Ministry, Swiss Aid For Special MoU To Establish Excellence Hub For Biological Agriculture In Dodoma Region -

By Valentine Oforo, Dodoma

THE Agriculture ministry is finalizing processes to
sign a vital Memorandum of Understanding with Swissaid Tanzania in readiness to
open a special excellence centre for organic agriculture in Bihawana area,
Mbabala ward in Dodoma City.

The envisaged crucial development in the country’s
biological farming system sector was unveiled yesterday in Dodoma Capital City
by Obadia Kamea, Head of Legal Services Unit at the Ministry of Agriculture.

The robust initiative came to light during the 8th
Annual General Meeting of the Tanzania Organic Agriculture Movement (TOAM) held
yesterday in Dodoma City, attracting key agroecology stakeholders, pundits as
well as farmers from different regions across the country.

Graced the annually staged event, Kamea, in his
opening remarks expressed that the parent ministry was keen, and it was further
working round the clock to ensure for the smooth metamorphosis of the sector,
through joint efforts from the private sector.

“We have earmarked at least 5 hectares in Bihawana
area for the specific purpose to develop a professional and excellence centre
for organic agricultural undertakings, the facility to be used by the farmers
to acquire biological farming practices, but also, the hub will be used as a
useful benchmark for them to evaluate their performance,” Kamea added.

Realizing the importance of organic agriculture in
the country, he said the sixth phase government has, and continues to draft and
implement a series of varied strategies meant to improve performance of organic
agriculture, targeting to heighten production and productivity, among others.

“For instance, at the ministry, we are currently
working to revitalize and rectify several policies, including those pertaining
to seeds. Among others, we’re focusing on identifying and improving the Quality
Declared Seeds (QDS) varieties for both conventional and organic farming,” he
detailed.

He insisted that the parent ministry will continue
standing firmly to iron out all hiccups that tend to derail and upset efforts
by indigenous organic farmers to realize enough crop yields, but also in
accessing the necessary agro inputs, including bio-pesticides, organic
fertilizers and others.

Apart from hailing TOAM for excellence performance,
he challenged the Movement to develop a vast countrywide organic forum, one
that will further help to accelerate awareness over importance of the
environmental friendly farming system across the country, and in East Africa at
large.

“Organic farming is useful for both, food security
and safety and the country has been endowed with potential agroclimatic zones
that support biological farming and thus what is needed most is to lobby for
more support from both the public and private sector,” he insisted.

In further efforts to improve the sector, he said
the government has developed meaningful policies and strategies, including the
Agricultural Sector Development Programme (ASDP II), the 2017 Climate -Smart
Agricultural Guideline

“Later on this year, we’re expecting to embark on
the effective implementation of the National Ecological Organic Agriculture
Strategy, the eight-year initiative which has been coordinated by the ministry
of agriculture to further create awareness over organic agriculture among local
farmers and relevant stakeholders,” he added.

For his part, TOAM Chief Executive Officer (CEO),
Bakari Mongo said the Movement was well prepared to continue fueling a pace of
biological agriculture among the local farmers across the country.

“After passing through some tough years, TOAM is
currently roaring back with a series of strategic plans to assure Tanzania
become an important hub for agroecology across East and Central Africa,” he
assured.

He added, there’s increased demand for organically
produced food items in the world, the –mesmerizing economic trend which has
equally unlocked varied opportunities that ought to be effectively grasped by
Tanzanian farmers.

The Tanzania
Organic Agriculture Movement (TOAM) is a registered NGO formed in 2005 under
the NGO Act of 2002. It is an umbrella organization that coordinates and
promotes the development of organic farming among farmers, distributors and
consumers through networking and information distribution.

TOAM sees development of the organic farming sector
as a crucial factor for sustainable livelihoods and envisions establishing a
vibrant, sustainable and mutually beneficial organic sector in Tanzania.