Hopes for a money spinner in fiber

Chinese-Tanzanian farm gets ready for peak production as sisal demand increases

In the Morogoro region of Tanzania's southern highlands is a Chinese agricultural investment that holds the promise of rich rewards. It is a sisal farm operated by the Tanzanian subsidiary of China State Farms Agribusiness Corp.

Sisal, a plant that yields a stiff fiber, is widely used in construction and manufacturing for padding, especially in mattresses and handcrafts. Tanzania has been the leading producer of sisal for several decades.

The sisal industry was the largest foreign exchange earner and also the largest employer in Tanzania in the 1960s and 1970s. Its price has fallen sharply since then because of increasing global competition and synthetic substitutes. Privatization of the state-owned plantations exacerbated the situation as competition intensified.

When the Chinese company entered Tanzania in the late 1990s, most local sisal farms had become wastelands. However, Chinese experts soon realized that sisal had irreplaceable advantages due to its strong ductility and fireproof qualities.

"We believe that the global demand for sisal will return," says Wang Lusheng, chief engineer of the Chinese company's Tanzanian subsidiary. "Operating a sisal farm in Tanzania also helps conserve land in China for other domestic crops."

The sisal farm in the Morogoro region covers 6,900 hectares, with a plantation area of 1,400 hectares and sisal fiber output of about 2,000 metric tons a year.

After 12 years of development, the farm is now poised for peak production. From this year the company will add 300 hectares of plantation area every year, so that the sisal plantation covers 3,000 hectares by 2020 with output of 10,000 metric tons a year.

"The soil is fertile, but cultivation called for modern technology and management methods," Wang says.

"We have a lot of experience in sisal planting and processing from our operations in Guangdong and Guangxi, and can bring our best technicians here. Our farm is among the largest three sisal estates in Tanzania."

Every morning after arriving at the farm Wang makes the first daily inspection at the seeding site, then the sisal harvesting site. He then goes to the fiber extraction area and the drying yard.

By that time, local farmers will have started their work for the day. Men are responsible for cutting the sisal plants and transporting them to various farm sites, while women mostly plant the seeds in a new site. Children from those local families play around the sites.

Wang chats comfortably with local workers, having learned to speak fluent Kiswahili after years of living on the farm.

Local workers tie 30 sisal leaves into each heap, which is later be taken to the fiber extraction factory.

Demand for sisal has risen steadily in recent years, and prices have more than doubled from $600 a ton 10 years ago. "The rise in demand has proved beneficial for international business," Wang says.

Nine Chinese professionals work on the farm, which employs 700 people permanently and 300 on a temporary basis.

"The monthly salary I receive from the farm is more than the earnings I made in a whole year earlier on," says Mobimba Toraboni, 38, who has been working on the farm for about two years and lives with his wife and two children there.

Before joining the farm, Toraboni grew sisal at home. The family's income was totally dependent on the natural environment, but those days have gone.

"Joining the farm was definitely a life-changing decision," he says.

Toraboni, an aficionado of kung fu, has organized a team on the farm, and once work is over he often leads about 10 children from the farm in practice. He is also a member of the farm's soccer team, which was second in a local league this year.

Chinese workers on the sisal farm have also converted a dilapidated garage into an entertainment center.

Wang and his team have also rebuilt a disused factory as a recreation area where local workers can play ping-pong and sing karaoke. There are also plans to open a kindergarten to look after children while their parents work in the fields.

"It's like we are living in a big family," Toraboni says. "Our Chinese bosses not only give us the job, but also support our hobby. It's quite enjoyable living with them. Because they respect us, we love the Chinese bosses too."

Hundreds of workers live in the dormitories the Chinese company has built.

Apart from basic residential amenities, the compound also has a clinic and an electric-powered well. Though the clinic provides only basic treatment, it has helped to reduce the occurrence of illness on the farm, particularly diseases such as malaria. The groundwater from the well meets the community's needs.

Charles Chamuhulo, 66, a retired doctor from the Tanzanian health ministry, runs the small clinic on the Chinese farm. With Chamuhulo, there are local doctors in obstetrics and infectious diseases.

Thanks to the little clinic, the Chinese sisal farm has the lowest rate locally for malaria. Many local residents living nearby but not working on the farm also seek help there.

"I like working with the Chinese company because I believe they are good people," Chamuhulo says. "You can see for yourself that they provide for the Tanzanian farmers."

zhaoyanrong@chinadaily.com.cn