State commits to expanding mechanisation services
DODOMA: THE government has expressed commitment to expanding access to affordable mechanisation services closer to farming communities to boost productivity and phase out the hand hoe.
Deputy Minister for Agriculture, David Silinde expressed the commitment in the National Assembly on Wednesday while responding to a basic question from Momba MP Condester Sichalwe (CCM), who wanted to know whether the government intended to allocate tractors directly to individual farmers to accelerate agricultural transformation.
Mr Silinde said the government is committed to promoting mechanisation through service providers, ensuring that smallholder farmers can access tractors and other machinery without the burden of ownership costs.
He added that this approach will help improve efficiency, increase crop yields and support the country’s broader goal of modernising agriculture.
Mr Silinde said beginning the 2025/2026 financial year, the government has commenced implementation of a programme to procure and distribute 10,000 tractors that will be stationed in 1,000 mechanisation service centres across the country by 2030. He said the initiative forms part of the CCM Election Manifesto (2025–2030), which prioritises modernising agriculture and improving productivity for a larger number of farmers.
Through the centres, farmers will access a wide range of modern farming services from land preparation to planting and harvesting at affordable rates, instead of each farmer owning a personal tractor, a move that is expected to reduce production costs significantly.
The Deputy Minister noted that by December 2025, 79 integrated mechanisation service centres had already been established in various councils nationwide.
He added that 592 large tractors, 800 power tillers and 11 combine harvesters for crops including rice, maize, sunflower and wheat have been distributed and are currently operational in different regions.
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Responding to a supplementary question regarding support for farmers still relying on the hand hoe, Mr Silinde said the government has put in place measures to empower farmers across all regions through reliable access to mechanisation services, expansion of irrigation schemes and opening new irrigation plains and valleys.
He said these interventions are aimed at increasing productivity, reducing dependence on rainfall and transitioning more farmers from subsistence to commercial agriculture, with irrigation projects set to continue through to 2030.
The Deputy Minister added that the government also plans to empower youth to join the agricultural sector through provision of inputs and implementation of the Building a Better Tomorrow (BBT) programme.
He explained that BBT equips young people with modern agriculture skills, technical knowledge and subsidised inputs to encourage them to participate actively in the sector, and the programme will be rolled out to all local authorities nationwide.
