Addressing the just-ended 10th Tanzania
National Business Council (TNBC) meeting at the State House in Dar es
Salaam, Dr Tizeba -- the Minister for Agriculture, Food, Livestock and
Fisheries -- said that, given the country’s eagerness to become a
middle-income economy, serious promotion of the agricultural sector was
inescapable.
“(Promotion of) agriculture is
unavoidable when it comes to the government’s determination to make
Tanzania an industrial country because raw materials for those
industries will be derived from crops,” Mr Tizeba told the meeting
chaired by President John Magufuli.
The minister told the meeting, which
brings together varied and strategic representatives of the business
community, that he firmly believed that, a middle- income Tanzania was
feasible, but towards attainment of that goal, massive investments must
be channelled into the sector.
He noted that the prices of fertilizers
were very high, adding that several researches had shown that the best
way out was to secure fertilizers through bulk procurement tendering.
Reduced prices, he pointed out, would give farmers relief and encourage
growth. Dr Tizeba said local improved seeds were more expensive than
imported ones.
“It is strange to learn, for example,
that one kilogramme of imported seeds costs 1,500/- while a kilo of
locally grown seeds costs 7,000/-,” he told the audience, adding,
moreover, that, the seeds were in short supply and did not reach all
farmers.
He reported that the post-harvest losses
rate of all crops currently stood at 48 per cent, adding that the
ministry was exploring various options of reversing the trend. President
Magufuli said the outcome of the meeting delighted him, and called for a
similar one to be organized in the near future.
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