THE National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) intends to spend $22m to purchase 60,000 tonnes of maize from farmers from July 15 to 20, on account of an accord with the World Food Programme (WFP).

Agriculture minister Hussein Bashe said after the contract signing with the WFP here yesterday that the government seeks to save the last season’s harvest from being wasted.

“NFRA is currently preparing contracts for purchases and selecting purchasing centres before setting out prices,” he said, hailing the cooperation with WFP.

He said it started decades ago, enabling the purchase of white maize, beans and millet, while at the moment the agreement is set to purchase 60,000 tonnes of maize.

The Cereals and Other Produce Board (CPB) and NFRA will be engaged in capacity building on the proper storage of maize and other cereals, he said.

Sarah Gordon-Gibson, the WFP country representative, underscored the excellent ties the UN agency has with CPB and NFRA.

The link is vital in ensuring food availability and safety within the country through different interventions, she stated, pointing at purchases of over 223,000 tonnes of white maize and 4,000 tonnes of millet priced at $60m.

The consignments were obtained from NFRA across 2011 to 2023, she said, remarking that this is the background to the new memorandum of understanding to purchase 60,000 tonnes.

WFP has been renting NFRA warehouses in Dodoma during the period at the rental cost of $213,000 for the whole period, she said.

Dr Andrew Komba, the NFRA chief executive officer, reaffirmed the cordial relations with WFP for over ten years, highlighting that WFP purchases grain as well as promoting agriculture.

The new agreement will also help in staff capacity building in different areas including purchasing of maize, storage as well as financial skills, he added.