Trust unveils annual plans, gets new board

Dar es Salaam. The Private Agricultural Sector Support Trust (Pass Trust) plans to introduce three more products this year with the view of consolidating its presence and role in enhancing vibrancy in the country’s economic mainstay sector.
The Pass Trust managing director, Mr Iddy Lujina, told journalists in Dar es Salaam yesterday now that they had a new board in place, all was set to take the country’s agricultural sector to completely new heights.
He outlined the three products as including: linkage banking guarantee; portfolio guarantees; and leasing product. All are aimed at accelerating and widening financial support to the sector this year.
Linkage banking guarantee seeks to provide support to community banks and micro-finance institutions (MFIs) to access funds lending to their customers in rural areas. The portfolio facilitates commercial banks’ accessed loans, thus cautioning lenders against risk.
The leasing product would assist many agricultural firms to acquire machinery and equipment on soft terms and thus facilitate the setting up of more tractor hiring centres and agro-processing facilities across the country.
“We will work with all entrepreneurs who are ready to invest in the regions to exploit opportunities,” he said, adding that they would continue to assist entrepreneurs through other zonal offices so that they would grow their businesses.
He said that in 2013, Pass Trust also plans to consolidate the recently opened branches in Moshi and Mtwara, both of which have large diverse agricultural potentials.
Mr Lujina said that given the high level of expectations on contribution by Pass in catalysing wider provision of credit facilities into agricultural sector, the varied skills and experience of the new board members would complement each other very well. The new board comprises Prof Andrew Temu, the chairman, while Dr Salum Diwani, Mr Dunstan Mrutu, Mr Linus Gedi, Mr Hatibu Senkoro, Mr Benson Mahenya and Peter Shao are trustees.
“Given the wide economic opportunities that are available in Tanzania in the immediate region and globally, the board is expected to steer Pass Trust to enable investors to exploit the country’s vast resource base and resultant comparative advantage in the agricultural sector,” Mr Lujina said.