State stresses inclusive economy

DODOMA: PRESIDENT Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan said yesterday that the government is committed to building an inclusive economy that empowers all citizens, enabling them to reap the benefits of their work, particularly through the agriculture and fisheries sectors.

She said the government’s goal is to increase productivity in all production sectors and reduce poverty at individual level by creating more jobs for young people and support selfemployment in agriculture, livestock and fisheries.

President Samia expressed the commitment during the climax of Nanenane celebrations held at the Nzuguni grounds in Dodoma.

“The goal of building an inclusive economy is to increase productivity in the production sectors and reduce poverty at individual level.

As we move forward, the government is setting up strategies to create jobs through agriculture, livestock and fisheries sectors,” she noted.

The Head of State said the government has increased the budget of the Ministry of Agriculture from 294bn/- in 2021/2022 to 1.248tr/- in the 2024/25 financial year.

She added that in the livestock sector, the ministry’s budget has also increased by nearly seven times from 66.8bn/- in 2020/2021 to 460.33bn/- in the current 2024/25 financial year.

President Samia said the government has increased the budget purposely to promote research in the areas of crop farming, livestock and fisheries.

She said the government is currently building modern laboratories and research centres with the aim of increasing productivity to enable access to international markets.

“The issue of research and improving standards is unavoidable if we want to penetrate international markets,” said Dr Samia.

The Head of State added that the government is determined to continue increasing productivity to promote a commercial agriculture policy, noting that the current average maize harvest in the country is 2.0 tonnes per hectare.

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She said the target is to produce four tonnes per hectare as other developed countries are averaging 12 tonnes per hectare.

“On rice production, our productivity is four tonnes, our target is to produce seven tonnes per hectare, while other countries like Egypt have a yield of 10.2 tonnes per hectare,” said President Samia.

In line with that, President Samia continued to emphasise on the importance of the government preserving more than 30 tonnes of food through the National Food Reserve Authority (NFRA) using the food security bond.

She said the government has already agreed with banks to increase loans to farmers and enable the National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) to have modern equipment, technology and expand warehouses to buy and store more food.

Furthermore, President Samia said that in the next farming season, apart from the fertiliser subsidy, the government will continue providing seed subsidy to bring relief to farmers, urging farmers to be honest by registering and following the official systems to be eligible for these subsidies.

The Head of State added that in the pursuit of the green transformation in Africa, the government wants to increase the level of fertiliser use in line with the African Union (AU) Abuja Declaration of 2006, which calls for increased use of fertiliser to at least 50 kilogrames per hectare.

Currently, the average fertiliser use in the country is between 19 and 21 kilogrammes per hectare, while the African average is around 18 kilogrammes per hectare.

She called on farmers and all agricultural stakeholders in the country to prioritise investment in agricultural infrastructure such as irrigation, dips and fishing equipment to ensure the sector’s sustainability.

She also directed regional security committees to take action against those selling substandard agricultural inputs and equipment.

Furthermore, she urged the agriculture and fisheries sectors to establish robust cooperative unions for sustainable economic outcomes.

Moreover, President Samia said the government has so far facilitated significant transformations in the agriculture sector by expanding irrigation areas, increasing uses of fertiliser, strengthening extension services, improving livestock infrastructure and access to vaccination, dipping as well as marketing services.

In the livestock sector, the production of fodder and forage seeds in government farms has increased from 22.7 tonnes in 2022/2023 to 127.8 tonnes in 2023/2024.

Additionally, fish production has risen from 506,549.06 tonnes in 2020/2021 to 517,896.70 tonnes in 2022/2023, worth 3.34 tri/-.

She noted that the agricultural sector grew by 4.2 per cent in 2023, contributing 26.5 per cent to the national GDP, employing 65.6 per cent of citizens, supplying 65 per cent of industrial raw materials and increasing exports by 30 per cent, while ensuring over 100 per cent food self-sufficiency.