The ACT Chairman, Dr Sinare Yusuf Sinare said 70 per cent of the population in Tanzania engages in agricultural activities in one way or another, thus massive investment in the sector was vital.

 

He said if the government would meet with stakeholders in the agricultural sector and chart productive strategies for the development of commercial agriculture and implement, certainly the agricultural production would be bolstered and makes it contribute immensely to the national economic growth.

 

Dr Sinare made the remarks in Dar es Salaam during the introduction of Annual Stakeholders' Workshop to be held in the city tomorrow with a theme; 'Markets for Agricultural Produce'.

 

The major issue is to ascertain the role of market information before producers make investment decisions on what to produce and by how much.

 

The Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Mr Mwigulu Nchemba is expected to grace the workshop that will bring together over 100 participants from several agricultural associations in Eastern Africa.

 

"Many farmers in the country are producing without considering the needs of the market and so they become discouraged by the price of products and do not realise the benefits of agriculture," he said.

 

He said although the agricultural sector faces many challenges, there are also so many opportunities in agriculture if the government will invest strongly. He mentioned market as a major challenge due to poor infrastructures from production areas.

 

According to him, land and source of water are the major opportunities of improving agricultural sector in the country. He said the development of agriculture would lead advancement in various fields especially in promoting and developing the industrial sector.

 

The workshop will examine the current and potential challenges and agree on possible solutions. Participants will get the opportunity to exchange ideas and share experiences.

 

"We have invited seasoned technical people from the public and private sectors to contribute in the discussion of specific topics.

 

We have also invited the Chief Executive Officer of the Commodity Exchange to talk about plans to put on board agricultural produce," he said.

 

Moreover, he said there are three sub-themes that are congruous with the main topic as contract farming, post harvest losses and food safety.

 

Source : allafrica.com