Let’s work on ensuring that farming takes off
What you need to know:
The hurdles include unfavourable weather, expensive modern inputs and marketing and processing challenges.
Agriculture is the economic mainstay of the majority of Tanzanians. Communities countrywide are now busy preparing for Nane Nane, which is our traditional Farmers’ Day. But agriculture faces numerous challenges, according to reports coming out of a meeting of the Tanzania Farmers Association in Arusha.
The hurdles include unfavourable weather, expensive modern inputs and marketing and processing challenges.
Even more disturbing, Kilimo Kwanza appears to have gone into hibernation in recent times. The campaign, which started on a high note, is seemingly a battle that we are losing. No reasons have been given for the turn of events, which is cause for alarm in itself.
Our economy is driven by agriculture and we must move with haste to ensure that the sector brings forth the desired economic growth. There are three things we can do to bring ourselves back on track.
First, we should invest more in rain-water harvesting and construction of dams to ensure that unfavourable weather doesn’t stand in the way of production. Second, government agencies charged with quality control must look out for counterfeit products used in farming.
This means fertiliser, seeds, insecticides and machinery will be allowed in only if they meet the specified quality standards. If we allow in trash, we cannot possibly expect to attain our production targets.
Third, policies must be aligned with our vision of becoming a major producer and exporter of high value agricultural products. In other words, allied industries must be established close to raw materials they need from agriculture.
Fourth, best practices must be spread far and wide so we can build a groundswell of people motivated to stay where they can practically engage in nurturing agriculture.
Lastly, land for agriculture must be clearly identified in order to reduce conflicts over what is used where, why, when, by who and how. We need to capitalise on the agricultural potential of this country now and ensure it becomes the basis of development in all other sectors.
