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Yara to host dialogue on agricultural transformation
Yara’s managing director, Winstone Odhiambo, says the symposium is the company’s initiative to stimulate dialogue around critical issues in the agriculture sector. PHOTO | COURTESY
What you need to know:
- The symposium will, among other things, tackle efforts to bring more young people into agriculture and agri-business investment
Mbeya. Fertiliser manufacturer, Yara Tanzania, is set to hold a major meeting of agriculture stakeholders in the rich food basket of the Southern Highlands to dialogue on challenges and opportunities for Tanzania’s agricultural transformation agenda.
Mbeya City’s Nanenane grounds will host the Yara Kilimo Expo, 2023, themed ‘Making Tanzania Africa’s Food Basket.’
The five-day meeting kicks off this coming Monday and will be attended by hundreds of farmers, researchers, higher learning institutions and representatives of public agencies, private companies, agri-associations, as well as international development agencies, among others.
Preparations for the launch are complete, with the company’s managing director, Winstone Odhiambo, exuding confidence about the outcome of the event, which is the company’s initiative to stimulate dialogue around critical issues in the sector.
Yara Tanzania is a crop nutrition company providing farmers with knowledge and best practices to sustainably improve the quality of yields and raise farmers’ income while contributing to attaining food security and protecting the environment.
“As a player in Tanzania’s agriculture value stream, our commitment is to work closely with like-minded stakeholders to advance the country’s food security and the overall agenda to transform the sector to contribute substantially to national economic and social development,” said Mr Odhiambo ahead of the expo.
Mr Odhiambo added; “The Expo is our new initiative seeking to contribute to and enhance efforts in the country’s national agricultural transformation agenda through stimulation of dialogue, forging alliances and partnerships, and providing stakeholders with a platform for expert knowledge sharing, showcasing of products, best practices and investment opportunities.”
Agriculture minister Hussein Bashe is expected to officiate the expo’s peak, a high-level symposium on Wednesday, drawing together captains of the industry to take stock of the transformation journey so far. The symposium will tackle efforts aimed at making the Southern Highlands, and Tanzania as a country in general, a leading food producer in Africa, including how to bring more young men and women into agriculture, agri-business investment and partnerships, food security and climate change.
According to Mr Odhiambo, another major focus during the week will be a town hall conference of farmers drawn from the surrounding regions on Tuesday.
Discussions will focus on the strategic food and cash crops being promoted by the government in the Southern Highlands.
Mbeya Regional Commissioner Juma Homera will officiate the farmers’ event, according to organisers who noted that the expo has been planned in close collaboration with the ministry of agriculture.
The key sponsors of the event are CRDB Bank, Equity Bank, PASS, NBC Bank, Mwananchi Communications Ltd., SGA Security and Bomba FM.
The Yara Kilimo Expo is billed as one of the build-up activities for the Africa Food Systems Forum (AGRF) scheduled for early September in Tanzania.
Additionally, it will serve as a curtain-raiser to the annual Nanenane national agricultural show, to be held shortly afterwards in the same region and venue.
Other than the Farmers’ town hall dialogue and the high-level expert symposium, there will be a five-day exhibition by stakeholders to showcase agricultural value chain products and services.
