KAGERA Cooperative Union (KCU 1990 Ltd) Vice-Chairman Mr Respicius John has urged the youth in Kagera and others countrywide, to invest in agri-business assuring them the agricultural sector is lucrative.
Equally, he advised them to utilise the government grant and soft-loan applications for youth and women in farming activities as part of the Building a Better Tomorrow Youth Initiative for Agribusiness (BBT-YIA) programme.
He explained that a recent baseline survey indicated that only 5 per cent of youth in the Kagera Region engage in coffee production while the region had abundant fertile soil suitable for the production of food and cash crops.
“Youths should stop blaming the government as a scapegoat for lack of employment. Instead, they should grab the opportunity by engaging in coffee production.
The BBT programme has come at the right time as it aims to address challenges faced by young people and women in the agriculture sector, including access to land, capital, technology and markets,” he said.
Elaborating, Mr John said the government in collaboration with other stakeholders including Tanzania Coffee Board (TCB), Cooperative Unions, Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TACRI), Café Africa Tanzania and the private sector is implementing a five-year strategic plan aimed to increase coffee production from 78,000 metric tonnes to 300,000 metric tonnes by 2025.
The plan goes in hand with producing 20 million improved coffee seedlings each year.
He explained that the Kagera Cooperative Union (KCU 1990 Ltd), recently distributed over 600,000 clonal varieties to the farmers free of charge for the planting season.
The increase in coffee production in the region has a positive impact on farmers’ livelihoods and the national economy.
He explained that during the 2022/23 crop season, KCU had planned to distribute over one million improved coffee seedlings to the farmers.
During the past three years coffee production in the region increased from 52,000 tonnes during 2018/2019 to 78,300 metric tonnes during 2020/2021 enabling the farmers to pocket about 96.4bn/-.
Farmers are encouraged to adhere to best crop husbandry practices by uprooting and destroying through burning the affected coffee trees, farm cleanliness, mulching and timely use of inputs and fertilisers.
The Ministry of Agriculture recently announced a call for grant and soft-loan applications for youths and women in farming activities as part of the Building a Better Tomorrow Youth Initiative for Agribusiness (BBT-YIA) programme.
The announcement states that the initiative will provide grants and soft loans to youths and women involved in commercial crop value chains to support the growth of a sustainable and successful agribusiness sector.
To be eligible for the programme, applicants must be Tanzanian youths aged 18-40 years and have experience in agricultural activities.
