UVCCM casts weight on youth engagement in agribusiness
THE CCM Youth Wing (UVCCM), has directed the Ministry of Agriculture to liaise with the Ministry of Education to look at the possibility of establishing agricultural colleges that will produce more agricultural professionals.
The directive was given in Dodoma on Thursday by UVCCM Pioneer, Mobilization and Publication Secretary, Ms Edna Lameck, while giving an evaluation report on the UVCCM Chairman Mohamed Kawaida’s visit and inspection on the Building a Better Tomorrow-Youth Initiative for Agribusiness (BBT-YIA) programme.
Ms Lameck said the establishment of these colleges will bring more experts closer to farmers, thus helping to fulfill the dreams and expectations of President Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan to see the youth becoming productive hence improve the economy through agriculture.
“President Dr Samia is determined to do justice to youth by giving them areas where they will practice agribusiness, it is the responsibility of the ministry of agriculture to see how they will enable the youth get expertise through agricultural colleges,” she said.
“President Samia has a dream to make Tanzanian youth producers who will be depended on feeding Africa and the world in general,” she added.
She said if the youth acquire expertise, it will help them increase their participation in agribusiness, hence create employments, strengthen food security, increase the contribution of the agricultural sector to the national income, as well as raise the standard of living of the Tanzanian community.
The UVCCM has also directed banks and other financial institutions to support President Samia’s efforts by collaborating directly with the Ministry of Agriculture in ensuring that young Tanzanians have access to capital, markets and modern technologies in participating in agribusiness.
In addition, it has advised all Councils in the country that participate in the agricultural sector to allocate land for the BBT program as well as cooperating with the Ministry of Agriculture to prepare large collective farms (block farms) which the government has already provided more than 361bn/- in the 2022/23 financial year for the construction of irrigation infrastructure.
UVCCM has also asked the Ministry of Agriculture to ensure that cashews and other commercial crops produced in the country are not exported before being added value.
“It is good that all commercial products produced in the country, such as cashew nuts from the southern regions, are added value first, this will help bring in revenue through our ports,” she said.
