Posted on October, 18, 2022 at 10:18 am
The government yesterday said it is amending agricultural laws to declare the swindling of farmers as economic sabotage.
Agriculture minister Hussein Bashe made the announcement at the climax of Food Week that was nationally celebrated in Bariadi District, Simiyu Region, during which he also assured Tanzanians of food security.
Speaking during the event, Mr Bashe,who doubles as Nzega Urban legislator, said the ministry lacked the mandate to arrest people defrauding farmers.
He added that individuals conning farmers were committing economic sabotage crimes because they were disrupting activities and issues related to the lives of people.
“The sector has been turned into an alley of conning for people to get quick money. We are tired, therefore, we are going to make two major amendments of the law to protect farmers and enable them to efficiently carry out their activities,” he said.
Mr Bashe said the Seeds Act 2003 would be amended to enable recognition, preservation, transportation and multiplication of natural seeds in order to be legally owned by farmers.
These seeds would be the basis of agricultural seeds research aimed at enabling farmers to undertake commercial production of agriculture crops.
In his example, Mr Bashe said some people have been asking farmers to ferry cereals to Dar es Salaam where they would be paid.
“But upon arriving, farmers have been given money to cover accommodation costs as the cereals are loaded in containers for export without being paid a single cent,” he said.
According to him, on social media, perpetrators of conning have been opening accounts used for collection of money for undertaking farming activities on behalf of their clients.
Mr Bashe said most of the victims in the second type of conning are retirees and employed youths who secure some loans from financial institutions expecting to benefit from the sector.
“The ministry of Agriculture has established a special desk for advising people interested in investing in the sector. I have abolished institutions that have been engaging agriculture officials in mobilising their activities because most of them have been engaging in swindling,” he added.
Speaking on behalf of the Livestock and Fisheries Permanent Secretary, Dr Angelo Mwilawa said plans are afoot to enable Tanzanians attain international standard for livestock and fisheries products consumptions.
According to him, currently, an individual Tanzanian consumes 62 litres of milk annually as compared to 210 litres per person per annum recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
“Meat consumption stood at 15 kilogrammes per person per annum against 60 kilogrammes recommended, while 8.5 kilogrammes of fish are consumed as compared to 20.5 kilos endorsed,” he said.
He therefore called for increased investment and to create a conducive environment for the prosperity of the livestock and fisheries sub-sectors.
For his part, Simiyu Regional Commissioner Yahya Nawanda said 588,911 tonnes of agricultural crops were produced in the 2021/22 as compared to anticipated 500,000 tonnes, therefore attaining the food sufficiency.
Source: The Citizen