Experts commend Tanzania’s agriculture mechanisation drive, call for storage, market solutions

Dar es Salaam. Agriculture experts have commended the government's mechanisation initiative of the agriculture sector but underscored the need to further empower farmers through provision of reliable storage facilities and access to lucrative markets.

Experts nod at the government’s decision aimed at transforming the agriculture sector, which comes a day after President Samia Suluhu Hassan inaugurated the tractor assembly plant located in Dodoma.

Apart from launching the facility, President Hassan handed over 500 tractors, 800 power tillers, and several other pieces of equipment as she was concluding the Nane Nane International Agricultural Expo 2024.

Speaking during the event, the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Hussein Bashe, said the government targets purchasing 10,000 tractors and 10,000 power tillers by 2030.

These agriculture equipment is planned to be distributed in mechanisation centres to be established in different parts of the country for farmers to easily lease the equipment at subsidised prices.

“The government has commenced the construction of 14 mechanisation centres in different parts of the country. This is due to the existing partnership with Agricom Africa Limited and Indian-based tractor company Mahindra,” he said.

He said the decision aims to relieve the burden small-scale farmers were facing to purchase tractors at an average of Sh60 million to Sh70 million for utilisation in small pieces of land.

Mr Bashe said the arrangement would require farmers to pay a certain amount for leasing equipment, with the remaining costs being incurred by the government that has determined to mechanise the country’s agriculture.

He said the centres would also be provided with trained personnel, bulks of fertiliser, and agriculture inputs, among others, to enable farmers to get different services under one roof.

Speaking separately to The Citizen on Friday, August 9, 2024, the Agriculture Non-State Actors Forum (Ansaf) executive director, Mr Honest Mseri, said as the world moves rapidly in technology, farmers must move away from unproductive farming practices.

"Technology utilisation among Tanzanian farmers remains relatively low, despite surpassing our food production by over 120 percent," he said over the phone.

He noted that the challenge remained that farmers have been focussing on increasing the cultivation area instead of investing more in technology.

Mr Mseri commended the government’s decision, calling it a positive move that would reduce traditional farming using hand hoes, therefore reducing productivity.

The Sokoine University Graduate Entrepreneurs Cooperative (SUGECO) chief founder, Dr Anna Temu, said the higher learning institution has a program with entrepreneurship hubs.

"We commend the government's efforts. However, it is imperative to ensure there are improved seeds, fertilisers, storage facilities, and reliable access to markets for the sound transformation of the agriculture sector in the country," she said.

A senior lecturer at the Dar es Salaam University College of Education (DUCE), Prof Abel Kinyondo, commended the agriculture mechanisation decision, noting that it will help the country to achieve food security.

However, he said that the initiative will only allow farmers to adopt efficient farming practices, it will increase productivity and efficiency, cautioning that without lucrative markets and modern storage facilities, farmers will hardly benefit.

"The only way for farmers to benefit from this initiative is to ensure there are lucrative markets domestically and abroad as well as modern storage facilities," he said.

For his part, a financial analyst at Mzumbe University, Prof Haruni Jeremiah, echoed Prof Kinyondo, stating that agriculture mechanisation should go hand in hand with storage facilities and market reliability for farmers to benefit from their agricultural products.

"To be honest, the initiative has been delayed. This is because the majority of Tanzanian farmers still utilise hand hoes, therefore denying them pre-requisite productivity. Through this initiative, farmers will revolutionise their farming and increase yield," he said.