ZANZIBAR President Dr Ali Mohamed Shein has directed exhaustive use of land earmarked for farming for agricultural production.
Dr Shein, who was speaking at the laying of the foundation stone for construction of irrigation infrastructure at Kinyasini Kisongoni, in Unguja North region’s North B District on Friday, said land and farming activities were inseparable, arguing that in the absence of land, there would be no farming.
He reminded Zanzibaris that land in the Isles was becoming limited partly due to land misuse by some wananchi.
The Chairman of the Revolutionary Council said many years before the January 12, 1964 Zanzibar revolution, the islanders suffered to get land and had to shamelessly kneel before the colonialists to use it.
“Zanzibar’s independence started officially on January 12, 1964, rendering all sectors— including land—free and on March 8, 1964 the late President Karume issued a government declaration that put in place regulations and rules on all sectors, including land,” said Dr Shein.
President Shein noted that few people had before the revolution hoarded 745 farms, with one person having 300 farms and none of the settlers was African.
He said his administration was determined to provide sufficient tractors to enable wananchi to farm efficiently and productively and particularly help paddy growers, especially women, who have been working hard in the farms.
He assured that the government would continually create a conducive environment, especially in paddy production, to facilitate profitable farming, hinting that efforts were being made to revive the tractor workshop in the Isles.
Dr Shein said the government had been subsidizing farmers by 75 per cent of all farming costs on agricultural inputs like seeds, fertilisers and pesticides.
He implored Zanzibaris to consume domestically produced rice whose quality he described as superb.
President Shein also reiterated the importance of water in farming, saying the precious liquid was inevitable for modern agriculture, which relies on irrigation.
The establishment of Zanzibar Agricultural Research Institute, said Dr Shein, was among the government’s initiatives to modernise the agricultural sector in the country.
The president directed the agriculture ministry to speed up its work and get rid of squabbles amongst its executives and work as a team, instead.
He ordered speedy execution of the project to start operation in the next 24 months for the benefits of Zanzibaris.
Agriculture, Natural Resources, Livestock and Fishing Minister Mmanga Mjengo Mjawiri said the ministry was determined to ensure that the country’s agriculture was highly productive.
Deputy Chief Representative of Exim Bank of Korea Kang Sang Jin described the project as vital in accelerating the Isles economic growth.
