Is this the end of Kilimo Kwanza, the Tanzanian project to transform peasant farming into modern agriculture?
Two years since the public private initiative was launched, small and middle-scale farmers seem to have given it a wide berth, something they did four decades ago when the government tried to move peasant farmers into collective farms called Ujamaa villages.
“The government needed to have first tried to understand the peasant and the dynamics of their life and address their needs in a comprehensive way,” said Prof Benadeta Killian, a lecturer in political science and public administration at the University of Dar es Salaam.
While some farmers have benefited from the project’s voucher system to obtain seeds and fertiliser, few take advantage of the attractive prices to buy power tillers because they are often not suitable for the soil or area being cultivated.
The resistance has forced agriculture experts and researchers to review the project design.
“Everything is imposed without us, the farmers, being involved in all these new interventions,” said Francis Chulla, 42, a farmer from Rukwa Region, in the Northern Highlands, one of the “Big Five” grain producing areas.
The agricultural economy in Tanzania is growing at 4.2 per cent a year, while the growth of the main economy is around 6.7 per cent. Some 77.5 per cent of the country’s estimated 46 million people depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. The sector provides 95 per cent of all food consumed in the country.
Former Ugandan prime minister Prof Apolo Nsibambi said to ensure that farmers play a significant role in formulating the Kilimo Kwanza policy, Tanzania should provide free primary education for its children.
The former secretary general of the East African Community, Juma Mwapachu, said the only way to achieve agricultural development is to change the mindset of farmers and the public. “We need to bring in the interface policy or programmes that will link small-scale and large-scale farmers .”
On the other hand, the initiative has been gaining support from banking sector.
“Over 80 per cent of the Tanzanian economy is related to agriculture, so it is only logical that NMB (National Microfinance Bank) plays a key role in financing this industry,” said Mark Wiessing, CEO of the country’s largest bank.
JOHN MBALAMWEZI and DORITHY NDEKETELA