Posted on April, 23, 2019 at 10:34 am
THE Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Arusha, Isaack Amani has urged Tanzanians to store excess food as a precaution to the looming famine. In his service sermon delivered to the congregants at the Sheikh Amri Abeid Memorial Stadium yesterday, Archbishop Amani reminded the faithful on the importance of preserving foodstuff including grains, maize and wheat as the country continues to experience little rains.
“The current drought issevere that all of us need to take serious precautions to cope with the situation that has bedeviled the country and some parts of the continent,” pointed out the Prelate at a joint mass organised by the regional interdenominational Council of Churches.
Archbishop Amani challenged faithful to refrain from cutting down trees, saying deforestation was a major factor of the drought and famine experienced in some parts of the country.
“Life is sacred so are the natural resources, let us all protect the planet at all costs to make the world a better place to live in,” he added. His advice comes a few days after the Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr Job Ndugai, sounded the similar warning of a potential food crisis that is likely to hit the country in near future.
While speaking at the sidelines of the launch of ‘Eastern African Parliamentary Alliance’ to tackle food insecurity and malnutrition, Mr Ndugai warned that food crisis and a potential famine were on the horizon following delayed rains that is facing the country.
He hinted that Tanzania was likely to suffer serious food shortage in the next six months should it fails to revive and implement strategies that seek to address food insecurity. “What is happening in Turkana and some parts of North Kenya could also be replicated here if we don’t put special emphasis on Agriculture, livestock, water and irrigation,” pointed out the Speaker.
Early this week, the government said in Parliament that it had set aside 24bn/- for the purchase of food that would be distributed to drought-hit areas. Agriculture Deputy Minister, Omar Mgumba, said the government had set aside 15bn/- through the National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) and 9bn/- through the Cereals and Other Produce Board for the purpose.
Source: Daily News