ASPIRES expert touts regulatory reforms to boost agribusiness industry
After the governmrnt abolished over 200 nuisance taxes that negatively impacted on agribusiness growth in the local market to exploit the growing East African Market, an expert has said the next set of reforms shoulld now adress the cumbersome regulatory in place.
A policy advisor at Agricultural Sector Policy and Institutional Reforms Strengthening (ASPIRES) project, Professor David Nyange said in Bagamoyo last week that abolition of the taxes farmers have heaved a sigh of relief hence encouraged to expand their farms to get more profit as the taxman stays home.
“But there still remains more need to consider simplifying the regulatory framework and review inefficient fees and charges associated with such practices which are mandatory,” said Prof Nyange adding that such harsh regimes frustrate mainly smallholders who can hardly meet such costs.
He further noted that among the strategic objectives under the second phase of the Agricultural Sector Development Programme (ASDP-2), the government is prioritizing investment integrated water use in agriculture as climate changes takes its toll on agribusiness growth.
“Due to the adverse effects of climate change, there is need to explore alternative strategies to conserve water for farming such as water harvesting and investment in efficient irrigation systems,” noted Prof Nyange.
He added that the country has the potential to harvest a significant amount of its rain water which currently ends up flooding villages after bursting river banks before heading to the ocean where it becomes salty hence not suitable for cultivation.
“This is given that the average annual rainfall in Tanzania is estimated at 1,071 millimeters while the area under irrigation is only about 475,000 hectares of which 2.5 ha is cultivated farm land. So far, the area under rice cultivation in Tanzania is 1.1 million hectares with annual rice production standing at approximately two million tons per year,” he added.
“As more youths and farming enthusiasts continue to embark on agricultural activities, we also need to invest in soil health to help farmers cultivate their crops and apply the right fertilizer in accordance with the soil health status,” the ASPIRE policy advisor stated.
Prof Nyange said there is need to invest in analyzing soil health across the country because 60 percent of the soil is in poor health for crop cultivation. “If you visit different areas across the country, you will see that the number of people who are buying or leasing farmland for cultivation has increased dramatically, from 11 percent in 2004/2005 to 32 percent in 2010/11 season,” he revealed.
In her presentation, ASPIRES’ capacity building and training specialist, Edith Lazaro underscored the country’s massive untapped potential in agricultural productivity which indicates that there is capacity to increase cereal production tenfold.
Currently, Tanzania’s cereals production is about 16 million metric tons with low productivity at around one metric ton per hectare against the global average at four tons per hectare.
“To enhance productivity three factors are required including nutrition (the right fertilizer for crops and feed for livestock), genetic make-up such as improved seed, improved livestock breeds and lastly, management such as good agricultural practices, pest and disease control,” Lazaro noted. The journalists training was organized by ASPIRE and The World Bank.
