Govt receives Sh265billion from European Union to support agriculture
EU ambassador Mr Roeland Van De Geer.
What you need to know:
- The financial assistance is part of the agri- connect program which would help overcome key constraints in the agriculture sector that limit production, value addition, marketing and access to regional and export market for horticulture, coffee and tea farmers.
- The support is expected to help boost the implementation of the Agriculture Sector Development Program Phase Two (ASDP II).
Dar es Salaam. The government has received Sh265billion as new financial assistance from the European Union (EU) to promote productivity and competitiveness of the agricultural sector.
The financing support dubbed "agri- connect" would help to promote the horticulture, coffee, tea, increase food and nutrition security in the country.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance and planning, Dotto James said on Tuesday October 2 during the signing ceremony of the agri-connect program.
The PS said the government received support to construct roads in areas the projects to be implemented, improve policy and laws.
“As we all know, Tanzania and EU cooperation is anchored on the continuous partnership agreement whose main objectives are reduce poverty, promote sustainable development and support the integration of Tanzania into the world economy,” he said.
According to him, the support had come at the right time when the government was implementing Agriculture Sector Development Program Phase Two (ASDP II).
“The implementation of the project will be through decentralized modality with the National Authorizing Officers for (EDF) as the central authority, “he said.
According to him, the management and supervision roles of the program me will be delegated to the lines ministries such as agriculture, ministry of natural resources, finance ministry, president’s office ministry and prime minister’s office.
EU ambassador Mr Roeland Van De Geer said the agri- connect would help overcome key constraints in agriculture sector that limit production, value addition, marketing and access to regional and export market for horticulture, coffee and tea farmers.
The ministry of agriculture and livestock Permanent Secretary Mr Methew Mtigumwe said the funds would boost the agriculture sector in areas that were not doing well because of poor of infrastructure.
“We have failed to perform better in areas that normally grow tea due poor roads therefore, the funds received today, a huge amount would be channeled to construct a 231 kilometers roads in such areas,” he said.
