AfricaPress-Tanzania: TANZANIA Horticultural Association (TAHA) has bagged three prestigious awards in the just ended Nane-Nane national premier Agricultural exhibitions.
The panel of judges have not only honored TAHA for its highest level of professional showcasing of its service, but also recognized for its role in championing a multi-million-dollar horticulture industry in the country.
TAHA, a key driver of the horticulture, is credited to spur the industry growth to earn the economy 779 million US dollars from the scratch of 16-years ago, feed the world, create jobs and wealth for youth and women.
TAHA was feted as the winner in Mwanza and Arusha respectively, as well as the first-runner up in Simiyu Nane-nane agricultural shows, as the competent organization of the year 2020 in private sector’s category for its painstaking efforts to foster horticulture industry to change lives of many farmers across the country.
“It feels so good after emerging as a winner in private sector’s category at Nane-nane national agricultural exhibitions in Mwanza and Arusha as well as first runner-up in Nyakabindi in Simiyu. I’m proud to my vibrant team for a job well done. We, however, dedicate the awards to our farmers and more importantly to our development partners who made us great” TAHA Group CEO, Dr. Jacqueline Mkindi said.
TAHA wasn’t only celebrated, but also featured prominently in the Prime Minister Majaliwa Kassim Majaliwa’s speech in the climax of Nane-Nane agricultural exhibitions at Nyakabindi grounds in Simiyu region.
PM, who visited TAHA’s booth and garden at the show, poured a lot of praises to the institution for its steadfast struggles to compliment the Government’s efforts in developing the horticulture industry.
“I used to follow up the TAHA’s undertakings for quite sometimes now, and I must say that its work in our country is praiseworthy” Mr Majaliwa said.
He made a passionate call upon Tanzanians to invest heavily in horticulture, terming the industry as a game changer.
The PM also pledged to continue working closely with TAHA in a bid to take the horticulture sub-sector in the new heights.
“I would like to implore farmers to seek loans through the state-run Tanzania Agricultural Development Bank (TADB) that issues credits hassle-free. There’s a lot of money waiting for you farmers” Mr Majaliwa explained.
TAHA is also commended for its tailor-made intervention, with its latest project in partnership with UN Development Programme (UNDP) where they have pioneered a commercial horticulture in Busega and Bunda being credited for having transformed the lives of the farmers and rural economy at large.
TAHA is an apex private sector member-based organisation that advocates for the growth and competitiveness of the industry in the East African country.
Since its inception in 2004, TAHA has been an effective voicing platform for producers, traders, exporters and processors of horticultural products, mainly flowers, fruits, vegetables, horticultural seeds and spices.
The association safeguards interests of the industry’s stakeholders and ensures their concerns are well articulated within national and international agendas.
Way back in 2004, when TAHA was established, there were less than 50 commercial horticultural companies in the country with insignificant production volumes for export markets.
Now 16 years later, TAHA had brought together 4.5 million both large-scale, medium and smallholder’s farmers into a single bloc fortified by a common set of business-oriented interests.
As a result, the horticultural industry has turned into the growth driver of the entire Tanzania’s agricultural sector, registering an annual growth rate of 11 per cent.
Its contribution to overall agrarian exports value has grown by 38 per cent on average and is poised for leaps and bounds; thanks to TAHA, Government and development partners such as USAID
