Posted on June, 21, 2018 at 09:47 am
After what appeared to be a worrying start, the fifth phase government has steadily re-shifted agriculture to the front burner on the basis of the 2nd-phase of the country's Sh13.8 trillion 'Agriculture Sector Development Programme' (ASDP-II: 2018-23). ASDP is a framework for developing Agriculture and operationalising the Agricultural Sector Development Strategy (ASDS) that's intended to develop the national economy - thereby markedly reducing poverty.
The 2018/19 budget also has agriculture at the core, with major plans to boost this critical sector.
What with one thing leading to another, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) has smartly stepped in to aid Tanzania in general, and ASPD-II in particular, in changing the fortunes of some 1.5 million smallholder farmers.
With the motto 'Growing Africa's Agriculture,' AGRA is a partnership between the Bill-&-Melinda Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation that "exists to fulfill the vision that Africa can feed itself and the world... "
AGRA will support ASDP-II, which is well-positioned to transform agricultural systems, increase the productivity and incomes of smallholder farmers - thus ensuring food security without necessarily restricting cereals exports... "
Fair enough.
But all that can only be achieved if and when the relevant authorities (including especially the government) disburse budgeted funds in full as required - not only for the Agriculture ministry, but also for related ministries such as Water and Irrigation; Land; Livestock development, etc.
Engaging 67 per cent of the workforce, and contributing around 30 per cent of the GDP, Agriculture is economically cross-cutting, 'pervasive.' In that regard, its potential to transform Tanzania into a semi-industrialised, middle-income economy by the National Development Vision-2025 must not be pooh-poohed, but must instead be tapped most effectively.
Source: The Citizen