Several Members of Parliament (MPs) have expressed disappointment over what they described as inadequate allocation to the budget of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Co-operatives.
The MPs rose in turns to criticise the government for not adhering to the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) recommendation of allocating 10 per cent of its national budget to the sector, noting that meagre resources would frustrate speedy realisation of the country’s development objectives.
The legislators recommended to the government to prepare a strategy to develop more irrigation schemes to cope with changing climatic conditions.
The ministry has sought approval for 328.13bn/- to be spent on recurrent and development votes. Mr Abdulsalaam Amer (Mikumi – CCM), said it was sad to see such a small budget for an important sector in the nation’s development.
“The amount allocated for this ministry is very small, less than what SADC heads of state agreed on, how will Kilimo Kwanza develop and alleviate poverty at this rate?” queried the MP.
He said apart from the small budget allocation, the sector is faced with a myriad of challenges, citing his constituency, he noted that sugarcane farmers were unable to sell their produce because sugar factories have a lot of sugar rotting in godowns.
Mr Selemani Bungara (Kilwa South – CUF) said due to its importance to the national economy, the ministry should have been allocated a substantial amount of funds, given the fact that agriculture is the backbone for the national economy and 80 per cent of the population depended on it.
He said since 2006 the Agriculture budget was six per cent, last year it was seven per cent and this year, the ministry has been allocated the same seven per cent, wondering if the government will ever attain the 10 per cent as stipulated in the CCM manifesto.
Ms Halima Mdee (Kawe – Chadema), attacked the government for allowing multinational companies, especially Monsanto to bring in seeds while studies have established that they have side effects to children born in areas where they have been used. She also explained that last year’s budget allocated to the ministry amounted to 120bn/- , but only 22.9bn/- which is equivalent to 19 per cent of the total budget was released.
“We are just making noise that we are helping farmers butin real sense we are not helping them at all,” she stressed. She noted that the govenment promised that the agricultural sector is expected to be growing by 10 per cent by 2015, however, currently the growth is three per cent only.
Ms Mdee expressed her dismay that the government continues to embrace Monsanto, a multinational company to produce seeds for farmers in the country, when eight countries in Europe and elsewhere have suspended Mosanto’s activities, including India which has recorded a number of side effects from the company’s seeds.
Mr Moses Machali (Kasulu Urban – NCCRMageuzi), urged the government to do away with fertiliser subsidies, because the inputs were not delivered in time.
By ROSE ATHUMANI, Tanzania Daily News
