Pigeon-pea farmers pocket 36bn/- in six auctions

MTWARA: PIGEON pea growers in Mtwara have pocketed 36bn/- after selling the crop in six different auctions conducted in the region in the 2024/2025 harvest season.

Through the electronic auction system handled by Tanzania Mercantile Exchange (TMX), the farmers sold 20,000 tonnes of the crop in six auctions since the season started mid last month.

The pigeon pea was sold in Mtwara, Masasi and Nanyumbu Agricultural Cooperative Union (MAMCU).

The MAMCU’s Marketing Officer Ms Neema Mavele said yesterday during the seventh pigeon pea auction held in Mikindani, area within the region, that the products were sold between 1760/- and 1660/- per kilogramme.

She said the cooperative union is still collecting more pigeon pea in the warehouses and would be sold in the next auction.

“We are expecting to collect more pigeon pea for sell and this is because of more production experienced in this harvest season,” she said.

During the auction, the farmers sold 1,338 tonnes of pigeon pea at 1760/- highest price and 1,693/- at lowest price per kilogramme.

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TMX’s Finance and Management Officer Mr Prince Philemon urged the pigeon pea growers to continue observing quality when handling the crop to ensure better market.

Despite the progress, the pigeon farmers called upon for more career-training programmes on better seed varieties to increase their productivity.

“We used to cultivate pigeon peas for home consumption but we have come to realise that it is business product. We are hoping for more training programmes to enable us adapt numerous technics to penetrate the market, “said Mr Joseph Said, a pigeon grower within the region.

Pigeon pea is another crucial crop for many country’s farmers particularly within the semi-arid areas, due to their drought-resistant nature.

This product is both a subsistence and cash crop, consumed locally and increasingly exported, especially to high-demand markets in Asia.

Pigeon peas contribute to food security and are used in crop rotation practices to improve soil fertility.