Dar on course to reduce poverty

DAILY NEWS Reporter

TANZANIA is on track on its ambition to unlock over 2 million people from the shackles of poverty within the next 15 years, it was said in Dar es Salaam at the weekend.

The Executive Director of the Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC), Ms Juliet Kairuki, made the remark during at the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT) the 2015 Annual Partnership Forum.

“SAGCOT is a project close to the heart of TIC and since its inception (five years ago) ... it has worked alongside the government, in line with its overall approach to agricultural development.

“Our major output is on track: to boost productivity of smallholder agriculture schemes in the selected projects. Our shared goal – to lift 2 million rural Tanzanians out of poverty by 2030.

(The goal) ..is ambitious, but momentum is with us,” Ms Kairuki said in her message to the forum. SAGCOT Chairman, Mr Salum Shamte, in his opening remarks commended the government’s focus on promotion of public-private partnerships (PPP).

He described the strategy as the only way to develop the nation’s phenomenal agricultural potential in a way that benefits most of the people, if not everyone -- especially the people who feed our nation -- our farmers.

He reiterated that SAGCOT has proven that the partnership model could achieve long term, sustainable agricultural development. “I am immensely proud of what SAGCOT has achieved in its first five years, and we now have the investment commitments, structures, and policies in place to make 2016 our most impactful year to date,” he explained.

AGCOT Chief Executive Officer, Mr Geoffrey Kirenga, was also upbeat saying the programme has now won global acclaim and many investors were pumping in resources.

“Tanzania has created a world-leading approach, a partnership-based approach, to developing agriculture in a way that benefits all stakeholders. “It is a model that is gaining our country global recognition, inspiring similar partnership initiatives in 18 countries worldwide.

“We can be proud of what we are achieving, and what we will go on to achieve in 2016 and beyond,” Mr Kirenga said.