Agro-sector change via roads, market access – ole Nasha

 
The government has expressed its commitment towards transforming the country’s agricultural sector by ensuring road infrastructures and to speed up the delivery of products to the market.

 

The Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, William ole Nasha told the dialogue on ‘making markets inclusive for smallholder farmers’ in Dar es Salaam that the government was committed to revamp the agricultural sector which employs more than 70 percent of country’s population.

 

The private sector plays a crucial role in transforming the lives of smallholder farmers in rural areas through various projects, he said, underlining that the government will ensure that it creates an enabling environment for smallholders.

 

It will ensure that the private sector and civil society institutions play an effective role in the transformation of agriculture, he declared.

 

“Our goal is to make agricultural practices resilient, inclusive and market responsive throughout the country but we cannot fulfill this goal alone without private sector contribution,” he asserted.

 

Ole Nasha said smallholder farmers need access to information on good agricultural practices as well as good quality seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and other inputs.

 

The possibility of irrigation and reliable storage facilities, transportation, credit and access to markets were of paramount importance in transforming agriculture, he emphasized.

 

The dialogue was organised by the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) in collaboration with the UK Department for International Development (DFID), with the event aimed at comparing notes by government officials, development partners and civil society organizations.

 

AKF Tanzania Country Director, Abid Mallick said that AKF established a programme in Lindi and Mtwara regions to improve agricultural methods and yields, along with facilitating market connections and access to finance.

 

The multi-sectoral Coastal Rural Support Programme has been working in partnership with regional and district authorities since 2009.

 

The overall goal is to improve the quality of life and social well-being of target communities in Lindi and Mtwara regions through sustainable socio-economic interventions in food security, income generation, health and education.

 

Noting that the economy of both Mtwara and Lindi regions is based on subsistence agriculture with about 87 percent of the population engaged in rain-fed agriculture, he said low agricultural productivity has increased the risk of food insecurity for many households.

 

The programme has been strengthening systems for extension messaging, input supply, community-based irrigation, storage, processing and marketing that has benefited more than 100,000 farmers and value chain actors in both regions, he said.

 

The programme also witnessed an increase in rice yields, with over 260 local entrepreneurs undergoing training supported by AKF. They have established agro-input supply businesses and selling inputs at the farm gate level. “Resilience has improved as over 178,000 individuals mobilised in savings group are saving regularly,” the director added.