AGRICULTURAL Council of Tanzania (ACT) has advised the government to tout more investors in the agricultural sector in order to bring social and economic developments for the nation.
The ACT Chairman, Dr Sinare Yusuf Sinare
said 70 per cent of the population in Tanzania engages in agricultural
activities in one way or another, thus massive investment in the sector
was vital.
He said if the government would meet
with stakeholders in the agricultural sector and chart productive
strategies for the development of commercial agriculture and implement,
certainly the agricultural production would be bolstered and makes it
contribute immensely to the national economic growth.
Dr Sinare made the remarks in Dar es
Salaam during the introduction of Annual Stakeholders’ Workshop to be
held in the city tomorrow with a theme; ‘Markets for Agricultural
Produce’.
The major issue is to ascertain the role
of market information before producers make investment decisions on
what to produce and by how much.
The Minister for Agriculture, Livestock
and Fisheries, Mr Mwigulu Nchemba is expected to grace the workshop that
will bring together over 100 participants from several agricultural
associations in Eastern Africa.
“Many farmers in the country are
producing without considering the needs of the market and so they become
discouraged by the price of products and do not realise the benefits of
agriculture,” he said.
He said although the agricultural sector
faces many challenges, there are also so many opportunities in
agriculture if the government will invest strongly. He mentioned market
as a major challenge due to poor infrastructures from production areas.
According to him, land and source of
water are the major opportunities of improving agricultural sector in
the country. He said the development of agriculture would lead
advancement in various fields especially in promoting and developing the
industrial sector.
The workshop will examine the current
and potential challenges and agree on possible solutions. Participants
will get the opportunity to exchange ideas and share experiences.
“We have invited seasoned technical
people from the public and private sectors to contribute in the
discussion of specific topics.
We have also invited the Chief Executive
Officer of the Commodity Exchange to talk about plans to put on board
agricultural produce,” he said.
Moreover, he said there are three
sub-themes that are congruous with the main topic as contract farming,
post harvest losses and food safety
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