Exploitation of Current Developments in ICT to Enhance Implementation of “Kilimo Kwanza” in Tanzania — Yuda Julius Chatama
The concept of Kilimo Kwanza
Kilimo Kwanza (Agriculture First) was the theme of a two day meeting convened on 2 and 3 June 2009 at Kunduchi Beach Hotel, Dar es Salaam by Tanzania National Business Council (TNBC), under its Chairman, Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, President of the United Republic of Tanzania. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the policies and strategies for the transformation of Tanzania’s agriculture and its implementation (Tanzania. Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives, 2009).
From presentations made by experts at the meeting the following points became evident:
- Eighty percent of Tanzanians depend on agriculture for their livelihood
- The greatest challenge facing Tanzania is to combat poverty and that this will be possible mainly through enhanced agricultural productivity.
- Tanzania has agricultural land, livestock and marine resources of which a large proportion is currently underutilized.
- Tanzania has the second largest volume of inland fresh water resources in Africa that can be utilized for irrigation.
- So far considerable efforts have been made towards the transformation of agriculture without much success.
Consequently the meeting made the following resolutions:
- Embark on Kilimo Kwanza as Tanzania’s Green Revolution to transform its agriculture into a modern and commercial sector.
- Integrate Kilimo Kwanza into the government machinery to ensure its successful implementation.
- Mobilize increased resources towards the realization of Kilimo Kwanza.
- Mobilize the private sector to substantially increase its investment and shoulder its rightful role in the implementation of Kilimo Kwanza.
The last component of the resolution was to declare that the implementation of Kilimo Kwanza will comprise ten actionable pillars:
- Political will to push our agricultural transformation;
- Enhanced financing for agriculture;
- Institutional reorganization and management of agriculture;
- Paradigm shift to strategic agricultural production;
- Land availability for agriculture;
- Incentives to stimulate investments in agriculture;
- Industrialization for agricultural transformation;
- Science, technology and human resources to support agricultural transformation;
- Infrastructure development to support agricultural transformation;
- Mobilization of Tanzanians to support and participate in the implementation of Kilimo Kwanza.
According to the implementation framework (Tanzania. Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives, 2009) it is the responsibility of the President to announce the Kilimo Kwanza resolution, start the implementation program of Kilimo Kwanza, instill political will at all levels of leadership and commitment by Tanzanians to the Kilimo Kwanza Resolution, and to establish an autonomous National Irrigation Agency.
The Ministry of Agriculture is required to transform peasants and small farmers to commercial farmers through emphasis on productivity and tradability, and to promote to medium and large scale farmers the full realization of the vision of Kilimo Kwanza. The Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Tanzania will work out ways of financing Kilimo Kwanza through increasing government budgetary allocation, establishing the Tanzania Agricultural Development Bank, or establishing a special fund.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Land and Housing is responsible for amending the Village Land Act No. 5 of 1999 to facilitate equitable access to village land for Kilimo Kwanza investments plus fast–tracking a land delivery system. Incentives for Kilimo Kwanza such as removing market barriers to agricultural commodities, price stabilization and supply of agricultural machinery and implements are the responsibilities of the Ministry of Industries, Trade and Marketing. Coordination as well as influencing the budgets of all other ministries to support Kilimo Kwanza is the responsibility of the Prime Minister’s office.
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