Tanzania : Criticism of low agricultural priority in national budget

Stakeholders in Tanzania's agricultural sector have said the recently announced 2007/8 budget has largely ignored agriculture by according it `fourth` funding priority.

The claim was made last by Dr.Timoth Nyoni, a senior researcher at the Economic Research Bureau (ERB) of Dar university at a post budget discussion forum sponsored by the Economic and Social Research Foundation (ESRF). His paper on implications of the 2007/08 budget in the development of the agricultural sector wondered why the budget should allocate mere 6.2 percent to the real mainstay of the economy.

This year`s budget has put the education sector first in financing priorities, allocating 1 trillion out of the total budget. Infrastructure development comes second, having garnered 777bn/-, equivalent to 12.8 per cent of the general budget. Other priorities and their percentages in brackets include: health sector (10 per cent of the budget), agriculture (6.2 per cent), and water (5 per cent).

Nyoni said the budget should have taken aboard relevant policies for the development of the agricultural sector. The policies in question are mainly the Agricultural and Livestock Policy, and the National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty (NSGRP) or MKUKUTA. He said the general policy goals of the Tanzania Agricultural and Livestock Policy is to commercialize agriculture in a bid to increase farmers' incomes and reduce poverty. Other goals include achieving food security, increased export earnings, supporting and promoting agro-industries and environmental conservation.

Paltry as it was, he however commended the 2007/08 budget for having closely followed the MKUKUTA clusters as defined in the form of constraints afflicting agricultural development in Tanzania. The constrains include low productivity of land, labour and other inputs, under-developed irrigation schemes, limited capital and access to financial services and lack of entrepreneurial skills to turn non-farm activities into viable sources of livelihoods and foreign exchange earnings

Other acclaimed constraints are poor rural infrastructure hindering effective rural-urban linkages, infectious and outbreaks of crop, animal pests and diseases, and environmental degradation.

The agricultural sector has been allocated 379.578bn/- for the 2007/08 financial year. The budget would be shared among at least three ministries.

Nyoni said the financing trends of the sector leaves much to be desired, due to the fact that the funding was not only small but also declining in terms of percentage of total allocation as part of the country`s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The challenge ahead for government is to align efforts and budgets with its own preset policies and strategies. The best way to do this, he said, was to commit more and adequate resources to the sector.

IPP Media