Africa-Press – Tanzania. PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan has asked Tanzanians to continue exploring opportunities in the agriculture sector by increasing production to ensure food security in the country.
She said, “There should be no way for the country to face food shortage given a number of efforts that the government has taken to improve the agricultural sector as well as boosting production.”
The Head of State made the statement on Wednesday in Babati Town Council, when addressing a public rally during the end of her two day working tour in Manyara region.
“Food security is very important for the national development, the government has been taking a number of efforts to improve the agricultural sector with the aim of increasing production,” she said, while asking farmers to continue utilising the opportunity in the sector.
Some of the initiatives taken included increasing a whopping 954bn/- for the financial year 2022/2023 up from 294bn/-, which was allocated during the previous fiscal year.
Much of the amount has been allocated to finance new irrigation projects.
Over the years, the irrigation schemes in some parts of the country have created the necessary resilience to rainfall variability, mitigation against drought and climate change as well as enhanced food security through all year crop production.
Yet, the country had not explored irrigation to its full potential, something that has to change following the government’s commitment to invest heavily in the irrigation sector.
“More so, the government had come up with a block farming method that also aims at enhancing production of food crops, which in turn will play a great role in assuring food security,” she said during a well-attended rally.
Also, some 150bn/- from the total budget has been set for the agricultural sector in the current fiscal year has been for subsidising fertilisers, which are now sold at a flat rate across the country.
The subsidy has lowered prices of fertilisers to an average of between 50,000/- and 70,000/- from the previous market price of up to 136,135/-.
To ensure enough food reserve, the government has also been constructing silo complexes and warehouses in various regions including Manyara, Katavi and Rukwa.
The facilities have increased the National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) country’s capacity of storing food to 341,000 tonnes up from the 250,000 tonnes.
The Head of State also stressed on the importance of environmental protection for the sake of maintaining sources of water and overcoming the effects of climate change-that is mainly caused by environmental degradation and deforestation.
“You should stop destroying the environment instead, we have to plant more trees for the sake of maintaining water sources and avoiding drought that will affect farming activities, supply of water and power generation,” she noted.
In another development, President Samia called upon Tanzanians to maintain national peace and unity and harmony by avoiding taking laws into their hands.
“Under any circumstance, we have to protect the national peace, I call upon farmers and livestock keepers to avoid all forms of violence,” she said.
Speaking earlier, various cabinet ministers who accompanied President Samia in her working tour, expressed their commitments to properly supervise the execution of various projects and programmes in their dockets.
A list of ministers who attended the event included Angela Kairuki (President’s Office Regional Administration and Local Government), Hamad Masauni (Home Affairs) Prof Makame Mbarawa (Works and Transport) and Jumaa Aweso (Water).
Others were Dr Angelina Mabula (Lands, Housing and Human Settlement Development), Hussein Bashe (Agriculture) Pauline Gekul (Deputy Minister for Culture, Arts and Sports) who is also Babati Urban Constituency the Member of Parliament on CCM ticket.
Earlier, the CCM Secretary for Publicity and Ideology Shaka Hamdu Shaka expressed the party’s satisfaction with implementation of development projects, asking members of the public to continue supporting the government under the leadership of President Samia.
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