Posted on August, 25, 2021 at 09:26 am
Struggling smallholders in the agriculture, livestock and fisheries sectors have started the new financial year and new farming season with positive expectations. They have heard government promises.
They have heard pledges from state and non-state actors on how to lessen their plight. Pledges to solve challenges and problems standing in the way of increasing productivity in agriculture, livestock and fishers were made during the just-ended budget session.
Indeed a strategic fuel levy has been introduced to collect money for rural roads and improve provision water to rural communities.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan has repeatedly said that money collected from the levy will be used for that purpose alone. People living in rural areas wait to see roads being built or up-graded so that they can take their produce to markets with ease.They also wait to see potable water flowing within reasonable distance.
Tanzania's farming season, often referred to as growing season, starts annually on the first day of May.
This year, it started on Saturday 1, 2021.
Every year, before the season starts suppliers of farm inputs, implement and building contractors fight for new business arrangements or renew old ones.
Banks revisit their books, scrutinise repayment of loans by people in the farming community and make requisite decisions. Banks that have chosen to finance agriculture play an important role in enabling farmers to meet their financial needs.
The Tanzania Agricultural Development Bank (TADB) is a state bank charged with the task of ensuring finance flows into the farming community. By the end of last month the bank had disbursed some 300 billion/-, in form of soft loans to the agriculture, livestock and fisheries sectors.
In an effort to strengthen and transform value chains, primarily in the agriculture and livestock sectors, until the end of June in the bank had disbursed 246,488,453,466.38/-.
On August 6, this year, President Samia Hassan appointed Mr Frank Nyabundege, the new managing director of the TADB, replacing Mr Japhet Justine.
Before his new appointment, Mr Nyabundege was the Managing Director of the Lake Oil Tanzania Limited.
He has 20 years experience in the banking sector, having also served as the TIB Corporate Bank Tanzania Limited Managing Director.
When Mr Nyabundege addressed workers at the TADB headquarters in Dar es Salaam he renewed the bank's determination to serve smallholders in agriculture, livestock and fisheries, vowing that this time smallholders will be served with new vigour.
He said he will build on what has already been achieved to further prove to smallholders in the agriculture, livestock and fisheries sectors that the bank was formed to serve them and for their benefit.
Underscoring the fact that the contribution of every work matters, the MD called on every worker to work hard and with new vigour to achieve the objective for which the bank was formed.
"I expect to see every worker working with increased vigour so that we can achieve our bank's targets in making radical reforms in agriculture, livestock and fisheries sectors," he told his fellow workers.
He said the bank is in a good position to contribute to Tanzania's economic growth by focusing on effecting reforms in the three sectors by giving smallholders soft loans and education on how to increase productivity in their areas of production and on value addition.
Mr Nyabundege said over 70 percent of Tanzanians have either employed themselves in agriculture or have direct economic engagement with agricultural activities, arguing that it is therefore important for the TADB to uplift lives of all those people by giving them loans.
He said when more crops are produced, more agroindustries will be started, more youths will be employed by the industries, hence mitigating the unemployment problem, Mr Nyabundege observed.
The agriculture sector is of particular importance in Tanzania. Minister for Agriculture, Professor Adolf Mkenda told the National Assembly in Dodoma that in 2021, the sector contributed 26.9 percent to the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), it contributed 58.1 percent to overall employment generation and contribute 65 percent of raw materials that were needed by local industries.
Mr Nyabundege reminded workers on the importance of making their bank felt in all regions where producers live and work, arguing that sustainable national food security will largely depend on productivity in the agriculture sector.
He said the TADB will continue to support efforts towards producing enough food for the nation and surplus for export.
"It is my optimism that each one of us at TADB will play their role to see agricultural, livestock and fishing sectors grow and contribute significantly into national economy," new TADB boss said.
Mr Nyabundege did not hesitate to tell his workmates that the task and major obligation ahead of them is to deliver beyond expectations. "We are entrusted and the public is confident on us. Let's not let them down," he stressed.
Addressing the Parliament in April, this year in Dodoma, President Hassan pledged to sustain agricultural reforms and increase financial support to TADB so that the bank stands a better chance of transforming agricultural, livestock and fishing sectors.
"The sector contributes 100 per cent of the country's food self-sufficiency, 60 per cent of the needed industrial raw materials, 27.7 per cent of national income and 25 per cent of Tanzania's foreign earnings," she explained.
The President told parliament that efforts will have to be made to increase irrigation acreage from the current 561,383 hectares to 1.2 million ha by 2025.
TADB's other area of concern that the president talked about was beef and dairy sub-sectors. She said the government is determined to increase efforts towards modernisation of beef and dairy farming.
She said efforts will have to be made to transform the traditional stock and have a more rewarding breed to farmers.
The president said the new breed will have qualities of producing more milk and more and better beef.
Also animal feed production is projected to be raised from the current 900,000 tonnes to eight million tonnes.
She also said efforts will be made to increase pasture acreage from the current 2,788,901 hectares to 6,000,000 ha. Since its inception five years ago, TADB has released loans amounting to over 300bn/-.
Source: Daily News