been depleted and disturbed. The ecosystem imbalance among others also contributed to low productivity. Experts say that to meet the market demand, production should be increased to a sustainable level of about 300,000 metric tonnes of cotton seed per annum.

Cashew nuts are among the traditional cash crops in the country, especially in the southern coast regions and their hinterlands. It is mainly grown in Mtwara, Lindi, Coast, Ruvuma and Tanga regions. The main cashew growers are smallholder farmers. Cashew nuts in Tanzania are primarily grown for export. A very small proportion of the crop is processed and consumed domestically. Current production is 90,0000 tonnes per annum. Major threats to the recovery of this crop are lack of effective operating factories, poor quality control and organization of primary procurement. Although total rated capacity of existing factories is over 100,000 tonnes of raw per annum, effectively only about 30,000 tonnes of raw nuts can be processed.

Also in the list is tobacco. It ranks fourth after coffee, cotton and tea in foreign earnings. The crop has considerable prospects to gain the number one slot as the country has great potential to hold acreage or increase productivity or both. Tanzania produces three types of tobacco; which are flue cured, fire cured and burley tobacco. The main tobacco growing areas are Iringa, Tabora and Mbeya regions, which grow flue-cured tobacco. Ruvuma, Kagera and Kigoma regions grow fire-cured tobacco while burley is widespread in Morogoro, Tanga, Lindi and Kagera regions.

Major threats to tobacco industry are low level of technology and adverse environmental effect. Production of the crop has continued to expand from 16,000 tonnes in 1990/91 to about 40,000 tonnes to date.

One of the highly earning exports in Tanzania is tea; Tanzania produces both organic and non-organic tea in both large and small-scale farms. The bulk of the crop is produced by large-scale estates, which are increasing in number as a result of the general policy of opening up the agricultural sector to private investment.

Tea production is labour intensive and offers substantial employment to people in the rural areas where both farms and processing plants are located. Tea is grown in Mbeya, Iringa, Tanga and Kagera regions. It is among the cash crops whose production has maintained an upward trend for several years; currently it is above 33,000 tonnes per annum, according to the Tea Board reports.

Sisal, which is not indigenous to Africa, is one of Tanzania’s main exports. It was introduced to Tanganyika (now Mainland Tanzania) from Mexico at the end of the 19th century. The leaf tissue of this plant yields hard, flexible fibres, which are suitable for making rope and twine, cord matting, padding and upholstery. International trading reports show that sisal accounts for two-third of world’s production of hard fibres, and about three-quarters of sisal consumption is for agricultural twine. The economic importance of sisal declined in the 1970s due to falls in world market prices caused by the introduction of synthetics as alternatives to sisal. The sisal industry in Tanzania is currently facing problems at both productions as well as on the world market.

There are about 82 estates in the country, mainly in Morogoro and Tanga regions but still annual production is as low as an average of 34,000 tonnes, reports from the Sisal Board reveal.

Small-scale farmers using traditional methods of farming in the Southern Highlands regions of Mbeya and Iringa grow the bulk of pyrethrum; the crop’s industry is in a situation of increase and decline in production threatening its viability. Currently its production is estimated at 2,500 tonnes putting the industry in great need for improvement reforms.

Another export crop found in the country is cocoa. It was introduced in Tanzania at the beginning of this century. It has gained importance as an export crop over the past two decades. The major global issue facing its production at present is over-supply of the commodity and the collapse of the international marketing arrangements. This crop is said to be a good small-scale foreign exchange earner, earning almost 6 million US dollars, surpassing many other non-traditional exports. It is mainly produced in Mbeya, Tanga and Morogoro regions.

Pulses produced in Tanzania include beans, cowpeas, pigeon peas, green beans, yellow and green grams, Bambara nuts and lentils. Some of these crops are important food items in both rural and urban areas. Production of pulses in Tanzania is mainly done in Kagera, Shinyanga, Mbeya, and Arusha regions.

Experts say that inadequate support services in terms of research, extension and modern inputs have combined to depress yields and total production. Other problems include disorganized domestic and export marketing system, coupled with insufficient information to link domestic market with the export markets.

Tanzania also produces spices for both domestic and export markets, these include sweet and hot pepper, chillies, ginger, onions, coriander, garlic, turmeric, cinnamon and vanilla.

The most challenging issues are availability of improved seeds and storage problems due to oversupply during the growing months and severe shortages during off-season. Export prospects are good for cardamom, onions and pepper (dry).

Daily News TZ

Kenyan sisal grower focuses on Asian markets

Mr Neil Cuthbert, the managing director of Kenyan sisal grower Rea Vipingo, has his eyes focused on the robust industrial expansion in China and India as he plots future strategies for his company.

The company, which is among the few agricultural sector companies that are listed at the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE), says venturing into the local market is not an option for future growth. “We export almost all our sisal and have no plans of selling locally,” he said. “The high quality fibre we produce cannot match the low prices offered locally,” said Cuthbert. “Our fibre is mostly used as buffing clothe in industrial machinery especially in the steel industry that is rapidly growing in the two Asian countries,” he said.

Rea Vipingo’s products are also shipped out to overseas markets for use in diverse tasks such as the manufacturing of cigarette paper, bank notes, carpets and house decorations, especially in the Middle East and north west Africa.

Over the past three years, improved weather conditions has helped the company improve its productivity and ultimately its profits. In the past five years, Rea Vipingo has seen its crop output rise by 26 per cent.

Mr Cuthbert ruled out the possibility of many players entering the sisal market in spite of recent improvement of prices. By the end of last year, the price of sisal had risen to $1,100 per tonne. He reckons that the long time that sisal takes to mature continues to act as a major entry barrier to investors. It takes about five years for a newly planted sisal plant to mature, with about 10 per cent of the crop having to be replanted annually. The plants have an average life span of between 10 and 12 years.

For the sisal producer, the existence of a few players in the tiny segment could provide some good news in an agricultural industry beset by problems.

Of the 22,000 tonnes produced in Kenya, Rea Vipingo produced about 55 per cent of the total production, translating to about 12,000 tonnes.

On the global scene, Brazil is the largest producer though it is hampered by the fact that most of the crop is grown by peasant farmers.

Second largest producer is Tanzania, where Rea vipingo has a number of tea estates and a spinning mill. Madagascar is another African producer of sisal, coming in at number four on the global listing.

But despite the impressive run in export trade, Mr Cuthbert decries a weakening dollar as a major setback to the company’s fortunes.

Just like other agricultural sub-sectors such as tea and coffee, the increasing costs of labour is also affecting the company’s operations.

Apart from Kenya, Rea Vipingo also has sisal production programmes in Tanga, Tanzania- making it the largest producer of sisal fibre in Africa.

Statistics from the firm showed that the total group sisal fibre production in 2006 increased by about 5.2 per cent over the previous year to 17,138 tonnes, translating into a 28.5 per cent growth over the past five years.

Business Daily Africa

Sisal farming struggles in Kenya

Campaigns mounted by green campaigners and good prices that sisal fibre is fetching in the world market have failed to reverse a rapid decline in the acreage under the crop in Kenya.

A promotion campaign mounted by the government through Kenya Agricultural Research Institute over the last four years has now raised prospects for the industry. Sisal Board of Kenya director, Naomi Kamau, said farmers had responded well to new Hybrid 11648 and the H1300 sisal varieties released in the market recently.

From being the second export crop after coffee at Independence, natural sisal fibre has failed to withstand increased competition from synthetic fibres. The shift in demand and population pressure saw most sisal land around the capital Nairobi converted into settlement areas.

The situation was further compounded by the closure of the Thika High Level Sisal Research Station in 1972.

In Central Rift Valley where up to the late 1980s sisal, mostly controlled by Europeans, was a leading cash crop and employer, the only notable estates remain Nakuru and Koibatek districts, with a combined 7,200 hectares under the crop.

Ministry of Agriculture officials say that due to heavy debts owed to financial institutions, most of the former sisal estates have been hived off and sold to new owners, who have switched to better paying horticultural crops.

Being an export crop, weakening of the dollar against the shilling and the fact that most of the processing facilities are obsolete continue to undermine production.

“The estates machinery is old and and costly to run. It costs approximately Sh32,500 ($490) to produce one tonne of fibre, of which 40 per cent go to decortications,” says a Sisal Board of Kenya report.

Small scale farmers who produce around 4,500 tonnes of fibre annually lack simple and efficient sisal processing equipment.

But Agriculture officials maintain that sisal is still doing well in Taveta, Voi and parts of Thika.

Currently the global demand of the crop is 400,000 metric tonnes, against a world production of only 250,000 metric tonnes.

Sisal promoters are also counting on the campaign to replace the plastic bags with sisal ones to change people’s attitude towards sisal and sisal farming.

Business Daily Africa