Majaliwa issues directives on next farming season
DODOMA: PRIME Minister Kassim Majaliwa has directed the Ministry of Agriculture to closely oversee the availability and distribution of agricultural inputs, particularly fertilisers, as part of preparations for the upcoming farming season.
Mr Majaliwa said that the distribution of the agricultural inputs must consider the geographical characteristics of the agricultural zones in the country.
Adjourning the 16th meeting of the 12th Parliament in Dodoma yesterday, Mr Majaliwa said the government will continue to provide fertiliser subsidies to farmers in the 2024/2025 farming season, as it has been doing in previous seasons.
He noted that by recognising the trend in maize production and the increasing demand both within and outside the country, the government will provide subsidies for high-quality maize seeds to farmers in the 2024/2025 season.
He commended President Samia Suluhu Hassan for continuing to provide essential agricultural inputs and thereby promoting the development of the agriculture sector for the benefit of farmers and the nation as a whole.
The Premier further said that domestic production of fertilisers and better seeds have continued to improve due to efforts made by the government in collaboration with the private sector.
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He noted that fertiliser production has increased from 84,696 tonnes in the 2022/2023 season to 158,628 tonnes in the 2023/2024 season. The PM added that domestic production of certified seeds for various crops has increased from 42,096 tonnes in the 2022/2023 season to 56,114 tonnes in the 2023/2024 season.
“This reflects an improvement in domestic production of agriculture inputs, marking a significant step towards ensuring the sufficiency of the inputs within the country,” Mr Majaliwa noted.
He said given the trend of climate change in some areas in the country, the public should take early precautions to ensure they plant early maturing and drought tolerant crops to ensure food sufficiency.
Mr Majaliwa directed extension officers to educate the citizens on appropriate crops to plant in their respective areas and the use of advanced technologies for food storage and the proper use of food at the household level.
The Premier said the government, through the National Food Reserve Agency, continues to purchase surplus produce from farmers for storage.
“Part of the stored food will be used to boost food availability in areas which will be identified to have food shortages,” he noted.
Mr Majaliwa urged citizens to make good use of the harvests obtained from the 2023/2024 season by storing sufficient food at the household level, following best practices for proper food storage.
He also reminded citizens to continue using the food currently available with care, store enough food at the family level and avoid wasteful or unnecessary consumption of food.
Recently, the Tanzania Meteorological Authority (TMA) released the climate outlook for short rainy, indicating that most parts of the country will likely experience prolonged dry spells and poor distribution of rainfall between October and December.
The report indicated that the below normal to normal rainfall condition, warmer than usual temperatures are expected across bimodal areas during the season.
TMA’s Acting Director General Dr Ladislaus Chang’a said generally, below normal to normal rains are expected over most parts of northern coast and northeastern highlands.
He added that normal to below normal rains are expected over the Lake Victoria Basin during the 2024 rainfall season. He advised farmers to use sustainable farming methods and technologies to conserve water and soil moisture and prepare farms in-time, plant early maturing and drought tolerant crops.
