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Agriculture deputy minister pleads for higher productivity
2008-04-30 09:18:56
By Lusekelo Philemon
Agriculture, Food and Cooperatives deputy minister Dr. Mathayo David Mathayo has challenged farmers in the country to form groups that would make them easily acquire loans from financial institutions and uplift their agricultural productivity.
Speaking soon after launching Sakai construction equipment on Monday in Dar es Salaam, Dr. Mathayo said the only way for farmers to uplift their productivity was through savings and credit cooperative societies (SACCOS).
According to Dr. Mathayo, SACCOS would easily enable them acquire modern farming inputs and equipment such as tractors to help them expand sizes of their farms.
``It is very difficult for an individual to buy heavy agricultural machines to improve their farms. But forming groups will help them easily receive loans from banks and get those machines,`` he said, adding that by so doing it would be possible for them to get positive returns from agriculture.
Dr. Mathayo was of the view that if rural farmers were empowered with modern farming tools it would help improve the country`s agricultural productivity.
He said some of the heavy machines would be used for farming, constructing dams, water and irrigation canals.
``Irrigation farming is not widely spread in the country.
If well utilized, irrigation could relieve the country from the sporadic shortage of food. This will be possible for farmers who are in formalised groups,`` he said.
Dr Mathayo stressed that agriculture was one of the government`s top development priorities, hence it was committed to developing its infrastructure that would help in alleviating poverty through assisting local investors who could ably provide quality equipment.
He further revealed that irrigation farming in Tanzania was progressing due to sound policies and programmes.
``There has been drastic improvement in irrigation farming triggered by the development of irrigation schemes, construction of irrigation dams, and rain-harvest irrigation schemes,`` he said.
Dr. Mathayo further stressed that modern equipment such as Sakai sold by Panafrican Trucks and Equipment Tanzania would also improve road infrastructures for rural farmers who constitute large percentage of Tanzania`s population.
On his part, Panafrican Equipment Country Manager Peter Muchiri said his company was very dedicated to ensuring that infrastructures like roads were built using standardized machines.
He said modern machines would help the country have standardized roads passable during all seasons and thus ensure market for farmers.
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