Dodoma Regional Commissioner Rosemary Senyamule has said the warehouse receipt system is playing a key role in strengthening agricultural markets and improving farmers’ incomes by providing a structured trading platform for approved crops.
Speaking on March 30, 2026, during a meeting of stakeholders involved in the system at the Dodoma Regional Commissioner’s Office, Senyamule said the arrangement allows farmers to store their produce in certified warehouses and sell it through a formal market system.
She explained that through the system, farmers can use stored crops as collateral to access bank loans while waiting to sell their produce at more competitive prices linked to the global market.
According to Senyamule, the system is designed to protect farmers from exploitative trading practices and price manipulation that often occur when crops are sold immediately after harvest.
“The warehouse receipt system improves productivity, simplifies access to reliable markets and ensures that prices follow international market trends rather than arbitrary arrangements,” she said.
She added that the system also helps farmers access accurate information on market prices, strengthens food security and increases government revenue through levies collected from crop trade.
The regional commissioner said the government introduced the system to address long-standing challenges in the agricultural sector, including the premature sale of crops before harvest, the use of non-standard measuring equipment and exploitative trading systems that disadvantage farmers.
She commended institutions and stakeholders supporting the implementation of the system in Dodoma Region, including the Warehouse Receipts Regulatory Board (WRRB), the Tanzania Mercantile Exchange (TMX), the Dodoma Regional Cooperative Union (DORECU), COPRA and the Cooperative Development Commission.
Senyamule urged DORECU to intensify efforts to educate farmers about the system and encourage the formation of primary cooperative societies to strengthen implementation.
She also stressed the importance of expanding warehouse infrastructure, noting that 39 warehouses have already been built in strategic areas across the region to support the programme.
“We must ensure that these warehouses are managed by competent staff and that farmers receive timely payments so they can fully benefit from their hard work,” she said.
For her part, the chairperson of the Dodoma Regional Cooperative Union, Theresia Nyoka, said farmers remain a central pillar of the national economy and should be supported to improve their productivity and earnings.
She called on the government to help cooperative societies access capital so they can operate more efficiently and expand services to farmers.
Nyoka said DORECU plans to improve service delivery by purchasing 10 electronic weighing scales and distributing computers to primary cooperative societies to facilitate better operations.
Meanwhile, a representative from the Ministry of Agriculture, Aneth Mwangasa, said the ministry continues to assess the performance of the warehouse receipt system after every agricultural season.
She said the government is expanding the system to new regions, including Dodoma, while also supporting farmers through improved access to agricultural inputs such as seeds and pesticides.
Dodoma Assistant Administrative Secretary for Economic Affairs and Production, Aziza R. Mumba, said district teams have been tasked with controlling illegal crop transportation and enforcing by-laws to ensure the system operates effectively.
She added that the purchase of crops through middlemen will not be allowed as authorities seek to ensure transparency in the marketing process.
Mumba said the region’s strategies for 2026 include encouraging the production of crops traded through the warehouse receipt system, strengthening cooperative societies, registering warehouse operators, improving storage infrastructure and conducting research to support the programme.
According to regional data, 14 cooperative societies implemented the system and sold a total of 43,707,331 kilograms of crops.
These included 19,300,802 kilograms of sesame, 24,092,900 kilograms of pigeon peas and 313,629 kilograms of lentils.
District councils that conducted pigeon pea auctions include Kondoa Town, Kondoa District, Chemba, Dodoma City and Kongwa.
Dodoma Region is among the country’s key producers of sesame, pigeon peas and lentils, crops that are marketed through the warehouse receipt system involving farmers, local government authorities, cooperative societies, warehouse operators and regulatory institutions.
