Agriculture sector is vital for ensuring food security

The Agricultural Sector Development Programme (ASDP) Framework and Process Document, developed jointly by the five Agricultural Sector Lead Ministries (ASLMs), provides the overall framework and processes for implementing the ASDS.

Development activities at national level are to be based on the strategic plans of the line ministries while activities at district level are to be implemented by Local Government Authorities (LGAs), based on District Agricultural Development Plans (DADPs). The DADPs are part of the broader District Development Plans (DDPs).

This Programme has the following objectives:

First, to enable farmers to have better access to and use of agricultural knowledge, technologies, marketing systems and infrastructure, all of which contribute to higher productivity, profitability, and farm incomes; Second, to promote private investment based on an improved regulatory and policy environment.

The agricultural sector is central to sustainable development of the country as it constitutes almost 25 per cent of the country’s GDP.

It is a leading sector that employs the majority of the country’s citizens, and existing data indicates that approximately 75 per cent of the whole population live in the rural areas.
Therefore, the agriculture sector is vital for ensuring food security and alleviating rural poverty.

The available official data indicates that on average about 30-40 per cent of overall total crop production is lost annually due to pre and post harvest losses.

In order to ensure a value chain, so that agricultural products are successful, the government is required to address the issue of value-added tax (VAT), on the products locally produced.
We should borrow a leaf from the Rwandan government which had recently abolished VAT on all products produced locally.

Local Government Authorities (LGAs) in the country have the responsibility of establishing premises for processors. But so far they are not doing enough because of lack of funds.

It we want to help smallholder farmers to produce quality crop products, and effectively process and export them we should first address the issue of governance by not allowing farmers to export raw products to international markets.

It is therefore high time to protect the agricultural sector by subsidising it, as many of the European Union members are doing in their countries.

We need to prepare our producers to comply with the required international standard so that they become competitive.

We therefore underscore the need for the government to develop industry that is competitive.
In order to satisfy the market demand in an industrial economy, we need to have the capacity of producing the quality and quantity of products and take them to the market in a timely way.

For we cannot produce without value addition in the same vein we should facilitate the private sector to build up an industry that is competitive against other foreign markets.

Mozambican ten years ago was on the same level in sugar production. But now Tanzania has 15 sugar production sites, compared to Mozambique, but the latter exports 300,000MT, a similar amount to what is imported in the country.

The government needs to safeguard local industries so as to encourage them produce more for local production and for the export market.