The government has announced plans to double production of seeds from the current 30,000 to 60,000 tonnes in 2015, in a bid to increase productivity in the agriculture sector.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives, Ms Sophia Kaduma, said in Dar es Salaam that the move will, to a larger extent, be made possible through a recent agreement with the Clinton Development Initiative (CDI).
“The contract, which was signed recently by a former US president, Mr Bill Clinton and President Jakaya Kikwete during Mr Clinton’s two-day visit at the weekend, will among other things, help in realising an increase in seed production to 60,000 tonnes in 2015 from the current 30,000 tonnes,” Ms Kaduma said.
She added that an anchor farm has been established in Kilolo District, Iringa Region, where 100 hectares will be cultivated using modern agriculture implements. “The Agricultural Seed Agency (ASA) has seven farms but the Clinton Foundation picked one at Dabaga in Kilolo District to act as an anchor farm.
The 100-hectare farm is largely underutilised as only 150 hectares are currently in use,” she said. Ms Kaduma noted that the selection was intentional due to the fact that the CDI is interested in implementing most of its projects in the Northern Highland regions. She added that talks are expected to be held in three weeks from now between the CDI and ASA on how to go about implementing the project.
“The major focus will be on production of maize seeds and seeds for garden crops. There will also be contract farming activities and many small scale farmers will be trained in a move aimed at transforming the sector,” she said. Ms Kaduma ruled out fears of CDI influencing the introduction of Genetically Modified Organism (GMOs) which is dominant in United States.
“The emphasis will be on the increased research on local seeds for massive production. Seeds are one of the areas where we face challenges that have, invariably, led to low productivity,” she said. She further admitted that the local market is flooded with imported seeds, a situation that is unhealthy for the sector as the local seeds are disappearing at an alarming rate.
According to her, the contract will also go a long way in supplementing the government’s effort to increase irrigated land to one million hectares from the current 451,000. This will boost the use of modern farming equipment as dependence on the traditional hand hoe still stands at 62 per cent.
Mr Clinton was quoted on Saturday as saying that his foundation will not fail in the undertaking. He added that allowing any failure would mean that CDI lacks capacity. “This agreement is another evidence of the Tanzanian government’s efforts to improve the livelihood of its people. Indeed people of this country have every reason to be proud of their government,” he said shortly after the signing ceremony.
He added: “While talking to farmers they told me about organisations that came in the country claiming to have large capacities to invest, but their projects have lacked sustainability. They collapsed after a short period.
“This unfortunate scenario will not happen in this agriculture project because allowing any failure will mean that all of us have failed.” Mr Clinton noted that anchor farms have registered a success story in other African countries where CDI is operating, including Malawi. “In Malawi we started with one farm but currently there are 21 farms which have increased farmers’ earnings five times and doubled productivity,” he said.
By ABDULWAKIL SAIBOKO, Tanzania Daily News
