SUNFLOWER farmers earned over 42bn/- through the warehouse receipt system and digital auctions in Songwe Region for the previous season alone, the regulatory agency says.

Kamwesige Mtembei, acting director of crop development and standards at the Cereals and Mixed-Crops Regulatory Authority (COPRA), affirmed this achievement at a meeting with stakeholders in the sunflower farming sector held in Songwe.

A report presented at the meeting showed that these systems have brought tangible benefits to sunflower farmers, success that encouraged a major financial institution to offer loans valued at 7.4bn/- to 41 Agricultural Marketing Cooperative Societies (AMCOS) in Songwe and Momba districts.

He said that this outcome is a significant step forward for farmers, the start of collaboration to ensure that sunflower farming contributes further to farmers' income and national revenue through taxes.

Another financial agency provided loans of up to 100m/- to ten AMCOS in the region, promising to double the provision of inputs, tools and capital for the next sunflower farming season, the director noted.

Aneth William, one of the farmers, expressed gratitude to the government for its support in providing loans to boost agriculture, urging fellow farmers to take advantage of opportunities provided by the government in the agricultural sector.

This permits farmers to be self-employed, create jobs for others and contribute to a revolution in the country’s job market, she declared echoing the director’s affirmation of the government's wish to create an enabling environment for cereal and mixed-crop farmers to enhance their economic output.

Farmers can increase output for domestic and international markets while boosting national revenue through tax collection, he said, stressing that the government would ensure farmers access quality seeds.

It similarly seeks to offer professional crop storage solutions and ensure reliable markets inside and outside the country, creating more job opportunities for young people including extension officers, he further noted.

“We at COPRA collaborate with farmers from the early stages of crop production on the farm to sales through warehouse receipt systems and digital auctions,” he remarked.