Samia’s warning on spending of agriculture billions

Dar es Salaam. Funds meant for agriculture projects must be spent well, President Samia Suluhu Hassan said yesterday.

She made the remark when launching block farms that are part of the Building a Better Tomorrow (BBT) programme.

The first phase of the BBT programme involves 812 youth, who will undergo four months’ training on modern farming.

The youth will then each be allocated ten acres that have been cleared, planted and provided with irrigation infrastructure.

The youth will also qualify for National Social Security Fund (NSSF) memberships and their farms will be insured by National Insurance Corporation (NIC).

Speaking at the function which was televised live, President Hassan directed Agriculture minister Hussein Bashe to oversee prudent expenditure of funds set aside by the government.

“I will not tolerate any misuse of taxpayers’ money allocated to the sector. As you said, I would like to see every shilling channelled to the sector produce the desired results.

“Despite the good things that have been done, you should work closely with your colleagues to ensure more good results. I have provided you with equipment, manpower and funds after approving the idea you submitted,” she added.

President Hassan said there was no reason for the programme to fail and called for the formation of a ministerial committee to ensure efficient execution of the programme.

“My intention is to record success in this programme because after starting with budgetary allocations, we are ready to continue increasing funds in the coming years,” she said.

The Head of State added that the programme aimed at increasing the contribution of crop farming to the national economy to at least ten percent by 2030.

“You go and practise agribusiness because in today’s world food crops are no longer differentiated from cash crops such as rice, maize, onions and others. They are all profitable,” she told the youth.

Welcoming President Hassan, Mr Bashe said some Tanzania are doubtful about block farms’ sustainability despite experience elsewhere showing they can have a big impact.

He said Tanzania and Malaysia were almost at par economically in 1963/64.

“But Tanzania established state-operated block farms, while Malaysia handed an average of 4.1 acres to individual citizens. As a result, Tanzania recorded a drop in productivity, while Malaysia is now feeding the world, including Tanzania,” he said.

Mr Bashe added that his docket has established a grant and soft loan window that has received Sh3 billion investment in the 2022/23, noting that another Sh10 billion will be invested in the next fiscal year.

Furthermore, he said NMB Bank recently issued Sh20 billion for the window.

“We are constructing a grape processing factory with a capacity to process 15 tonnes per day and 100,000 litres. The factory will be given to the private sector for operations and pay leasing charges to the government,” he said.

According to him, several contracts were signed yesterday aimed at undertaking detailed design and feasibility study to 33 basins comprising 317,000 hectares including Lake Victoria, Lake Tanganyika and the Julius Nyerere Hydropower Project (JNHPP) downstream.

Earlier, the National Irrigation Commission (NiRC) inked contracts with private companies for implementation of 22 projects worth Sh149.143 billion.

The projects aimed at construction of dams and rehabilitation of irrigation infrastructures.