THE Head of the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of
Tanzania (SAGCOT), said in Dar es Salaam yesterday that the correct path to
realistic industrial take-off and growth in Tanzania is to invest strategically
in agriculture.
SAGCOT Chief Executive
Officer, Geoffrey Kirenga told journalists that the rational way to develop a
reliable home-grown industrial base in Tanzania was to create a welcoming
investment environment in agriculture.
He said Tanzanian future
industries will depend on agricultural produce for growth and survival, adding
that the only correct path to an industrial Tanzania was to increase
productivity in agriculture. Mr. Kirenga said when Tanzania talks of
industries, it must at the same time think of high-quality productive
agriculture because to a large extent it is agriculture that will produce raw
materials for Tanzanian industries.
“We must think of creating
first-rate investment climate in agriculture; we must conserve and protect
water sources and biodiversity; we must examine opportunities and challenges in
agriculture,” he said.
In the southern regions, he
said, the push is towards business farming by creating chain value in crops
like tea, potatoes, tomatoes, dairy products and soya beans.
Industries are in place, he
said, but they lack enough agricultural raw materials to produce products for
sale. He added that in business farming, the trick starts with the demand in
the market, but a lot of people when they think of agriculture they think of
producing crops on land.
“You must know what is in
the market, the price and the accepted quality, time, needed amount and the way
to reach the market. When you have answers for all these elements, then you
turn to the farm for farming.”
Mr Kirenga said Tanzania’s
farming is devoid of productivity, giving the example of maize which is heavily
produced in southern regions. He said farmers still harvest less than 1.5
tonnes a hectare. “Today this is unacceptable, especially in areas with ample
rain.”
He said that the Clinton
Foundation trained farmers in Kilolo district, Iringa region, in the last two
years harvested 8.5 tonnes of maize per hectare, adding that farmers who missed
the training are still harvesting 1.5 tones.
“Acid in the soil is our
biggest challenge. PH is in the region of 4 downwards. In a situation like this
use of fertiliser is not rewarding because nutrients do not reach the roots,
they are stuck in the soil on the way.”
SAGCOT Board of Directors
Chairman Salum Shamte said SAGCOT has accumulated experience in the last five
years it focused on the southern zone, adding that it was time to pay attention
to western, northern, eastern and central zones and see the kind of
opportunities the zones offer.
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