Posted on July, 30, 2019 at 10:23 am
THE Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) plans to outline its new strategyo empower smallholder farmers, including linking them with potential markets in the country.
AGRA President Dr Agnes Kalibata is in the country and is today scheduled to meet Agriculture Minister Japhet Hasunga on the sidelines of her tour in Ihemi-Ludewa over the weekend.
The partnership-driven institution has been in the country for years, deeply involved in the agricultural sector, which now accounts for 23 per cent of Tanzania’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The scheduled meeting is expected to draw recommendations from smallholder farmers and other stakeholders that the president had met from 11 AGRA-assisted countries in Africa that are implementing various agricultural promotion and marketing initiatives.
It included stakeholders from Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda and Tanzania.
A press statement from AGRA points out that today’s meeting seeks to share the operational experience of independent platforms that link key stakeholders in the agricultural sector to enable each of them to fulfill their responsibilities.
It was noted that during the conference, Tanzanian stakeholders highlighted the importance of cooperatives in accessing agricultural education, integrating voices into the market and also learning new things in modern agricultural technology.
Other countries also called attention to the need for African countries to mobilize the government’s agricultural sector to partner with various agricultural organizations to facilitate effective policy implementation.
“The government has experts and managers of the latest technology in theindustry; unless we work together, farmers will no longer benefit,” reads part of the statement.
In 2014, AGRA launched a three-year project to support various agricultural raising activities for smallholder farmers and increase productivity worth $ 4.25 million.
This includes projects implemented by the Netherlands based Development Organization, SNV, the Rural Urban Development Initiative (RUDI), Women in Social Entrepreneurship (WISE) and the Network of Savings And Credit Co-operatives (SACCOs).
Source: Daily News