THE Ministry of Agriculture donated some Information Communication Technology equipment worth 248.69m/- to public and private agricultural training institutions to facilitate knowledge sharing.
Making the revelation, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Gerald Kusaya, said his survey into 11 public agricultural institutes in the country established a massive shortage of relevant books with the right knowledge.
“I had resolved to help address this challenge and today I am pleased to distribute the equipment that would help improve teaching subsequently offered by our Extension Officers,” Mr Kusaya said.
The PS noted that the idea of donating the items to the institutions would motivate and encourage them to improve in providing services to the public, adding: “In Tanzania, there are 11 public agricultural institutions and 14 private- owned institutions.”
However, he said their graduates would be hired by both the government and private sector, noting: “This is why we want to support both institutions.”
Equally, Mr Kusaya said the donated equipment would assist the institutions to establish their e-labs with a TV set, laptops, desktops, routers, projectors and mattresses as part of their plan to transform the agricultural training institutions to become more digitalised.
Commenting, Mlingano Agricultural Training Institute Rector, Samson Cheyo and National Sugar Training Institute Principal, Aloyce Kasimili said the support would assist them to address challenges they had been facing in the teaching and learning process.
“We had a record of teaching books’ shortage, however, the equipment would revolutionise the agricultural sector in the country and connect all agricultural institutions and share the same materials,” said Kasimili.
However, the principals promised to safeguard and own the equipment so that any future generation would inherit and use them.
