Nelly Bassily | September 6, 2010
The management of the warehouse receipt system in Tanzania is governed by a law called the Warehouse Receipt Act No. 10 of 2005. In a warehouse receipt system, a farmer, an organization or a processor deposits their commodity in a warehouse. In return, they receive a warehouse receipt showing how much has been deposited, of what quality and in which warehouse. The depositor can then use the warehouse receipt as collateral for a short-term loan. The depositor can then wait until market prices improve before selling the stored goods.
The issuer of the receipt stores the commodity. The issuer is legally required to make good any value lost through theft or damage by fire and other catastrophes.
This is the website for the Tanzanian Agricultural Commodity Receipts System.
More information, examples, and a video on warehouse receipt systems can be found on this site.
About half-way down this webpage is a clear description of how a warehouse receipt system works.
The Warehouse Receipt Act No. 10 of 2005 can be read on this website.
Farm Radio International has produced many scripts on crop storage. You can browse the list here.
Because the warehouse receipt system is relatively new to many countries, a radio program can raise awareness of this idea, and share experiences and examples. Here are some program ideas: -Interview farmers and/or farmers’ groups who have used the system. How did it work for them? What difficulties did they encounter? What were the main benefits of the system?
-Interview warehouse workers and managers. How does the system work in practice? Is it easy to manage? How often do they encounter difficulties? What kind of difficulties occur? Are they easy to resolve? How could the system be improved?