AfricaPress-Tanzania: THE government has affirmed its commitment to ensure that agricultural inputs reach grassroots farmers on time so that they increase yields.
Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Hussein Bashe said the government has several programmes and strategies to ensure that agricultural inputs not only reach the farmers on time, but also contribute to quality yields.
He said the bulk procurement of fertilisers has paid dividend, as farmers were now getting what they required on time for increased farm produce.
Moreover, he said, suppliers and distributors of substandard agricultural inputs are being taken to task and five cases have been filed in court for fake distribution of pesticides.
He made the explanation in Parliament here yesterday, while responding to a question field by Nkasi North legislator (Chadema ticket) Aida Khenani, who wanted to know plans put to ensure the agricultural inputs are delivered on time.
The Deputy Minister further said the government coordinates with stakeholders to know the demand, delivery, distribution and proper use of the agricultural inputs on the ground, so that they reach farmers on time.
He said the actual needs of the agricultural inputs per regions have been outlined to ensure their timely supply before the beginning of the farming season.
Through their Cooperative Unions, he said, every region has been instructed to forward their demands for agricultural inputs including fertilizers and table them to Tanzania Fertilizer Regulatory Authority (TFRA), so that they are ordered and supplied in bulk procurement.
Equally, he said the government is mobilising fertilizer dealers to build Strategic Storage Facilities, especially in areas where there are great demands.
Development partners including African Fertilizer and Agribusiness Partnership (AFP) facilitated construction of 12-strategic storage facilities in 2019 with the capacity to store 50,000 fertilizer tonnes in the regions of Kilimanjaro, Morogoro, Arusha, Iringa, Rukwa, Njombe and Songwe.
