Tanzania predicts bumper crop harvest

Tanazania's food production in 2007/08 is expected to reach 11.02 million tonnes against national consumption of 10.09 tonnes, said Minister for Agriculture Stephen Wassira.

Wassira said the nation will have a nine per cent surplus of food. He said Iringa, Mbeya, Ruvuma, Rukwa, Mtwara, Kigoma, and Lindi will have surplus stocks. He said that Morogoro, Manyara, Kagera, Dodoma, Mwanza, Tanga, Coast, Mara and Shinyanga regions will have enough stocks of food but will not have surplus. Tabora, Kilimanjaro, Arusha and Dar es Salaam will have minimal shortages.

The minister said this fiscal year his ministry has to improve existing irrigation schemes covering 146,094 hectares; continue working on 20,515 hectares of new projects and carry out feasibility studies on 125,579 potentially viable programmes.

Wassira said his ministry has made headway towards implementation of the Abuja Declaration on the Africa Green Revolution. The steps, he said, included recruiting rural agro-dealers who will distribute fertilisers and train farmers on better farming methods.

He also said efforts aiming at production of better-yield seeds for a variety of food and cash crops were underway and that agro-companies will be enabled to deliver fertilisers, improved seeds and insecticides to villages depending on the volume of requirements. The ministry also envisages building 16 small dams for irrigation initiatives in Manyara, Tabora, Mwanza, Singida, Dodoma, Iringa, Mara, Shinyanga and Tanga.

When completed the dams would be ideal for irrigation schemes covering 3,720 hectares. In 2007/08 viability studies would be made on a further 85 irrigation schemes spanning 78,950 hectares. He said two irrigation schemes at Minepa in Ulanga district (600 hectares) and at Wami-Luhindi in Mvomero district (200 hectares) would be improved. A further 37 schemes (32,879 hectares) in Morogoro, Kilosa, Mvomero, Ulanga and Kilombero are in the pipeline.

He said the Strategic Grain Reserve (SGR) plans to purchase and stock 27,500 tonnes of grains this financial year. The year will also see the SGR moving stored grains from affluent to needy zones.

He said in 2007/08 farming season coffee production is expected to log 52,000 tonnes. Better-yield seedlings which are resistant to crop diseases will be introduced, coupled with close extension supervision. Irrigation will also be encouraged.

Production of tea is expected to reach 36,000 tonnes; cashew nuts (141,000 tonnes); tobacco (80,000 tonnes); sugar (312,000 tonnes); pyrethrum (2,200 tonnes) and sisal (46,000 tonnes). Improved seeds and subsidies on fertilizers are expected to benefit farmers.

Production of cotton lint is expected to improve from 130,565 tonnes last season to 300,000 tonnes this season. The minister said agricultural production was satisfactory nationwide this financial year.

Last fiscal year agriculture contributed 44.7 per cent of the national revenue receipts, the minister said. Other sectors of the economy combined to generate the remaining 53.3 per cent. He said the cash crop sector contributed 33.4 per cent to the economy.

But speaking in response to the minister's budget estimates, the opposition camp in the National Assembly expressed skepticism that the local version of the Green Revolution would succeed without tangible, viable and clear-cut agricultural initiatives.

Salim Hemed Khamis, the Shadow Minister for Agriculture said, for example, that out of the Sh58.78bn ($47 million) which will be disbursed to districts for projects, only Sh4.704 bn (3.7 million), comes from the government. This means the state depends on donor funds by 91.99 per cent. The opposition said dependence on donor funds at this scale was unnecessary "because this nation has a lot of sources of revenue." They said Tanzania had capacity to raise 8 trillion shillings ($6.3 billion) and set aside 12 per cent for agriculture projects.

"But the government fails to capitalise on favourable situations," Khamis charged, adding that there had been a failure to set aside the 10 per cent of all revenue receipts for agriculture projects as per SADC requirements.

He said government intervention on crop price drops was required in order to save farmers from losses and resultant poverty. He also it was imperative that farmers get low interest rate bank loans through agriculture banks so that they improve production. Khamis said Tanzania had many rivers which could be utilised for irrigation. "The African Green Revolution could start here," he quipped.

Khamis also said that cash crop farmers should get adequate state backing in terms of extensions services and timely delivery of subsidised fertilisers. He said cotton, tobacco, pyrethrum, sugarcane, coffee, tea and others should be given a boost.

MP John Momose Cheyo demanded a cutback on deductions made on the sales of cotton so that growers benefit more from their efforts. He also said he did not see comprehensive state plans to promote cash crop production.

MP Vita Rashidi Kawawa complained that maize farmers in his Namtumbo District were heavily exploited by middlemen who paid only 25 shillings (US 2 cents) per kilo. He said farmers remained poor despite bumper maize harvests.

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