By Valentine Oforo, Dodoma
THE Agriculture ministry is finalizing processes to sign a vital Memorandum of Understanding with Swissaid Tanzania in readiness to open a special excellence centre for organic agriculture in Bihawana area, Mbabala ward in Dodoma City.
The envisaged crucial development in the country’s biological farming system sector was unveiled yesterday in Dodoma Capital City by Obadia Kamea, Head of Legal Services Unit at the Ministry of Agriculture.
The robust initiative came to light during the 8th Annual General Meeting of the Tanzania Organic Agriculture Movement (TOAM) held yesterday in Dodoma City, attracting key agroecology stakeholders, pundits as well as farmers from different regions across the country.
Graced the annually staged event, Kamea, in his opening remarks expressed that the parent ministry was keen, and it was further working round the clock to ensure for the smooth metamorphosis of the sector, through joint efforts from the private sector.
“We have earmarked at least 5 hectares in Bihawana area for the specific purpose to develop a professional and excellence centre for organic agricultural undertakings, the facility to be used by the farmers to acquire biological farming practices, but also, the hub will be used as a useful benchmark for them to evaluate their performance,” Kamea added.
Realizing the importance of organic agriculture in the country, he said the sixth phase government has, and continues to draft and implement a series of varied strategies meant to improve performance of organic agriculture, targeting to heighten production and productivity, among others.
“For instance, at the ministry, we are currently working to revitalize and rectify several policies, including those pertaining to seeds. Among others, we’re focusing on identifying and improving the Quality Declared Seeds (QDS) varieties for both conventional and organic farming,” he detailed.
He insisted that the parent ministry will continue standing firmly to iron out all hiccups that tend to derail and upset efforts by indigenous organic farmers to realize enough crop yields, but also in accessing the necessary agro inputs, including bio-pesticides, organic fertilizers and others.
Apart from hailing TOAM for excellence performance, he challenged the Movement to develop a vast countrywide organic forum, one that will further help to accelerate awareness over importance of the environmental friendly farming system across the country, and in East Africa at large.
“Organic farming is useful for both, food security and safety and the country has been endowed with potential agroclimatic zones that support biological farming and thus what is needed most is to lobby for more support from both the public and private sector,” he insisted.
In further efforts to improve the sector, he said the government has developed meaningful policies and strategies, including the Agricultural Sector Development Programme (ASDP II), the 2017 Climate -Smart Agricultural Guideline
“Later on this year, we’re expecting to embark on the effective implementation of the National Ecological Organic Agriculture Strategy, the eight-year initiative which has been coordinated by the ministry of agriculture to further create awareness over organic agriculture among local farmers and relevant stakeholders,” he added.
For his part, TOAM Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Bakari Mongo said the Movement was well prepared to continue fueling a pace of biological agriculture among the local farmers across the country.
“After passing through some tough years, TOAM is currently roaring back with a series of strategic plans to assure Tanzania become an important hub for agroecology across East and Central Africa,” he assured.
He added, there’s increased demand for organically produced food items in the world, the –mesmerizing economic trend which has equally unlocked varied opportunities that ought to be effectively grasped by Tanzanian farmers.
The Tanzania Organic Agriculture Movement (TOAM) is a registered NGO formed in 2005 under the NGO Act of 2002. It is an umbrella organization that coordinates and promotes the development of organic farming among farmers, distributors and consumers through networking and information distribution.
TOAM sees development of the organic farming sector as a crucial factor for sustainable livelihoods and envisions establishing a vibrant, sustainable and mutually beneficial organic sector in Tanzania.
The robust initiative came to light during the 8th Annual General Meeting of the Tanzania Organic Agriculture Movement (TOAM) held yesterday in Dodoma City, attracting key agroecology stakeholders, pundits as well as farmers from different regions across the country.
Graced the annually staged event, Kamea, in his opening remarks expressed that the parent ministry was keen, and it was further working round the clock to ensure for the smooth metamorphosis of the sector, through joint efforts from the private sector.
“We have earmarked at least 5 hectares in Bihawana area for the specific purpose to develop a professional and excellence centre for organic agricultural undertakings, the facility to be used by the farmers to acquire biological farming practices, but also, the hub will be used as a useful benchmark for them to evaluate their performance,” Kamea added.
Realizing the importance of organic agriculture in the country, he said the sixth phase government has, and continues to draft and implement a series of varied strategies meant to improve performance of organic agriculture, targeting to heighten production and productivity, among others.
“For instance, at the ministry, we are currently working to revitalize and rectify several policies, including those pertaining to seeds. Among others, we’re focusing on identifying and improving the Quality Declared Seeds (QDS) varieties for both conventional and organic farming,” he detailed.
He insisted that the parent ministry will continue standing firmly to iron out all hiccups that tend to derail and upset efforts by indigenous organic farmers to realize enough crop yields, but also in accessing the necessary agro inputs, including bio-pesticides, organic fertilizers and others.
Apart from hailing TOAM for excellence performance, he challenged the Movement to develop a vast countrywide organic forum, one that will further help to accelerate awareness over importance of the environmental friendly farming system across the country, and in East Africa at large.
“Organic farming is useful for both, food security and safety and the country has been endowed with potential agroclimatic zones that support biological farming and thus what is needed most is to lobby for more support from both the public and private sector,” he insisted.
In further efforts to improve the sector, he said the government has developed meaningful policies and strategies, including the Agricultural Sector Development Programme (ASDP II), the 2017 Climate -Smart Agricultural Guideline
“Later on this year, we’re expecting to embark on the effective implementation of the National Ecological Organic Agriculture Strategy, the eight-year initiative which has been coordinated by the ministry of agriculture to further create awareness over organic agriculture among local farmers and relevant stakeholders,” he added.
For his part, TOAM Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Bakari Mongo said the Movement was well prepared to continue fueling a pace of biological agriculture among the local farmers across the country.
“After passing through some tough years, TOAM is currently roaring back with a series of strategic plans to assure Tanzania become an important hub for agroecology across East and Central Africa,” he assured.
He added, there’s increased demand for organically produced food items in the world, the –mesmerizing economic trend which has equally unlocked varied opportunities that ought to be effectively grasped by Tanzanian farmers.
The Tanzania Organic Agriculture Movement (TOAM) is a registered NGO formed in 2005 under the NGO Act of 2002. It is an umbrella organization that coordinates and promotes the development of organic farming among farmers, distributors and consumers through networking and information distribution.
TOAM sees development of the organic farming sector as a crucial factor for sustainable livelihoods and envisions establishing a vibrant, sustainable and mutually beneficial organic sector in Tanzania.
Post a Comment