Govt steps up efforts to strengthen food security
PRIME Minister, Kassim Majaliwa has said the government through the National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) has set 320bn/- to buy grains in effort to maintain food security in the country.
Adjourning the 11th session of the 12th National Assembly Mr Majaliwa also urged citizens at family level to spend their farm produce including maize and rice with caution to avoid hunger.
“I, therefore, direct the Minister for Agriculture to supervise procurement of grains produce on time and efficiently from the allocated money,” Mr Majaliwa said.
He said the government has been improving food storage infrastructure by prioritizing warehouses and cold room constructions, to preserve both non-perishable and perishable food such as cereal, rice, wheat as well as vegetable and fruits respectively before getting to consumers.
Meanwhile, he said the government is determined to increase the livestock sector contribution to the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP), by replacing nomadic livestock keeping that involve shifting from one place to another with a modern system.
To contain land dispute between farmers and pastoralists, Mr Majaliwa directed village authorities to identify all livestock keepers available in their locality and allocate special areas to fit the number of cattle present, while closing doors for new keepers if the land is not enough.
Mr Majaliwa said to revolutionise the livestock sector, people should change how they feed their cattle and start giving them special pasture for more quality yields that meet market demands.
“The time has come for modern livestock keeping, that will help improve citizen livelihood, I urge livestock keepers to employ modern ways including securing permanent land ownership for planting pasture grass that will add value to the sector,” he said.
He also urged the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock to closely monitor the transformation, while also continue providing education on modern livestock keeping.
