JICA, WB, AfDB hail agriculture projects
JAPAN: TANZANIA has commended JICA, the World Bank (WB) and African Development Bank (AfDB) for providing 516 million US dollar (about 1.4tri/-) in soft loans to facilitate the implementation of various agriculture projects in the country.
Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said on Thursday that JICA has assured support to the government and that it will continue to cooperate and assist in the implementation of various development projects in the country.
He was speaking during his meeting with JICA Vice-President, Miyazaki Katsura, in Tokyo, Japan.
He said JICA commitment is a result of the way the government has been effectively overseeing the use of various funds provided by development partners, including JICA.
“The government will continue to properly supervise and well utilise the development funds brought into the country and ensure they are used as intended,” the Premier said.
He asked JICA to continue seeking more development partners to secure funding that will enable the implementation of development projects and allow Tanzanians to participate in various economic activities.
On his part, JICA VicePresident, Mr Katsura said that their organisation continues to implement various projects in the country in collaboration with other stakeholders, including the WB.
“We will continue to collaborate with the government to successfully implement various projects being carried out in the country, including those aimed at strengthening the infrastructure and transportation sectors,” he said.
Earlier, Deputy Minister for Agriculture, David Silinde said that JICA, WB and AfDB have recently committed over 1.4tri/- for supporting various development projects in the agriculture sector.
Some of the projects include the 371 million US dollar (about 1tri/-) for Food Systems Resilience Programme (TSRP).
The WB has provided 300.05 million US dollar (about 808.8bn/-) while JICA has provided 71.09 million US dollar (about 191.3bn/-).
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The project is scheduled to be implemented for the period of five years from 2025 to 2030. Other projects include the Tanzania Agricultural Inputs Support Project (TAISP), which is implemented in partnership between AfDB and JICA.
He added that the project is expected to cost 145 million US dollar (about 390.8bn/-) of which 70 million US dollars is from JICA and 75.49 million US dollar from AfDB.
He said the project began in 2024 and is set to be completed in 2028. “Already, 40 million US dollar (about 108bn/-) has been paid to 17 companies for the distribution of fertiliser.
He said the funds were released after the development partners were satisfied with the successful management of the agricultural sector.
However, he called on Japanese investors and businesses to invest in irrigation farming, particularly in irrigation technology.
Minister of State in the President’s Office – Zanzibar State House, Ali Mohamed Ameir said that during the meetings, he assured Japanese investors and business people of a conducive environment for carrying out their activities in Zanzibar, including peace and stability.
The minister also asked JICA to collaborate with the government of Zanzibar in completing two construction projects including the expansion of the fish market at Malindi.
For his part, Executive Director of the Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC), Gilead Teri, expressed gratitude to the government of Japan through JICA for funding two technical advisors who will serve as a link between Japanese and Tanzanian investors and businesspeople.
He explained that the two advisors, one Tanzanian and one Japanese will be stationed at TIC and that they will be responsible for providing information on how to successfully facilitate investment between the two nations.
