We have a 33 acres’ Mayowa Pine Tree Farm in Hasamba ward. On this farm, we have planted pine trees as follows:
- 1 acre with grown over 7 years’ trees (cedar & pines);
- 3,000 pine trees planted in January & February 2014
- 10,000 trees planted in February 2015
- 7,000 trees planted in February 2016;
- 7,000 trees planted in March 2017;
- Total 20,000 pine trees planted in 2014; 2015 & 2016 are well maintained.
Problem addressed by Jagrin Agriculture Co. Ltd:
Currently, the demand for timber products surpasses supply. There is readily high demand for timber products in such a way that there is a big gap between the market needs of timber and the actual capacity of farmers to meet the demand. This is mainly attributed by lack of commercial farming of timber trees to match the growth in population, which in turn leads to high demand of timber as materials and for furniture.
Jagrin Agriculture Company Limited has identified the opportunity on commercial farming of timber trees by establishment of the tree farm since 2014, and we are planning to expand more.
New opportunity:
Growth of Vwawa town as a Songwe region’s headquarters poses an increased demand for timber products for new buildings.
Harvests:
The pine trees get ready for timber harvesting from 10 years after the date of planting onwards. This means that Jagrin is expecting to start harvesting timber from its tree farm estate from the year 2024 onwards. However, as trees grow in size, they logically increase in volume and become more valuable.
Target market:
Our target markets will be:
• Markets in the nearby towns near the farms, which are: Vwawa, Tunduma, Mlowo, Nakonde (Zambia)
• Dar es salaam
• Export markets. We will also work hard to secure export markets for our timber products when we reach harvest times.
Plans:
We have planned to expand the tree commercial farming by acquisition of 100 acres in either Nyimbili or Masangula villages for which will be planted with 44,000 pine trees