Initiative to support 3.5 million farmers launched

Dar es Salaam. Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (Agra) has started an initiative to support 3.5 million small scale farmers to sustainably transform their mode of farming to commercially viable and profitable.

Agra head for Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda, Mr Nuhu Hatibu, said in Dar es Salaam that the programme aims at ensuring farmers income improves and when analysed should be higher than the GDP.

According to him, the programme started in June last year and will run all through to December 2021.

He said that to ensure farmers benefit, all Agra sponsors including Bill and Melinda's Gate, Master Card Foundation among others have signed contract that will see them have a single coordinated point of contact to empower the farmers.

"We decided to come up with an agriculture model for industrialisation through joint investment in Tanzania, as earlier we worked separately and doing the same thing without coordination," he said.

He said, they aim is to increase the farmers ability to invest in sustainable systems that will lift them from poverty.

According to him, farmers should be able to handle climate and market shocks, invest in machinery, reduce post-harvest loses.

"Farmers need to have a system, that ensures timely supply of inputs, irrigation through solar powered technology pumps," he said.

He noted that if the right systems are put in place, the governments vision of an industrialized through agriculture country will be realised.