MP urges govt to embrace irrigation farming

DODOMA: MEMBER of Parliament for Musoma Rural, Prof Sospeter Muhongo, has advised the government to prioritise irrigation farming in the upcoming development plan, noting that the sector plays a pivotal role in the economy and employment for Tanzanians.

Prof Muhongo gave the advice yesterday in the National Assembly in Dodoma while contributing to the budget debate for the Ministry of Agriculture for the 2025/2026 financial year.

Highlighting the importance of irrigation agriculture, the MP, who also served as Minister for Energy and Minerals, said that Tanzania has been slow to fully invest in this system of farming, despite other nations having adopted irrigation practices since ancient times including Middle Eastern countries that used rivers like the Tigris long before the birth of Jesus Christ.

Using Lake Victoria as an example, Prof Muhongo urged the government to utilise the lake for irrigation farming, despite concerns that such use could impact the water flow of the River Nile.

He insisted that such debates should be based on scientific reasoning, as Tanzania has the right to use the lake’s water, with 49 per cent of its area lying within the country’s borders.

“Lake Victoria is only about 400,000 years old, while the Nile River is estimated to be around 30 million years old. Scientifically, the Nile transports more than 3.5 million litres per second and can store about 180 billion cubic metres of water annually, compared to Lake Victoria’s mere 2,760 cubic metres,” said Prof Muhongo.

He added that the lake dried up several times before, most recently around 17,000 years ago, thus calling for cautious and scientific utilisation.

Speaking on the ministry’s budget, Prof Muhongo commended the government for increasing the agriculture budget to 1.2 tri/- from 294bn/- in 2014 a move that aligns with the 2014 Malabo Declaration, which urged African leaders to allocate at least 10 per cent of national budgets to agriculture.

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Regarding his constituency, the MP expressed his satisfaction with the plan to use two major valleys for irrigation farming, including the Bugwema Valley, whose development is currently underway.

“When the President visited my constituency, I asked for two things: a road and this valley. We got both. I am truly grateful. This valley project was initiated in 1974 under Mwalimu Nyerere, and now President Samia has revived it. We, in Musoma Rural, are overjoyed,” he said.

He noted that the valley will benefit both small- and largescale farmers, with planned crops including rice, maize, sunflower, cotton, among others.

However, he cautioned against turning the valley into sugarcane plantations, saying the country is approaching selfsufficiency in sugar.

“Honourable Bashe, for the great work you are doing, I kindly ask that this valley not be used for sugarcane. Let’s focus on food crops for both domestic and export markets. We are nearly 70 million people now and by 2050 we’ll be close to 140 million. There is a market,” he said.

He also suggested that rice farming be targeted for the African and global market, as over 50 per cent of the world’s 8.2 billion people rely on rice as a staple food.

He noted that the global rice market is projected to reach a value of 360 billion US dollars within the next three years.

The MP also stressed the need to establish agro-processing industries in his constituency, including reviving the Mugano cotton processing factory.

He added that there are plans to build a fish processing plant, with cage fish farming already underway.