Next budget set to prioritise irrigation farming: Samia

 

By Jacob Mosenda

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Dar es Salaam. A good chunk of government’s 2022/23 budget will be directed towards irrigation farming as President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s administration seeks

to tap into the massive domestic and international market for agricultural produce.

Gracing the Sh163-billion headquarters of the CRDB Bank Plc in Dar es Salaam yesterday, President Hassan said particular focus would be on boosting the production of cereals and horticultural products which have a massive market locally and internationally.

“We had a comprehensive discussion on this matter during a cabinet meeting on budget yesterday (Friday),” she said, insisting that it was her government’s view that boosting production of cereals, mostly rice, and horticultural products, would bring quick forex gains to the country.

CRDB Bank’s 11-storey headquarters along Ali Hassan Mwinyi Road at Palm Beach in Dar es Salaam has the capacity of accommodating over 1,000 people.

Tanzania’s tasty rice was in high demand locally, regionally and internationally, with President Hassan revealing yesterday that Belgium was currently importing the product from the country while the United Arab Emirates was also importing some 60 tonnes of horticultural produce from Tanzania.

The idea behind irrigation farming was to ensure that some regions were able to grow the crop twice a year and assure the export market of steady flow of quality products.

It will be recalled that Tanzania’s main economic stay remains agriculture, which employes nearly 70 percent of its workforce.

She reiterated her government’s desire to see Tanzania’s banks extending their reach beyond the country’s boarders as a way of broadening their income sources and expressed her satisfaction to hear that CRDB Bank Plc was currently operating in Burundi. The lender is also finalizing its debut entry into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

CRDB Bank Plc’s managing director Abdulmajid Nsekela expressed the lender’s readiness to support government’s strategic projects, narrating how it issued counter guarantee for the $2.95 billion (Sh6.6 trillion) Stigler’s Gorge hydroelectric dam project in 2019 as well as its financial support for the ongoing construction of the standard gauge railway (SGR) .

He revealed that CRDB Bank was currently in talks with the Ministry of Agriculture to which will culminate into the bank’s issuance of Tanzania’s first agriculture bond.

“This will facilitate issuance of loans to farmers at affordable interest rates,” Mr Nsekela said.

A few weeks ago, CRDB announced that it was issuing loans to farmers and others in the agricultural value chain at a nine percent lending interest rate.

Bank of Tanzania (BoT) Governor Florens Luoga said various countries had expressed interest in opening doors for Tanzanian banks to open branches there.

“We must take this opportunity to provide services abroad. This will help Tanzanian banks to set an example in East and Southern Africa in service delivery,” Prof Luoga said.

Detailing the idea behind the multi-billion shilling headquarters, Mr Nsekela said the structure was a complete symbol of three figures: “The strength of our bank, the security of our bank and our readiness to grow domestically and abroad.”

Being one of the largest lenders in the country, CRDB Bank Plc boasts of a formidable balance sheet, having provided a total of Sh5.1 trillion in loans to customers in various sectors.