Advertisement

Mwinyi pushes sustainable food systems

ZANZIBAR President Hussein Mwinyi

ZANZIBAR: PRESIDENT Hussein Mwinyi has urged people, particularly youths and women to invest more in agriculture for sustainable food security and enhanced income.

He also advised farmers to adapt to current challenges, such as climate change and develop the resilience necessary for sustainable food systems.

Dr Mwinyi made the call in his speech delivered at the official opening of a week-long national farm products exhibition that kicked off on Thursday and it is expected to run up to October 16th at Chamanangwe ground in Pemba.

Advertisement

In his speech read on his behalf at the opening ceremony by the Second Vice-President Hemed Suleiman Abdulla, Dr Mwinyi said the government has employed various measures to ensure a conducive environment for farmers.

He said guidance contained in the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) 2020/2025 Election Manifesto, Zanzibar Development Vision 2050 and various strategic plans, have helped to create an enabling environment for people to invest in agriculture.

“This opportunity can be seized by young people who graduate from higher learning institutions and women to produce enough food for all of us and meet the growing demand globally for crop and livestock products,” he said.

Dr Mwinyi, in his speech, emphasised the need for all stakeholders in the agriculture sector to support youths, particularly those with innovative ideas to improve farming and also mitigate climate change, to scale-up food security.

World Food Day is an international day celebrated every year worldwide on October 16 and the message for this year is “Let us commit to a world without hunger, a world in which every person has access to a healthy, nutritious diet. In our world of plenty, one person in nine does not have enough to eat.”

He said the government through the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, Natural Resources and Livestock has prepared a plan for the reforms of the agricultural sector that will change Zanzibar’s agriculture from subsistence agriculture to agribusiness that will involve more youths and women.

Mr. Abdulla further said that the government has plans to increase clove and coconut production, by producing the climate change resilient seedlings before distributing them to farmers free of charge.

ALSO READ: Mwinyi calls for joint efforts to address climate change

“We will also continue providing agricultural inputs through the subsidy system as well as encouraging farmers to focus on organic farming to ensure food security, soil health and protect the environment,” he promised.

In addition, Dr Mwinyi reiterated the government’s commitment to improve transport infrastructure including roads, ports and airports as prerequisites in stimulating agribusiness domestically and foreign markets.

He urged the ministry responsible for agriculture to establish a data system for all groups engaged in agriculture and livestock for efficiency in supporting them and responding to their needs.

The Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation, Natural Resources and Livestock Zanzibar, Mr. Shamata Shaame Khamis said that since the World Food Day celebrations aim to increase the knowledge and skills of farmers and breeders, he advised farmers and stakeholders to share experience that will raise production and promote organic agriculture.

Mr. Shamata said that the government’s plan is to bring major reforms in the agricultural sector to include education to farmers and breeders in Unguja and Pemba, asking respective authorities to improve roads to the exhibition area in order for farmers and breeders to facilitate provision of services.

The Ministry’s Permanent Secretary Mr. Ali Khamis Juma promised that his Ministry continues to find modern methods that will help increase production of food and livestock products.