Posted on February, 1, 2022 at 09:51 am
THE government has advised the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to purchase cereals from country' farmers to feed refugees in various areas where it serves.
Finance and Planning Minister Dr Mwigulu Nchemba gave the advice when he met and held talks with the agency's Resident Representative, Ms Sarah Gibson, where the two have discussed a number of issues over cooperation between the government and the WFP.
Minister Mwigulu hinted that in six years from 2015 to 2021, Tanzania has produced 17.8 million tonnes of food surplus and that the lack of a market for these agricultural produce hampers farmers' efforts to get rid of the economy.
Also, Nchemba asked the WFP to support access to market and finance for investing in irrigation agriculture that will enable the country to produce more food and enable Tanzania to become a food warehouse.
"The belief of the ministry and the government as a whole is to continue to work together in areas where President Samia Suluhu Hassan, has made it a priority to find markets for our farmers' products," he pointed out.
However, he commended the WFP for its efforts to help Tanzania address the challenge of child malnutrition and called on it to continue to support the region by bringing creative ideas on how to end the existing problem in the country.
For her part, the Resident Representative, Ms Sarah Gibson, said that this season, her organization has purchased 76,000 tonnes of food in Tanzania at a cost of 25 million US dollars and distributed it to areas in need.
"During that period, we have also spent the 19 million US dollars to improve the operational activities of the Port of Dar es Salaam for transporting food sent to areas of need, especially refugee areas," she expressed.
She also pointed out that WFP plans to spend more than 336 million US dollars to run its operations over the next five years from 2022 to 2027 where they expect to reach more than one million people.
Additionally, she hinted that WFP has a plan to restore food service in schools in the country after suspending the program a few years ago due to the importance of food for children in school.
Source: Daily News