A statement issued yesterday in Arusha by the chairman of ACT Board of Directors Jacqueline Mkindi said the government’s decision is an important step in defending farmers within the free market economy.
The statement further explained that ACT is satisfied by the performance by top officials of the ministry and that from time to time they have been heard defending the farmer and crops from his farm.
Mkindi said; “the minister for Agriculture Japhet Hasunga and his deputy Hussein Bashe have been issuing government directives not to set indicative prices for maize flour, and we in ACT on behalf of farmers in the country are pleased by these directives.”
Recently, when responding to a question in Parliament deputy minister of Agriculture Hussein Bashe stressed the government decision not to interfere in setting up indicative prices for agricultural products including removing export bans for the same.
ACT’s managing director Janet Bitegeko said as of now Tanzania produces six million tonnes of maize and the aim is to attain eight million tonnes by 2020/21.
She said: “We in the council believe if farmers get better prices in three to four years in succession without government’s intervention, there is a great possibility to attain 15 million tonnes of maize per year, as many farmers will have the impetus to cultivate the crop.”
Deputy Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Lianne Houben, also stressed on the value of connection in empowering female entrepreneurs.
She was speaking during the launch of SheFound Brilliant Accelerator in Dar es Salaam earlier this week which was attended by over 70 female entrepreneurs, youth and seniors, starters and those established in the market.
Research, she said, indicates that the value of support networks and relationships has a direct impact on business success. Social connection does not just improve physical and mental health, it also leads to more success in business and your career, she noted.
“Being part of business associations and networks is not only fun, but it also makes your business profitable. Forbes has just revealed, for example, that female founders who are part of a business communities are twice as successful compared to those who are not,” she added.
With 54.3 per cent of small-to-medium sized businesses (SMEs) in the country owned by women, Tanzania sets an example, but many women still face several barriers to economic inclusion from benefits of economic growth.
During the same occasion, National Economic Empowerment Council (NEEC) Executive Secretary, Beng’i Mazana Issa, echoed similar sentiments and stressed on the importance of more women joining networks and learn from them.
She also called on female entrepreneurs to take advantage of inclusive national entrepreneurs strategy and empowerment programmes that are coordinated by NEEC.
SheFound Brilliant Accelerator is a brainchild of Brilliant Entrepreneur of the Netherlands in collaboration with SheFound Tanzania and has been supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Tanzania.
The programme is meant to provide tailor made personal development training to 20 Tanzanian women-led SMEs focusing on business, finance and personal development.
Vanessa Kisowile, SheFound lean champion, a platform under Sahara Ventures, said that the accelerator mainly seeks to support local female-led SMEs focusing on business, finance and personal development.
During the event, discussions centred on how to become part of a network, the advantages of a business network, and how different female networks could join hands, instead of competing with each other.
It was stressed that women face challenges, including breaking into male dominated networks, finding mentors and gaining access to outside funding, but by meeting other people, not only can one advertise their products and services, making business connections and contacts, but also learn what makes some businesses thrive and others crash.
Rebecca Young, Founder of Make it Matter, one of the attendees to the project, stressed that when a woman’s business grows, so does her ability to employ other people and for entire community to prosper.
