Kilimo Kwanza - The Guardian - 22nd Febuary 2010

8/3/2019 Kilimo Kwanza - The Guardian - 22nd Febuary 2010

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Monday 22 February, 2010

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Like the chicken and the egg question, govt and intellectualsdispute the position of research in Kilimo Kwanza:



The Guardian KILIMO KWANZA

MECHANISATION


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The Guardian KILIMO KWANZAMonday 22 February, 2010

inside

Thereisa divergenceof views o n the ap-proach to achievingthe desired moderni-sation of agriculture,between policy mak-ers for the

Agriculture, FoodSecurity and Cooperatives ministryand experts from the top national agri-cultural institution, the SokoineUniversity of Agriculture (SUA).

The university people think it wasill advised to launch the KilimoKwanzastrategybeforecomprehensiveresearch was done. But the politicalleaders say Kilimo Kwanza is neithernew nor is it a project or programmethat required specific research; rather,it is a continuation of old and existingprogrammes.

Fortunately, both parties agreethat there is urgent need to catalyse

agricultural development if a meaning-ful change is to be accomplished in theshortest time possible.

It is important to remember thatthe university and the government areessentially on the same side, and neednot take on adversarial positions.

The government is elected and

mandated to foster the development of thecountrywhiletheuniversity,estab-lishedbythegovernment,mustinitiateand conduct basic and applied researchin the fields of land use, crop and live-stock production, fisheries, natural re-sources and allied sciences, mechanicalarts and technology.

The university must also promotethe integration of the research withtraining and agricultural extensionservices. This is according to its statedmission. It is therefore encouragingthat Deputy Agriculture MinisterDavid Mathayo has vowed not to fightthe professors as they vigorously airtheir reservations on Kilimo Kwanza.But not fighting the professors is notenough. The minister must reach outand engage them further, so that thetwo institutions see eye to eye as far asthe strategy to develop agriculture inthe country is concerned.

Currently SUA has nearly 200 re-searchers trained at PhD level in allfields of agriculture, forestry and vet-erinary medicine. The university alsohas many students pursuing a host of undergraduate and postgraduatecourses, all of whom are usable in re-search activities.

Furthermore, it has many collabo-ration arrangements with other re-search institutions in and outside thecountry. It would therefore be reckless-ly wasteful for such a huge national as-set not to be on board the KilimoKwanza ship.

SUA has amassed immeasurablecapital in the form of networks with in-stitutions in many countries, and isthus a major reservoir of agriculturalknowledge and technical skills.

All these are the property of thepeople of Tanzania. The governmentand the university have a duty to en-sure these technical assets are har-nessed for the benefit of the country.Disagreementsoverapproacheswillal-ways be there but avoiding or ignoringeach other is not in the interest of thepeopleofTanzania.They deserveama-ture cooperation between their govern-ment and their university.

Wallace MauggoEditor

Intellectuals and politicians

should share same vision

State of Mechanisation ofAgriculture in Tanzania

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What does it take to makeirrigation a reality?

Ruvuma shines

United States backs agricultural

development in Tanzania

EDITORIAL

A recent study of the state of mechanisation of Tanzania’s agricultureby SokoineUniversity found thatthe pace of automation needs tobe stepped up if it isto match the rate atwhich labour supplyis declining in therural areas.

Water from thesurface sources maybe used for severaldevelopmentsincluding domesticwater supply,hydropowerproduction, irrigatedagriculture, industries,fisheries, livestock, andflood control

The new USAmbassador toTanzania AlfonsoE. Lenhardt talkstoThe Guardian’sKilimo Kwanzaabout hiscountry’s role inTanzania’sAgriculturalDevelopment.

Although the nationalirrigation efforts haveattracted a lot of criticism, there is asilver lining in thewhole depressingcloud.This is inRuvuma, whereimpressive resultshave been achieved asa result of sustainedefforts invested inirrigation.

Mechanizationpromotes thehuman physi-cal capacity,leading to in-creasedacreage andcrop produc-

tivity as a result of timely planting,weeding,postharvestinghandlingandaccessibilitytomarkets.Italsoreducesdrudgery, making agriculture an at-tractive enterprise, especially foryoung people.

Mechanization is becoming in-creasingly important in addressing theshortage of farm power in rural areasas a result of declining agriculturallabour force, which is growing at only2.8% compared to the overall growthrate of the total labour of 3.1 %, be-cause of rural to urban migration, non-farm employment opportunities andthe HIV/AIDS and malaria pan-demics.

Although it is important, the levelof mechanization in Tanzania is stilllow and the farming systems are stilldominated by hand hoe. The use of an-

imal traction and mechanical power isstill limited. While there are over 14million hand hoes in use, the numberof oxen and animal drawn ploughs isapproximately1.2millionand570,000,respectively. There are also about9,500 tractors that are operational andanother 6,000 that are broken down.

It is estimated that the countryneeds more than 30,000 animal drawnploughs and 1800 tractors annually inorder to cater for power needs for agri-cultural growth, but on average, thenumberof ploughshasbeenincreasingat an average rate of 20,000 units peryear while 200 to 300 tractors are im-ported annually. The figures are smallindeed.

Generally, the development of mechanization in the country has beenslow because of several factors. Thefactorsincludehigh costsofagricultur-al machinery, low purchasing power of most small scale farmers, of which lowproducer prices is among the con-tributing factors, lack of agriculturalcredit, and lack of machinery packagesuitable for the conditions of smallscale farm operations.

These constraints have not beenadequately addressed in the past. Inaddition,earlierattemptsofpromotingdraught animal power have variedmainly due to lack of resources andlack of suitable animals in some areas.In these areas where the practice wassuccessfully adopted major improve-ments in agricultural production havebeen registered.

To promote higher levels of farmmechanization the government willneed to undertake the following:

• Reviving the oxenisation train-ing centres (OTCs)

The government through LGAsshould rehabilitate the OTCs and re-vive the training programmes whichwere earlier conducted in almost every

district. This should go hand in handwith a long term breeding and distri-bution of donkeys for areas wherethere are no cattle, or the terrain is

such that oxen would not be suitable.

• Joint research development(R&D) to develop appropriate machin-ery Tanzania, in collaboration with

other African countries such as underSADC and NEPAD should embark onR&D programme to develop affordablemachinerysuitedto Africansmallhold-

er agriculture and for different psources.

CourSokoine University of Agricu

State of Agro-mech in Tanzania

14,000,000hand hoescurrently in use

9,500 tractorsoperationalcountrywide

6,500 tractors

idle and brokendown

30,000 animaldrawn ploughsneeded annually

18,000 tractors neededper year

200 - 300 tractors importedannually

A recent study of the state of mechanisation of Tanzania’s agriculture by Sokoine University found that the pace of automation needs to be stepped up if it is to match the rate at which labour supply is declining in the rural areas.Below is an extract by Angel Navuri from the study report:



The Guardian KILIMO KWANZAMonday 22 February, 2010

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COVER STORY


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For six months, theagriculture gurus atSokoine University have been watchingthe implementationof Kilimo Kwanzasince the initiative was launched by President JakayaKikwete early August last year.The Sokoine donshad been consulted before the launch of Kilimo Kwanza.Last week, severalof them decided toshare theirassessment with The

Guradian’s AngelNavuri, and in theend, their head of department for AgriculturalEconomics and Agribusiness Prof Emmanuel Mbihasummed up their views andarticulated them inan interview.

Wh il e t heSokoine donsagree that it

was right togive agricul-ture top pri-ority, theyare unhappy

that Kilimo Kwanza was launchedwithout, in their view, adequate re-search. And this is where there is asharp and fundamental divergence inthe interpretation of Kilimo Kwanzabetweentheprofessorsandthegovern-ment. For according to the DeputyMinister for Agriculture, Mr DavidMathayo, there was no need for re-search before the launch of KilimoKwanza. And he has reasons.

Mr Mathayo, on being briefedabout the views of the Sokoine dons,clarified the government position toTheGuardian thus:“KilimoKwanzais

neithera projectnor aprogramme,itis just a continuation of what we have allalong been doing to develop agricul-ture. There was therefore nothing toresearch about. Government alreadyknows what it needs to know about ir-rigation, tractors, fertilisers. So re-search for what? There was nothingnew here. Kilimo Kwanza is operatingunder the same old policies of the

Agriculture Sector DevelopmentPrograme and others before it.”

Theministermadeitclear thattheviews of the agriculture professors onKilimo Kwanza were not urgently re-quired, because the government knewvery well what needs to be done.“People can interprete Kilimo Kwanzaany they wish, so long as governmentknows what it is all about,” he said.

KilimoKwanzaisa public/ privatesector partnership under which theprivate sector is expected to play aleading role in increasing agriculturalproductivity, food security, agro indus-try and agribusiness among others inTanzania.

“We shall not argue with the ex-perts because they presented their pa-per and their views are alreadyknown,” he concluded firmly.

It transpires that SokoineUniversityofAgriculturewascontract-ed to make a study for the governmentby the Tanzania National BusinessCouncil before Kilimo Kwanza waslaunched. The university in turn co-opted Bureau of AgriculturalConsultancy and Advisory Services(BACAS) to do the study and compilethe report. It appears that their reportwas not at all used in preparing theKilimo Kwanza strategy, partly ex-plaining why the dons believe thestrategy is not based on research.

Said Prof Mbiha: “The governmentshould understand that it is healthy tobe criticized especially when it couldgoing in the wrong direction.

The truth is that since independ-enceagriculturein thiscountryhasnotimproved because research has notbeen applied.

You cannot improve agriculture if proper research hasn’t been done. Andthis makes every thing about itwrong.”

“TheideaofKilimoKwanzais verygood but exactly what is done underKilimo Kwanza and how it is done isthe issue,” the professor went on.“Basically, there has been a number of initiatives for improving agriculturethat the government has been talkingabout. But its considerations havebeen more on the political rather thanscientific side. But when you comedown to earth and think about it, theproblem has always been the imple-mentation and not the policies. Andthat’s the most difficult area.”

The issue, according to the profes-sor, is lack of research based knowl-edge to make implementation of poli-cies possible. Mbiha then cites the ex-ample of India where proper imple-mentation of policies saw tangible re-

sults throughout the sector, from themarket, infrastructure and mecha-nization.Everyoneplaystheirrolewellto increase agriculture production.India has thus undergone a series of successful agricultural revolutions -starting with the ‘green’ revolution inwheat and rice in the 1960’s and1970’s, the ‘white’ revolution in milk tothe ‘yellow’ revolution in oilseeds in1980’s.

As a result, that country hasachievedself-sufficiencyinagriculture.

Like Tanzania, India is geographi-cally widely distributed into severalagro-climatic zones, and the informa-tion need for the farming systems ineachoftheseareasisentirelydifferent.For example, the concept of fully auto-mated villages was a dream in Indiatill few months back.

But they have now become a reali-tywiththe rapidgrowthofinformationand communication technology on theworld scenario. The wired villages andinfo villages have shown thatInformation can be disseminated inmore useful manner and as farmersneed it, but the specific needs of eacharea have to be known first, and this isvia research.

Prof Mbiha goes on that the gov-ernment has to understand that someof these things are done at an experi-mental level.

The largely inactive agricultureextension workers who are based inthe regions and down to the villageshould be used not only to give infor-mation to farmers but also gather datafor on-going research. Different areashave different characteristics down towhatamountsoffertilizerare requiredper acreage if any, the right time tocultivate, the best seed to use and oth-er issues.

On specific issues, below Prof M bi h a’ s a ns we rs t o T heGuardian’s questions:

What is the role of SokoineUniversity in Kilimo Kwanza?

Sokoine University was involvedindirectly with Kilimo Kwanza in thebeginning because we were told to pre-pare a paper no how to improve agri-culture.

We prepared the paper and sub-mitted it but the government didn’ttake it into consideration. Insteadfrom no where they came up withKilimo Kwanza! This slogan came outsounding very well but what to do inimplementating it is really the prob-lem. That can make everything wrongwith the programme.

Do you think the country is pre-pared to implement Kilimo Kwanza?No the country its not prepared as it isso far only the political side ratherthan the scientific side of KilimoKwanza that has so far been takencare of.

So what needs to be done forKilimo Kwanza to succeed?

For Kilimo Kwanza to succeed se-

rious research should have been donebut in this case no research has beendone that is why there is a problem. Itis a problem of knowing what needs tobe implemented.

What is the different betweenKilimo Kwanza and other previ-ous Agriculture development pro-grams?

Thegovernmenthasbeen tryingtoimprove agriculture in this countrysinceindependentbutit hasneversuc-ceeded.KilimoKwanzaisa sloganthatits being handled more on the politicalside rather than scientific side, justlike the previous programmes. Andthis where the problem is, both for thenew and the pervious programs whichnever worked out.

Of all the stakeholders, gov-ernmental and otherwise, whoshould play the leading role of champion of Kilimo Kwanza?

The ministry of Agriculture shouldplay the central role by starting withresearch and then coordination downtotherural areas,dealingwith theidleagricultural extension officers who areinactiveintheregions,withno connec-tions between the farmers and them.

Since the resources requiredfor the transformation of cannotbe enough, which specific aspectsofthe country’sagricultureshouldget first priority under KilimoKwanza?

In this case the governmentshould, without doubt start with wateraccessibility. This is the most impor-tant item in agriculture, more thananything else. When we talk about ir-rigation it cannot operate without wa-ter. Irrigation for example is quite ex-pensive, and for the government to al-locate it a mere shs40billion, that wasreally peanuts.

The Wor ld Bank says it ’swrong for Tanzania to mechanizeagriculture as this would hurt ru-ral employment, what’s yourview?

This is a simplistic statement be-cause the role of the tractors is to help

cultivation before laborers take overand do the other job, it is the econom-ics of mechanizing which matters ismechanizing fusible or not and if notcarefully it will end up being a sloganbecause the tractor helps in easing the

job of the farmer during the first culti-vation of the land. At first our farmerswere using hand plough which it hasbeen contributing to the farmer notcultivating a big land that could pro-duce more production for selling andeating.

Which crops should be givenpriority?

The crop that can be sold andstored for food too for example thefarmer has to cultivate to get enoughproduction for food and selling too.

Is there need for promobiofuel in Tanzania?

We have to consider first if Biis its beneficial to our country becsometimes our government embaissues that they are not welsearched for the beneficial of the ctry, for example most of the inmentisdoneby foreignersasa cowhat policy do we have to makethat biofuel benefit the country acountry will still need to exportmaterials of which this approach iprofitable to us.

How should the financialt or banks facilit at e KKwanza?

Agriculture is a business in parts of the world agriculture ipected to get interest rates whlower than going for commerciabecause agriculture it’s a long termvestment the government propthat agriculture bank was supposbe established so that it can helfarmers and the government whole to improve agriculture onside of finance but what’s not haping?.

What is wrong with KKwanza?

Everything is wrong with KKwanza because our country emonissueswithoutresearchingtheexample irrigation its realy expeto run irrigation in Tanzania angovernment is setting aside peanuts money for irrigation, theernment imported power tillersit’s a technology should be based able for a type of soil but not any another thing the government is dling this issue in a political way a scientific way do you think withapproach we can succeed in KKwanza?

Asses the state rate of irtion in Tanzania?

Just small part of this countryer irrigation for example those rethat it’s not easy to be accessedwater its really difficult to have irtion unless proper infrastructu

done.

Whatshouldbetheroleofcation in Agriculture?

Theroleofeducationinagricuits very important for example ptillers are imported in the counthe farmers but the farmers are nsued with any education so they know what they will do when the er tiller have a break down.

Andthisthe workofextensiocerswhoareidol inthe regionsanlages doing nothing now you wothe farmer cannot communicaanyone incase they are stuckknowing what to do. I was realyprisedwhenthegovernmentdecidremove agriculture subject in scho

COVER STORY

SCIENCE vs POLITICS?

Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Mr David MathayoHead of Department for Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Prof Emmanuel Mbiha




IRRIGATION


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IRRIGATION


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Any major transformation

leading to growth of agricultural output inTanzania will have to start with provision of water to thesemi arid lands. A study by the Sokoine University of Agriculture just before thelaunch of Kilimo Kwanza last year examined the state of of the country’s water resourcesand the prospect of their being used to improveagricultural output. Below isthe relevant extract from thereport:

Water Uses from water resources

Water from thesurfacesources maybe used forseveral de-velopmentsincluding do-mestic water

supply, hydropower production, irri-gated agriculture, industries, fisheries,livestock, and flood control.

There are two types of dams thatcan be used to tap water from surfacewater from rivers and streams, name-ly diversion dams and water storagedams. Diversion dams are widely usedfor irrigated agriculture in the coun-tries. However, the amount of waterabstracted from the rivers varies withwater depth in the river, which in turnvaries with rainfall since the diversiondams do not store water. Hence, thewater supply for the different develop-ments would have a lot of variationswhich the water operators would notbe able to control.

However, multipurpose storagedams could cater for all the uses formost of the sectors of economy at anyrequired amount. Consequently, in or-der to increase income, reduce povertyof the rural poor and improve the over-alleconomyofthecountry,coordinatedefforts of the stakeholders includingthe government, private sector anddonor agencies should develop a seriesof multipurpose storage dams ratherthan diversion dams along the major

rivers starting from the catchment ar-eas towards the outlet to the oceansand lakes.

Multipurpose storage dams haveseveral advantages over diversiondams including: (i) they provide reli-able and constant water supply for thedifferentdevelopments,(ii)they canbeused to control floods that are disas-trous to the people, agriculture andlivestock, and (iii)

They have multiplier effect on theeconomy. Storage dams are known toequalize the water supply since onlythe required amount can be tappedfrom the accumulated pool at a con-stant rate. Further, storage dams areusedtocontrolfloodsthatcan resultindeaths of many people and animals,loss of property, and destroy the envi-

ronment. How can storage dams be

used to control floods? When heavyrainfall is expected to cause floods inthenearfuture,a forecastedamountof water from the stored water in thereservoir is released to leave space forthe expected runoff. The released wa-terisnotwastedtotheoceans,butitisretained in the downstream storagedams. In addition, storage dams wouldcontrol power failure since electricityproduced from each of the series of dams will be stored into the nationalgrid from which electricity will betapped. Finally, storage dams have amultiplier effect that is the benefit of these dams will trickle down to allTanzanians. For example, storagedamswillaffecteveryTanzanianusingelectricity, water, and other servicesand the revenue generated from theseservices could be invested in agro-in-dustries resulting into value additionforagriculturalproduceandcreationof

jobs. At present diversion dams supply

water to almost all irrigation schemesthat irrigate using surface irrigationsystems in river basins. However,thesedamssupplyunreliableandvari-able amounts of water which in mostcases do not satisfy the crop water re-quirements.

Most of the few multipurpose stor-age dams are under-utilized since theyare built for a single purpose; for ex-ample, producing hydropower. Severalstorage dams are used in large irriga-tion projects for producing sugarcane(Mtibwa and Tanganyika PlantingCompany in Moshi, and Kilombero)and those producing tea (Njombe, andMufindi) using sprinkler irrigation.Few and small storage dams are usedfor domestic and livestock water sup-ply. In Zimbabwe and South Africa,small earth-dams (storage ones) areused and have proved to be inexpen-sive.

Strategies for developing water

resources

Medium-TermThe private sector, NGOs and

donor agencies should plan and devel-op small storage dams for the differentuses.

Long-TermThe government, private sector

and donor agencies should design andconstruct multipurpose storage dams

2.2 IRRIGATION2.2.1 Introduction

Irrigationcan bedefinedasthe ap-plication of water in the farm in theright amount, at the right time and atthe right place for optimum cropgrowth. In other words, it is an inten-sivetechnologythatintervenesthesoilmoisture regime by (i) adding water tothe soil when needed by the crop (irri-gation), (ii) removing excess waterfrom the cropped soil surface (surfacedrainage), (iii) removing excess waterfrom the soil profile (subsurfacedrainage), (iv) improving and main-tainingsoilconditionsthatwill sustainirrigation system (land preparation)and (v) protecting the cropped landfrom flooding and siltation (protectivestructures). From these interventiontwo main sections of an irrigation sys-tem can be identified, namely irriga-tion and drainage that make the com-plete irrigation system.

There are three main irrigationsystems that can be developed, includ-ing sprinkler, trickle and surface. Forsurface irrigation systems, the com-plete irrigation section consists of pri-mary, secondary and distributioncanals. Some surface irrigation sys-temsaredevelopedwithouteitherbothdrainage section and distribution sys-temorwithoutdrainagealoneandsaid

to be incomplete surface irrigation sys-

tems. The constraints of irrigation sys-tems include (i) they are intensivetechnologies and they are multidisci-plinary in nature.

Irrigation systems are intensiverequiring the farmer to spend most of his time in the farm:(i) applying, controlling and measur-

ing water,(ii) maintainingandrepairingthesys-

tem, (iii) applying fertilizer andpesticides, and (iv)removing weedsfrom the cropped land. It is alsomultidisciplinary in nature requir-ingtheplanningand designtocon-sider contributions from other dis-ciplinesotherthanengineering,in-cluding soil science, sociology,health, political science and otherbiases. This is because irrigation isaffected by engineering, agricul-tural (crop characteristics) and so-cioeconomic factors, respectively.Lack of one of these three consid-erations will result into poor plan-ning and design of irrigation sys-tems.

2.2.2 Opportunities for irriga-tion development

Climatic conditions of Tanzaniaare of great diversity; mean annualtemperature varying from 24°C to34°C while mean annual rainfallvaries from 500 mm to 2500 mm. Thecoastal areas receive high rainfallwhereas the central areas of the coun-try,coveringabout40percentofthe to-tal area, receive low and erratic rain-fall, and is classified as semi-arid.

Only o ver 430,000 km2 o f Tanzania(about49%) isarablelandof which over 70,000 km2 is currently be-ing cultivated. The country has a totalirrigation development of 294,000 km2atvaryingpotentiallevels;23,000km2with high potential, 48,000 km2 withmedium low medium potential. Out of

the irrigable area, only about 2,275km2 (about 0.8%) is irrigated, despitethe fact that irrigation has been per-ceived as a necessary input to agricul-tural development since 1930s.

2.2.3 Poor performance of irrigation systems

Irrigation systems have undoubt-edly made significant contributions to-wards expanding food output, alleviat-ing hunger, and improving diets inmany parts of the world. However, dis-

satisfication with the performance of irrigation systems in developing coun-tries, Tanzania inclusive, is wide-spread. Despite their promise as en-gines of agricultural growth, irrigationsystems have continued to perform farbelow their potential. The results of economic performance evaluation of Dakawa Rice Farm showed that therice farm failed to attain better irriga-tion management, productivity, finan-cial and economic profitability, respec-tively. The resulting values of produc-tivity (2.6 tons/ha), internal rate of re-turn (2.4 %), benefit cost ratio (0.34)and net present value at 20 % percentdiscount (- 809,595 Tshs) showed thepoorperformanceoftheirrigatedfarm.

Poorperformanceis usuallyattrib-uted to (i) poor planning, design, andconstruction, (ii) excess water applica-tion in the upper reaches of the sys-tems resulting in adequate water sup-plies in the lower end of the commandarea (tail-end problem), (iii) collapse of canals and gates due to lack of repairand maintenance leading to siltationandfloodingoftheproductionarea,(iv)untimely and unreliable water deliver-ies for different parts of the irrigationsystem, (v) reduced efficiencies to be-low 50 %, and (vi) land degradation re-sulting from waterlogging and salini-sationduetoover-applicationofwater.

The main causes of poor planning,design, and construction include (i)poor selection of the type of irrigationsystem to develop, (ii) exclusion of drainage section in the design while itis part and parcel of the irrigation de-velopment, (iii) for surface irrigationsystem,excludingeitherbothdrainagesection and distribution part ordrainagepartalone(whichoccursmostoften); and (iv) ignoring the multidisci-plinary nature of irrigation systems;allowing civil engineers alone to planand design irrigation systems.Consequently, the net result is that ir-rigation systems are underutilized,crop yield in the systems fall far belowpotentials with low cropping intensi-ties and, in some cases, failing to en-hanceincomesand foodsecurityfortherural poor. Also, over-application of water can render the soil useless forcrop production through waterlogging

and salinization. However, applyingtoo little water can cause water stressto the crop, thus reducing yield.

2.2.4 Strategies for irrigation de-velopment

Medium Term(i) Promote private sector to create

agencies for planning, design andconstruction of irrigation systems.

(ii) Improve the existing irrigationsystems.Long Term

(i) Train irrigation extension officersin irrigation water management.

(ii) Develop new irrigation schemes inbasins and uplands.

(iii) Establish irrigation research cen-ters.

By Sayuni Kimaro

Although the nationalirrigation effortshave attracted a lotof criticism, there isa silver lining in thewhole depressingcloud.

This is in Ruvuma, where impres-sive results have been achieved as a re-sultofsustainedeffortsinvestedinirri-gation.

The irrigation schemes in Ruvumaare contributing significantly to fulfill-ing the national targets for variouscrops, for instance the need to have405,000 hectares under paddy as stipu-lated in the 2004 irrigation develop-ment strategy.

The development of irrigation in-frastructure in Ruvuma has not onlymadeavailablemorewater towiderar-eas, it has also enhanced the protectionof natural sources of the rivers, lakesand springs water.

The fact that the farmers are in-volved in all steps for the preparationsof irrigation infrastructure farmingalso means that the skills are beingspread and passed on from the profes-sionals to the population.

The beauty of farmers’ participa-tion lies in the sense of ownership.

Unliketheattitudeordinarypeoplenormally reserve for government proj-ects,thefarmersherefeeltheyown theprogramme, and no wonder, they con-tribute up to 20 percent of constructioncosts.

This includes canal constructionsas well as stone collections. Canals arereally strong concrete to eliminatewastage and manage the return of flowto the natural source.

A total of 310,745 hectors were al-ready developed in December 2009equivalent to 1 percent of the wholearea suitable for irrigation farming.

Benefits A lot has been achieved by the

farmers here as a result of improved ir-rigation infrastructure. Farmers aregetting plenty of water unlike before

theywerefarmingbyrelyingon threliablerains.“Beforetheimprove

of these irrigation schemes the stion was not very pleasant. Butnoare enjoying and carrying out outivities happily since there is no wproblem,” said one farmer UtenguleUsongwe irrigation scin Mbeya.

Withsuchdevelopment,produhas increase, particularly with pfarmers who are harvesting 5tonone hector which is equal to 62 sunlike before when a farmer got aerageof1.5tons equivalentto18 s

Namtumbo Councilor in RuvGrace Kapinga stated that the dihas benefited considerably since thtroduction of modern irrigRevenueshaveincreased;farmersbeen able to construct new houswell as taking their children to school.

Sheobservesthata thefarmecomes have rise, so do they in turnmore effort in maintaining the irtion system. “With irrigation, farare able to harvest several times than they used to when they werepending on rain seasons. They alonger moving from one place to aner hence the issue of land degradais not seen anymore,” Kapinga not

Most farmers affirmed thathave benefited from the irrigfarming as one can sell some ocropsandstillhopingto havemorefor domestic use, as Upendo Machfrom Kitanda irrigation scheme sa

One S ingo, a farmer Nyamahana scheme in Iringa obsethat before the scheme was initiat1968, the water was being misuseplenty of it was lost in the ineffithe watering of the farms.

Hesaidsincethe constructionmented canals no water is wastedfarmers have increased their protion. “I believe in two years to cevery farmer who is using impseeds will buy a car.

Better still, we can afford to our children to good schools. Imthe production of maize have increfrom 6 sacks to 45 sacks per hecthe said.

Ruvuma shines

The Ruvuma Regional CommissionerChristine Ishengoma, explaininghow farmers have benefited fromirrigation farming

Mr Singo from Nyamahanairrigation scheme in Iringa,explains the importance ofirrigation farming.

Namtumbo district CCMcouncilor explaining howirrigation farming boostedrevenues collections.

A well channel cemented canal.

What does it take to makeirrigation a reality?

Buyad Saidi is already havingtrouble feeding his family of sixchildren,withhis fertilewifestill

capable of giving him several more. Asked what he would do to cope, Saidisaid: "Perhaps I should stop fatheringchildren."

This is a telling statement by a fa-ther in an area where children comewith pride. But as families have morechildren, farmland gets fragmentedinto small plots for the many siblings,productivity falls and the dependenceratio grows.

Coupled with unpredictable weath-

er and the business as usual approachof the state and you have the recipe fora perpetually food-insecure, poor coun-try.Thisfaminescenariowasechoedbythe Deputy Agriculture minister DavidMathayo who asked how Egypt andIsrael, which are largely deserts, growfruits and export juice, while Tanzania,blessed with rich soils and lakes andrivers, starves? Why,

Mathayo wondered, can't the coun-try start seriously promoting irrigationto supplement the rains when neces-sary? This should involve everyone notthe government hand alone.

People must find creative ways toharness water resources to make irri-gation by smallholder farmers possible.But they need creative, committedleadership.

It is expensive, of course, but whosaid saving lives was going to becheap?

For without a change in approachthis is what it will come down to savingpeople from starving to death. As wenow know, the people of Kilimanjaroand other regions are bracing forfamine following back-to-backdrought.

Three years ago, the former pminister even came up with an idrain making which it didn’t workcause of cost.

But the country has water floalong the surface and lying undeground, which can help stabilize fing in face o f unpre dicweather.

Small-scale irrigation scheshould be a key to food secTanzania When more farm landirrigated and become more produMzee Said will stop living in fear owife’s fertility.

FromThe Ground

Email: [email protected]

Angel Navuri

Irrigate land to cope with Tanzanian women fertilit




DIPLOMACY


8

The new Ambassador of theUnited States of America tothe United Republic of Tanzania, Alfonso E.Lenhardt, was asked by TheGuardian’s Angel Navuriabout his country’scontribution to thedevelopment of agriculturein Tanzania. Below are

excerpts:

Question: Recently we had aninterview with the World BankCountry Director who expressedopposition to agricultural mecha-nization in Tanzania on groundsthat it would curtail employment.DoestheUSgovernmentthinkthesame?

Answer: Agricultural mechaniza-tion is a very broad term. In its mostbasic sense, agricultural mechaniza-tion aims at increasing agriculturaloutput while reducing reliance onpurely physical labour. There is nosingle set of guidelines that wouldwork in every country. For example, inthe 1960s and 1970s donors supplied agreat number of tractors to countriesthat lacked adequate support systemsin most instances. Government agen-ciestaskedtoproviderepairandmain-tenance services performed poorly. Asa result, these "tractorization pro-grams" mostly failed. The lesson fromthese failures is that wide-scale agri-cultural mechanization is capital in-tensive. It requires a sustainable, reli-able and efficient support system,which may be run either by govern-ment or private business.

There are different levels of mech-anization. It is up to individual farm-ers to choose mechanization strategiesbe st suite d to their farms.Government can assist these farmersthroughpoliciesthat promoteaccesstoa wide range of mechanization optionsand educating farmers about those op-tions so that they can make the bestpossible decisions for themselves. Theconditionsfacedby eachfarmerdictatewhat combination of human power,animal force, and mechanical tools

would be most efficient. In Tanzania,hand-driven power tillers or coffeewashingstationscometo mind.It is,of course, up to the Government of Tanzaniato developa policyofagricul-turalmechanizationthatbestsupportsthe nation's farmers.

Question: In what other waysbesidesbudgetarysupportcan theUS help Tanzania in its quest tomodernize Agriculture

Answer: The American peoplesupport Tanzanian agriculture by pro-viding technical assistance, marketlinkage, trade facilitation, infrastruc-ture development and other programs.

As a result, Tanzanian coffee growersare selling their coffee to such major

American retailers as Starbucks andPeet's Coffee & Tea, vegetable farmersfrom the Northern Highlands havestarted to export to European super-marketchains,and thehorticulturein-

dustryisexpandingtocaterboth todo-mestic and export markets.

Negotiations are underway forTanzania to benefit from the new ini-tiative by President Obama's adminis-trationtoaddressGlobalHunger,FoodSecurity and Climate Change. If nego-tiations are successfully concluded, inthe near future Tanzania would re-ceiveincreasedresourcestosupportitsagriculture in line with theComprehensive African AgricultureDevelopment Program (CAADP).

There are large areas of Tanzaniawherefarmersproduceonlyenoughforthemselves and their families, despiteaccess to highly productive land. Thereasonfor thisisthatthey havenowaytoget foodtheyproducetomarket,dueto very poor roads. The American peo-ple,throughtheMillenniumChallengeCorporation, are funding the construc-tionofgoodroadsinto theseareaswithrich agricultural potential. Examplesinclude the road from Tunduma on theZambia border to Sumbawanga andthe Mtwara corridor.

In addition to development assis-tance provide d by the U.S.Government, Tanzania is benefitingfrom direct investment by U.S. privatecompanies. In 2009, the United Stateswas among Tanzania's top five sourcesof foreign direct investment.Tanzania's agricultural sector has alsoreceived substantial support from theGates Foundation, the RockefellerFoundation, the Ford Foundation, andother major American NGOs.

Quest ion: Do you t hinkTanzania will succeed in execut-inga greenrevolutionAgriculturegiven the fact that the sector hasremained backward for manyyears and depends largely on rainfed farming.

Answer: Tanzania is endowedwith abundant natural resources andhard working, talented people.Tanzania could nourish the entire re-gion, given strong political support forpoliciesthatassistthe nation'sfarmersto be as productive as possible and en-courages private investment in agri-cultural services, processing and mar-keting.

United States backs agriculturaldevelopment in Tanzania

Email your comments to: [email protected] messages to: 0716 312725, 0733 312725

0767 312725, 0783 312725

His Execellency Ambassador Alfonso E. Lenhardt

The Ambassador of theUnited States of America to theUnited Republic of Tanzania,

Alfonso E. Lenhardt, presentedhis diplomatic credentials toPresident Jakaya Kikwete at theState House in Dar es Salaam onThursday, November 12, 2009.

From May 2004, Ambassador Lenhardt was thePresident and CEO of the non-profit National Crime PreventionCouncil (NCPC). He was alsoSenior Vice President of Government Relations for TheShaw Group. On September 4,2001, Ambassador Lenhardt wasappointed the 36th Sergeant-at-

Arms of the United StatesSenate and became the first

African-American to serve as anofficer of the Congress. He alsoserved as the executive vice pres-ident and chief operating officerof the Council on Foundations.

Ambassador Lenhardt re-tired from the U.S. Army in

August 1997 as a Major Generalwith more than 30 years of serv-ice in leadership positions.

Ambassador Lenhardt wasborn in New York City and holdsa Bachelor of Science degree inCriminal Justice from theUniversity of Nebraska, aMaster of Arts in Public

Administration from CentralMichigan University, and aMaster of Science in the

Administration of Justice fromWichita State University.

Ambassador Lenhardt andhis wife Jacqueline have threedaughters.

Biography

Documents

Kilimo Kwanza - The Guardian - 22nd Febuary 2010