Tanzania boosts food security through irrigation
DODOMA: VICE-PRESIDENT Dr Philip Mpango has said that massive investment in the irrigation sector will effectively boost sufficiency in the country, further building the nation’s reputation.
The VP made the remarks on Friday after laying a foundation stone for the construction of the Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan block farm, a project being implemented by the National Irrigation Commission at a cost of 21.7bn/-. Dr Mpango made a fourday tour of the region.
“Here in Dodoma, there is a common greeting ‘Mkuliachi,’ which means hunger. I want to assure you that this greeting is going to become a thing of the past through the government’s investment in these major irrigation projects. This addresses the problem of hunger in the country and building the nation’s reputation for having sufficient food,” he insisted.
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He added that the commission is doing a great job and that is why the agricultural sector is being transformed into a more productive and reliable system. Construction and rehabilitation of irrigation schemes is one of the priorities of the Ministry of Agriculture in the 2024/2025 financial year budget.
Tabling the budget estimates for the docket in the august House, Minister for Agriculture Hussein Bashe said that the government through the National Irrigation Commission will continue implementing 780 irrigation projects started to be executed in 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 financial years.
The minister said in this financial year the commission will also carry out the rehabilitation of irrigation infrastructure in 33 schemes covering a total of 6,089 hectares which will benefit 4,693 farmers.
He said the completion of the ongoing construction projects and those that are set to begin in 2024/2025 will increase the irrigated area by 543,366.46 hectares, bringing the total irrigated land to 1,270,647.06 hectares, which is 105.89 per cent of the target to reach 1,200,000 hectares by 2025 as directed in the CCM 2020 Election Manifesto.
Meanwhile, Dr Mpango also commended the decision to include construction of a health centre and an 18.8-kilometre road which will be implemented by the National Irrigation Commission.
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The VP directed that the remaining road section which is under the Tanzania Rural and Urban Roads Agency (TARURA) to be implemented by the Tanzania National Roads Agency (TANROADS) and ensure reliable communication infrastructure in the villages where the project is being implemented.
Earlier, the Director General of the National Irrigation Commission, Raymond Mndolwa, said that the project covers a total of 11,000 acres and is intended to benefit the Chamwino District Council and its surrounding villages.
He said that through the project, there will be the construction of youth housing, the establishment of infrastructure on 1,000 acres of village land and the preparation of over 400 acres for the youth irrigation project, where the entire area will be equipped with irrigation infrastructure.
Dr Mpango added that each youth beneficiary of the project will receive 10 acres and so far, 60 youth housing units have been completed by 50 per cent.
