Tuesday 8 March, 2011
SUPPORTING THE PROMOTERS OF THE GREEN REVOLUTION
kilimokwanza@guardian.co.tz
LINES DRAWN OVER NILE WATERS
The Guardian KILIMO KWANZA
Tuesday 8 March, 2011
EDITORIAL
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The Guardian KILIMO KWANZA
Tuesday 8 March, 2011
COVER STORY
inside
May the Nile waters stay calm
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Use of Nile waters: Let wisdom prevail
s Tanzania and her neighbours pump more funds and effort into water and irrigation projects, all is not rosy along the Great Nile Basin. After a diplomatic tug of war that has lasted for more than a decade, Egypt, a country that is still recovering from the throes of political upheaval, has now all but lost its veto powers and rights to Nile waters. This paves the way for upstream Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Burundi to implement irrigation and hydropower projects without first seeking Egypt’s approval. Some of the countries have defended their position on this. “The proposed measures may save a total of as much as 20 cubic billion meters,” Ethiopia’s Foreign Affairs minister Desalegn Hailemariam is quoted saying. The seven upstream nations need “less than 10 billion cubic meters” of additional water. In addition, Ethiopia’s Nile Basin has the potential to generate 10,000 megawatts of cheap hydropower that could be shared with all the countries concerned if it was developed, without reducing the river’s flow. But Egypt, which draws 90 per cent of its water from the Nile, is still concerned about water security. The situation is much similar for Sudan, which also depends heavily on the great river. Formally launched in February 1999, the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) was a partnership initiated and led by the Council of Ministers of Water Affairs of the Nile Basin states (Nile Council of Ministers, or Nile-COM). The initiative started with a participatory process of dialogue among the riparian states that resulted in a shared vision - to “achieve sustainable socioeconomic development through the equitable utilisation of, and benefit from, the common Nile Basin water resources. According to the organisation, the initiative seeks to develop the river in a cooperative manner, share substantial socioeconomic benefits, and promote regional peace and security. The NBI admits that cooperative water resources management is complex in any international river basin. In the Nile Basin, which is characterised by water scarcity, poverty, a long history of dispute and insecurity, and rapidly growing populations and demand for water, it is particularly difficult. The policy guidelines define the following as the primary objectives of the NBI: to develop the Nile Basin wa-
Artwork
& Design: KN Mayunga
ter resources in a sustainable and equitable way to ensure prosperity, security, and peace for all its peoples; to ensure efficient water management and the optimal use of the resources; to ensure cooperation and joint action between the riparian countries, seeking win-win gains; to target poverty eradication and promote economic integration; and to ensure that the programme results in a move from planning to action. The NBI seeks to pursue, simultaneously, cooperative development opportunities to realise physical investments and tangible results through sub-basin activities (subsidiary action programmes) in the Eastern Nile and the Nile Equatorial Lakes regions. The initiative provides an institutional mechanism, a shared vision, and a set of agreed policy guidelines to provide a basinwide framework for cooperative action and lay the groundwork for cooperative action through a regional programme meant to build confidence and capacity throughout the basin (the Shared Vision Programme). Confidence building and having shared visions are key exercises that need to be undertaken at the moment. But confidence building does not include rhetoric like “national security issue”, “red line”, “in response to threats’, “stopping the inevitable” and ‘historic rights.” Shared vision meanwhile cannot mean the current scenario where six upstream countries are about to start implementing water use and irrigation plans “with or without” the approval of the two most affected countries, while the final member country has yet to decide what it wants. While we realise that it is virtually impossible to stop the upstream countries from ratifying the new Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA) without the approval of all members of the NBI, we call for wisdom and calm heads to prevail to avert fomenting unnecessary tensions between and among our already impoverished states.
Irrigation boost for JKT farms
More water for Onion farmers
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By Makuna Chirimi
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Wallace Mauggo Editor
8 To have your organisation promoted in Kilimo Kwanza, Call: 0787 571308, 0655 571308 0754 571308
or centuries the Great Nile has flown through a landscape dotted with poverty and turmoil. The Nile is a tranquil and gentle giant, fed by a huge network of rivers and lakes. The 4,160-mile-long Nile is formed by the White Nile, which originates from Lake Victoria in Uganda, and the Blue Nile, which begins at Lake Tana in Ethiopia. They converge in Khartoum, Sudan and flow north through the length of Egypt before spilling into the Mediterranean Sea. The United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) notes that water scarcity will be at the forefront of the international agenda for decades to come. That in some cases water may be a contributing factor in international conflict. UNEP also notes that historically, there is little evidence that water scarcity has caused violent conflict. In many cases, water has been used as a strategic goal or target, as part of military activities. There have however been many disputes over water within nations. In Tanzania for example, onion farmers in Karatu district sometimes resort to fist fights to resolve water conflicts with their neighbours. Lake Turkana which straddles Ethiopia and Kenya is also a flashpoint for armed conflict between opposing sides as the lake recedes southward due to global warming. UNEP notes that the probability of violent conflict over water appears to vary inversely with the size (and type) of the political bodies involved. The International Rivers Network (IRN) now classifies the Nile Basin as a global hotspot for potential water conflict. According to the Nile Basin Initiative, the Niles discharges an average of about 300 million cubic meters of water per day. Previously, thanks to a 1929 colonial treaty with Britain, Egypt had veto rights over all upstream projects on the Nile. Egypt's subsequent 1959 deals with Sudan also gave the two countries control of 90 percent of Nile waters and allowed the countries access to 55.5 and 18.5 billion
May the Nile waters stay calm
cubic metres of water, respectively, every year. But the Nile does not flow through Egypt and Sudan alone. Ethiopia. Uganda. Tanzania. Kenya. Rwanda. Burundi. The Democratic Republic of Congo. The Nile Basin covers about ten percent of the African continent, an area of about 3.1 million sq kms. It is home to about 160 million people all of whom depend on agriculture. The six upstream countries have now stamped their foot. They are going to use the Nile’s waters, with or without Egypt’s approval. The six have signed an accord that not only strips Egypt of its rights to the Nile, but also allows each country's parliament to ratify the Nile ‘Cooperative Framework Agreement’ (CFA) deal. The CFA document had been left open for one year – until May 13, 2011, to particularly give Sudan and Egypt a chance to change their mind and sign. They didn’t, haven’t and indications are that they won’t. But with Burundi appending their signature to the document last week, it no longer matters if they do or don’t. “We can now move forward with ratification of the deal,” Daniel Meboya, the regional spokesman at the Entebbebased Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) that led the negotiations, is quoted saying. Congo’s position on the CFA hasn’t been determined yet. The CFA seeks to establish a permanent Nile River Basin commission that will set clear procedures on water sharing and decide on all river projects in the region. The pact replaces the two colonial-era treaties which supported
Sudan and Egypt but are deemed unfair by other seven Nile basin countries. The CFA states that the commission will resolve the issue of water security in its first six months of operations and implement measures that would provide enough water for all upstream countries without reducing Sudan and Egypt’s share. The Sudanese Ambassador to Tanzania, Abdelbagi Kabier noted that water is a very sensitive issue. “I cannot speak for Egypt but I am not aware of any change in position concerning the use of the Nile waters. This matter is governed by treaties. We have to negotiate and reach a position that is useful for all parties involved,’ he said in a recent interview with The Guardian. However Tanzania already has in place a 1,755 km of water pipeline drawing water from Lake Victoria through on to Mwanza and Shinyanga regions. The second phase of the project is to cover the regions of Tabora and Singida by 2025. Ethiopia's new $520-million TanaBeles hydroelectric plant on the banks of Lake Tana was built without Egypt's approval. The country has insisted that is will build whatever it pleases along the river and tributaries and continues to entice investors to the newly irrigated farmland. Reports say that Ethiopia plans to build four new dams on the Nile in addition to the planned Tekeze Dam (30 billion cubic meters of water) and the Border Dam (14 billion cubic meters of water). These new dams could constitute a threat to Egypt’s water security, sources cited by Egyptian newspaper, AlmasryAlYoum
warned. Following the signing of the CFA, the online edition the daily also quoted sources within the Egyptian Ministry of Irrigation calling for the establishment of a legal committee mandated with "preserving Egypt’s historical right to Nile water" and "restoring Egypt's leading role in the Nile Basin." Past rhetoric along the Nile has at times bordered on threats of open aggression, with Egypt, Uganda and Ethiopia exchanging barbs. Commenting on its plans to buy six military jet fighters from Russia “if it gets the money to do so”, an official of the Ugandan government once commented it was partly in response to Nile threats. "The way forward," Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi once told the Al Jazeera TV channel, "is not for Egypt to try and stop the unstoppable." He questioned why Egypt, a country devoid of forests, had an elite army squad specially trained in jungle warfare. "Egypt deals with the Nile water issue as a life-and-death matter," Egypt's former Minister of State for Legal and Parliamentary affairs, Moufid Shehab, is quoted saying. "This is a national security issue," Egyptian officials have been reminding the upcountry partners over the years. Sudan has appealed to all parties to hold more consultations with a view of finding a common ground. “More consultations are needed. There is so much water along the Nile basin. Efforts should be geared towards managing all the water resources available which is
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a better solution than scrambling for readily available resources,” the Ambassador urged. Tanzania was more reticent. “Let me correct the perception that there is disagreement. All countries have been involved in the ten year negotiations and have agreed on most of the issues including trans-boundary sharing of water resources,” Tanzania’s Minister for Water and Professor Mark Mwandosya said. Admitting that Egypt and Sudan did not agree on the contentious issue of water security, the minister was hopeful though that “The Nile waters are usually very tranquil and we expect that it will remain so. The Nile joins all our countries.” Admittedly there are high losses that still need to be addressed. Evaporation from Egypt’s Aswan Dam is estimated 10 billion cubic meters of water annually, which some argue could be saved if a dam was built in the narrow gorges of the Ethiopian highlands. Egypt’s irrigation system could save another 6 billion meters if some of the 13.4 billion meters that currently flows into the Mediterranean Sea were utilized and a further 5 billion meters saved if Egypt ended its project to irrigate the Tushka Desert. However billions of litres of water falls as rain in the countries that are demanding to use the Nile waters. This clean rain however runs off into drains and sewers, joins streams flows out to sea, or to simply left alone to evaporate. Water covers about two-thirds of the Earth's surface, but most is too salty for use. The amount of usable water in the world is very limited. Only 2.5% of the world's water is not salty, and two thirds of that is locked up in the icecaps and glaciers. Humans have available less than 0.08% of all the Earth's water. Of that about 20% is in remote areas, and much of the rest arrives at the wrong time and place, as monsoons and floods. We use about 70% of the water we have in agriculture. But the World Water Council believes that in just nine years we shall need 17% more water than is available if we are to feed the world. Water needs are estimated to increase by about 40% in the next twenty years. Everyone knows that Egypt and Sudan are heavily dependent on the Nile. Egypt for example currently draws over 90 percent of its water needs for its population of 80million from the Nile. Forecasts indicate that the country will be unable to meet its water needs by 2017. According to the United Nations, in 2008 the per capita gross national income in was $2030 in Egypt and $1699 in Sudan. It was $318 in Ethiopia. $495 in Tanzania. $490 in Uganda. $453 in Rwanda. $134 in Burundi and $144 in Congo. While water now plays a key role in each country’s efforts to gain socio-economic parity, we all need to act sensibly and to safeguard the peace, security and socio-economic development of all our countries. ‘If there is a political will for peace, water will not be a hindrance. If you want reasons to fight, water will give you ample opportunities’, a member of the Israeli negotiating team to the Middle East Peace Process, Hydrology Professor Uri Shamir once noted. May peace, wisdom, sensibility and genuine concern for all humanity prevail within the Great Nile Basin.
The Guardian KILIMO KWANZA
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POLICY
Tuesday 8 March, 2011
Tuesday 8 March, 2011
The Guardian KILIMO KWANZA
POLICY
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Irrigation - More funding required O
By Makuna Chirimi
N the ninth of October, 2009, the Irrigation and Technical Services department of the Ministry of Water and Irrigation wrote to the Chief Secretary in the President’s Office, State House. The letter was in response to the Ministry’s implementation matrix on the ten pillars of Kilimo Kwanza, and specifically as pertains to irrigation. The letter noted among other things that, the pillars are not thoroughly exhausting in interventions in irrigation sector. We hope that this anomaly has since been rectified because irrigation is a key ingredient of success in Kilimo Kwanza. Proper water management and Irrigation alone can increases agricultural output two fold and in some instances, three-fold. Irrigation is covered in three sections of the ten pillars of Kilimo Kwanza. The second pillar deals with financing of Kilimo Kwanza in which the government aims to Increase budgetary allocation to irrigate over 7 million hectares of high and medium potential arable land by 2015. These funds would be used in the rehabilitation and construction of irrigation infrastructure to irrigate 24,000 hectares. Pillar 8 of Kilimo Kwanza aims to institute mechanisms for effective utilization of science and technology and human resources in Kilimo kwanza. The irrigation mandate under this pillar is instituting the recruitment program for agronomists, irrigation engineers, hydrologists, dam designers, consultants and contractors. The ministry is supposed to provide facilitation and training for 20 irrigation technical staff on short courses and ten irrigation technical staff on long course levels.
They are to also build capacity by training 20 irrigation technical staff on irrigation technologies and sensitize private sector on their participation in irrigation. Finally, Pillar 9 deals with infrastructure development for Kilimo Kwanza. The ministry of water should Identify infrastructure development needs for KILIMO KWANZA and build adequate irrigation schemes targeting priority crops, production volumes and location requirements. However according to the Water Ministry letter, “May be one Key area to be highlighted on irrigation is the huge budget constraint hampering even the minimal development of 30,000 hectares annually, as proposed in the national Irrigation Master Plan. Leave alone the projection of 7 million hectares by year 2015.” “But basing on the budgetary considerations of the 2009/10 budget a submission has been prepared,” the letter concludes. Discussing this year’s budget, The Minister for Water and Irrigation Prof Mark Mwandosya said that the ministry had allocated each disctrict in the country, TSH 800m/- for irrigation. Reports from different parts of the country indicate that some district have already earmarked projects that they intend to develop with these funds. We urge those districts that have yet to submit their projects to do so quickly. We also pray that the disbursement of the funds for the projects will be concluded quickly and efficiently and utilized as planned. “I am of the opinion that the irrigation sector development needs to be given a due consideration as water and irrigation infrastructure are instrumental in pushing forward Kilimo kwanza,” the Permanent Secretary concludes in his letter. We concur
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The Guardian KILIMO KWANZA
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By Stella Barozi
Tuesday 8 March, 2011
IRRIGATION
n it’s efforts to modernize its agriculture, the national Service commonly known as Jeshi la Kujenga Taifa (JKT) has introduced irrigation farming to some of its farms. JKT has started with its Chita farm in Morogoro’s Kilombero district which has five rivers flowing within the farm all year round as a pilot project. It’s a big farm that can guarantee increased production since it’s situated in the fertile Kilombero basin. The plan is to have 1000 hectares out of the 37,500 hectares at Chita farm under irrigation. Fifty hectares have been cultivated already and are fed with water from river Ng’onyo. Harvests are expected this month, a time when those depending on rainfall agriculture are planting. Following introduction of the Kilimo Kwanza initiative in the country, JKT was assigned to produce high quality seeds for agriculture. However, drought caused by climate change became a challenge, forcing JKT to opt for irrigation farming. According to JKT’s Director of Agriculture and Livestock, Major Peter Lushika the first phase of the construction of the irrigation infrastructure at Chita commenced in October 2010. This was done in partnership with Morogoro’s Mzinga Corporation which is under the crops brigade. Construction is still going on. “The job involved construction of the water intake from River Ng’onyo whose water will be used to irrigate about 200 acres at the end of the project,” Major Lushika says. A total of Tshs 18m has so far been used in the first phase of the project, money obtained from JKT resources. The second phase involved construction of water intake from Mkaja river whose water flows from Udzungwa mountains. Construction is still going on and a total of Tshs 29.9m has so far been used. Eight hundred hectares will be irrigated using Mkaja river waters. The main crop in the Chita pilot project is rice seed, and the aim is to produce enough seed for farmers in the country. The seeds, according to Major Lushika will get to the farmers through the Agricultural Seed Agency (ASA) to which JKT sells its seeds. ASA processes the seeds which it then sells to farmers. Other agricultural seeds which can be produced at Chita include maize, horticulture, cocoa and plantains to mention but a few. Despite being given the task to produce the country’s high quality seeds for agriculture, a shortage of funds has been hindering JKT from fulfilling the assignment to the maximum level. “We will be able to produce high quality rice seeds if we get financial assistance to complete the project on time,” he said. The high cost of construction materials is a setback. Machinery is another problem. “Getting enough tractors and combine harvesters would be very helpful. You can’t cultivate 1000 hectares with a hand hoe, let alone harvesting,” says major Lushika. JKT has only two tractors at Chita and the plan is to have two more tractors soon. The minimum number of tractors required is five and one combine harvester.
Irrigation boost for JKT farms
What about the hundreds of tractors at JKT’s Mwenge yard? “Those are for sale. We need to find ways to buy some because those tractors were obtained on credit,” Major Lushika says. They can at least get some on credit, thanks to an internal system to lend to each other. Agricultural inputs such as chemicals are another challenge. JKT is in need of weed herbicides but they are too costly. JKT has no choice but to depend on hired labour force which Major Lushika says is unreliable. The projection, when the project takes off in full gear, is to harvest 30 bags per hectare whereby a bag currently fetches Tshs 80,000. The minimum they could get from the 1000 hectares to be cultivated is Tshs 2.4bn. “Immediately after we were as-
signed to produce high quality seeds, we applied for money from the Prime Minister’s office to execute the assignment,” says Major Lushika. In January last year, JKT requested for Tshs 6.9bn from the Prime Minister’s office for irrigation infrastructure and machinery aimed modernising their agriculture. They are yet to receive the money. JKT wrote to the PM’s office through the Ministry of Defence and National Service explaining the challenges they face in implementing Kilimo Kwanza. “One of the challenges we mentioned was failure to produce to the maximum level due to dependence on unreliable rain,” said Major Lushika. In another effort to get financial support, JKT approached the Treasury in April last year requesting for about
Tshs 1.5bn. They are still waiting for response. In November last year, JKT sent a business plan to the Ministry of Agriculture whereby they requested Tshs 20bn. Again, they are still waiting for response from the Ministry. Efforts by this paper to get the ministry’s comment on the matter proved futile. JKT approached the Tanzania Investment Bank (TIB) early this year to see if they could get a loan through the agriculture window to enable them implement Kilimo Kwanza effectively. Talks between JKT and TIB are going on and the prospects are good. “We are trying to modernize their agriculture. We want to mechanise their farms. To us they fit well because they have a vast amount of land. The ques-
tion is how to use their farms,” said Jaffer Machano, TIB’s Head of Strategic Planning and Corporate Affairs. TIB’s main focus is on processing, lack of which they think has previously hampered the development of agriculture in the country. Machano said discussions with JKT are still on the concept level whereby they are looking into undertaking a well organized study to identify things like market and needs among others. “Our point is to move as quickly as we can,” said Machano. Following the introduction of Kilimo Kwanza in 2009, a total of Tshs 22bn was allocated to the Tanzania Investment Bank (TIB) through its agriculture window for concessionary lending for agricultural production. But how about partnering with foreign and local investors if money is a problem? JKT has looked into this too. They have spoken with several local and foreign investors but they did not have a common understanding. Most of the investors JKT has had talks with prefer leasing JKT land, something that is not feasible as far as JKT is concerned. “We need joint ventures,” says major Lushika. Leasing is not possible because JKT farms are used by many as training pilots for neighboring communities and youths in camps. District and regional councils also use JKT farms for learning purposes. Even students from the Sokoine University of Agriculture do field practicals at JKT camps. After Chita, JKT’s Oljoro camp in Arusha which is currently under survey will follow as far as irrigation is concerned. The plan is to build a big dam there but again finance is a problem. “We are also focusing on Songa farm in Handeni, Tanga. There are boreholes there that have water throughout. There is also area for dam construction and we are looking for money to develop the boreholes and dam construction,” said Major Lushika. The coffee farm in Mbeya is also under irrigation though at the moment, irrigation is at a low level due to lack of infrastructure like water pumps. Major Lushika calls upon the government to direct Kilimo Kwanza funds to institutions that are totally engaged in agriculture if it’s to get Kilimo Kwanza out put. JKT is a good example of such institutions for they have experts, big farms with fertile and virgin land as well as a disciplined labour force and can ensure good use of government money. Major Lushika believes Kilimo Kwanza will be a success if more effort is put into it. That is if the allocated money is put into Kilimo Kwanza. “We need to go into hi-tech agriculture…computerized agriculture which will see us reaping four times than in normal production,” he says. Financial support is all JKT needs to make Kilimo kwanza a reality. With enough funds, JKT will be able to take off in Kilimo Kwanza and surprise the nation. They will flood the market with food for both consumption and export. As far as preparations to execute Kilimo Kwanza are concerned, JKT has taken some of its staff to the Uyole Agriculture College to add on to its existing number of agriculture experts.
The Guardian KILIMO KWANZA
Tuesday 8 March, 2011
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By Makuna Chirimi
NE hundred Tanzanian Members of Parliament (MP’s) look set to exchange their suits for overalls, thanks to an impending tractor loan
deal. The Tanzania Investment Bank (TIB) through its agro-finance window is in the final stages of processing a loan that will enable the legislators to purchase 100 tractors from the commercial wing of the National Service Army (Jeshi la Kujenga Taifa – SUMA JKT). Each tractor costs an average of 25 million shillings. “Lending for tractor purchases has picked up considerably,” Prisca Changa, the Head of the Agricultural Finance Window of the TIB said. She said that lending by the TIB with support of the Private Agricultural Sector Support (PASS) had increased in the last quarter of last year and growing. Previously, The Gaurdian through its agriculture pullout Kilimo Kwanza; reported that hundreds of tractors were idly parked at the SUMA JKT yard in Dar es Salaam. The country acquired the tractors on a US$ 40m loan deal with the government of India. The SUMA JKT Project Manager, Lt Col. Felix Samillan had also sent out an earnest appeal to local banks and other financial institutions to offer loan facilities to those interested in purchasing the tractors and other farm implements. In his appeal, the project manager called for a cut in bureaucracy and an easing of lending conditions to those looking to purchase the farm machinery. “There has been very positive feedback both from government and nongovernment quarters,” the project manager noted. The JKT is also negotiating a loan with the TIB to support the pursuit of the tasks assigned under the Kilimo Kwanza (agriculture first)
POLICY
MP’s to drive 100 SUMA-JKT tractors green revolution, which includes increasing seed production for the Agricultural Seed Agency (ASA). Financing for Kilimo Kwanza has been a niggling problem as many local financial institutions do not support direct agricultural production. The loan conditions, interest rates and loan repayment conditions are also prohibitive. At 20%, the down payment for tractors is also higher than what the average Tanzanian farmer can afford. The TIB therefore urges farmers to join SACCOS to cash in on the advantages. SACCOS and Village Community Banks (VICOBA) that are at the forefront of receiving loans for tractor purchases are also showing interest in purchasing the tractors. As a first step towards the formation of an exclusive farmer’s bank, the government put aside TSH 22bn for agriculture. The funds are available through the agriculture finance window of the TIB. Of this amount 30% has been set aside for cooperative societies (SACCOS), another 30% to support banks and microfinance institutions that offer loans geared towards the green revolution (Kilimo Kwanza) and the remainder is set aside for agribusiness loans. By December of last year (2010) the bank had disbursed some 13.7bn shillings to 11 companies, 21 SACCOS and four community banks (VICOBA). These are low interest agriculture loans offered at only 8% interest and agri-business loans at 5%. This it is envisioned will support the commercialization and growth of agriculture in the country. Farmers can access the loans by providing collaterals on loans or through their SACCOS.
However, “There is no half way house on the road to mechanization. Commercial farming is a competitive business and anyone venturing to grow for profit must be advised accordingly. A mere tractor loan can worsen a farmer’s situation,” Jonathan Lane, the Managing Director of Tractors Limited has warned. He said most farmers are purchasing the tractors and ploughs only yet two or three months of ploughing alone is not sufficient to repay the loans. “They need a full set of equipment for the tractors to be commercially viable.” For example at the moment farmers who purchase power tillers do not buy the rice reaper which is the most important tool they require after planting. “To the best of my knowledge there are only four working threshers in the country,” he added. Compare this to over 1,500 in Nigeria and over 3,000 in Pakistan in one year alone. Low level of mechanization is among key contributors to the non-competitiveness of local agriproduce in the export market. A ton of Pakistani available on the global market costs US$ 250 (about TSH 450,000) plus freight. Production costs per kilo of rice in Tanzania is upwards of TSH 500 per kilo. Besides, there is no Tanzanian rice on sale in the international market. This year the country failed to reach its internal food quota and received some TSH 17bn worth of rice aid from Japan. Banks that lend to finance a tractor and plough may get their money back if their client is a contractor providing ploughing services. However if the farmer is just relying on hand labour for the other duties, then the cost of production will exceed the mar-
ket price of harvests and the business will fold quickly. The farmers would still have to pay for labour, seeds, fertilizer, harvesting, storage and transportation of this expanded area. Every tractor should at least have a trailer, every power tiller should have a rice reaper. Mechanization of the country’s agriculture will not only reduce production costs, it also cuts down on post harvest losses currently estimated at 40% for grains. Kaya Kezema, the Managing Director of DEMACO (Developing Mechanized Agriculture Company) also seconded this view, saying that his organization insists that for all tractor loans processed by DEMACO, the tractor must be accompanied by a trailer and plough. “We will soon stop giving loans to SACCOS that do not have access to silos and warehouses,” he said. Responding to these challenges, the head of the agro-finance window of the TIB said that her bank was constantly re-organizing in tune with emerging realities, challenges. “We are still learning, and balancing between the need for tractors and ploughs and other farming equipment,” Prisca said. “We have received some requests from SACCOS to finance irrigation equipment and we are looking into how this can be achieved,” she added. However even as the tractor sales pick up, it has emerged that the newly purchased machinery is at an undue risk of misuse and degradation. Tractor owners do not attend the free training sessions of tractor use and maintenance available to those purchasing new machines. According to the Director of
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Agricultural Mechanization in the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MAFC), Eng. Richard Shetto, many farmers leave their tractors in the hands of skilled or semi skilled operators which poses a huge risk to their investments. The ministry discovered that of the 200 farmers that received tractor loans through the national voucher system, 196 of them used unlicensed drivers. “98% of them had unlicensed drivers who don’t have any kind of training on tractor handling,” he said. This leads to misuse and degradation of the tractors and other expensive equipment. This problem is fueled in part by a shortage of tractors drivers / operators in the villages. “Some farmers want to be paid to attend the training,” he also noted, urging the farmers to change their attitudes and take their investments seriously. “These are the same farmers who will not allow their children to play with the TV remote control or radio set which costs a couple of thousand shillings, but still allow their tractors worth millions of shillings to be driven around by unskilled people,” Eng. Shetto said. “The disc plough for example is one of the most common and yet the most misused and abused of all farm equipment,” the head of Tractors limited. An official at PASS, an organization that builds linkages between farmers, SACCOS and the TIB and provides project assessment and loan guarantees has also cited instances where new tractors fail to last for a year. “There was a peculiar case where one operator drove the tractor across a flooded river,” he said, noting that low level of knowledge leads to misuse of the tractors. “To address this weakness, we offer compulsory four day training to all buyers. No training. No tractor,” the Managing Director for Tractors Limited said. He added that his company is committed to ensuring optimal and correct use of the equipment as this also reduces the time, energy and resources spent on unscheduled maintenance and repairs. The switch from the hand hoe to mechanized agriculture is one of the pillars of Kilimo Kwanza. At the moment, about 70 percent of Tanzania’s total crop area is cultivated by hand hoe, 20 percent by ox plough and only 10 percent by tractor. The country needs at least 20,000 working tractors to achieve the goals of agricultural self sufficiency stated under Kilimo Kwanza. However where there were 17,000 working tractors in the 1970’s, only 8,000 remain. To fill this gap, the country aims to import over 2,000 tractors every year for the next ten years. At least eight in ten Tanzanians depends directly on agriculture. This makes the modernization and commercialization of the sector a key priority in poverty alleviation, spurring economic growth. Creating forward linkages in agriculture will also see the growth of other sectors of the economy as agriculture contributes to almost half of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The Guardian KILIMO KWANZA
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Tuesday 8 March, 2011
IRRIGATION
More water for Onion farmers in Karatu district
KILIMO KWANZA DIRECTORY
WATER AND SANITATION
Dar es Salaam Water and Sewerage Authority (DAWASA) – Tel: +255 22 276 0006
Dar es Salaam Water and Sewarage Corporation (DAWASCO) Tel: +255 22-2131191/4 Drilling and Dam Construction Agency (DDCA) Tel: +255 22 2410430/2410299 Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority Tel: +255 22 2123850, 22 2123853 Water and Environmental Sanitation Projects Maintenance Organization (WEPMO) Tel: +255 22 2410738, 716 099959 Ministry of Water Tel: +255 22 245 1448
INDUSTRY SUPPORT AND ASSOCIATIONS
Small Industries Development Organization (SIDO) – Email: dg@sido.go.tz, info@sido.go.tz ANSAF - P.O. Box 6370, Dar es Salaam CNFA - info@cnfatanzania.org
Tractors Limited Cells: +255 784 421606, 786 150213
Consolidated Holdings Corporation (CHC) Tel: 255 (022) 2117988/9 Vocational Education and Training Authority (VETA) – Tel: +255 22 2863683/2863409 Export Processing Zones in Tanzania (EPZ) Tel: +255 22 2451827-9 Agricultural Economics Society of Tanzania (AGREST) – Tel. +255-23 260 3415
Tanzania National Business Council (TNBC) Tel: +255 22 2122984-6 Tanzania Agriculture Partnership (TAP) Tel: +255 22 2124851
Tanzania Milk Processors Association (TAMPA) Tel: +255 222 450 426
Rural Livelihood Development Company (RLDC) Tel: +255 26 2321455 Tanzania Cotton Board Tel: +255 22 2122564, 2128347
Horticultural Development Council of Tanzania (HODECT) Cell: +255 789 222 344; Fax: +255 27254 4568 TATEECO Ltd – Tel: +255 784 427817 AGRO-PROCESSING ERTH Food - Tel: +255 22 2862040 MUKPAR Tanzania Ltd Tel: +255 28 250038/184
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By Mark Tarmo, Karatu
nion farmers in Karatu District’s Malekcha village will enjoy more harvests this year, thanks to a Tshs 190m assistance from the district’s development fund. The money will be used to construct modern irrigation channels to enable easy transportation of water to their farms. Currently, the onion farmers in the lake Eyasi basin face difficulties in irrigating their farms because the water channels, which are not made of concrete, are clogged with mud and weeds. This prevents adequate water flow to the farms. There are over 1000 onion farmers
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in the area all who depend on one source of water for irrigation. The onion farmers get water for irrigation from the big Qangdend water spring from the nearby Qangdend village which also provides water to two more villages for irrigation. The blocked channels mean that at the moment the villages take turns to water their farms. Improvement of the channels will see an end to endless squabbles over water, that have become the order of the day for farmers in the village. The latest incident took place a fortnight ago where one farmer hit his colleague with a hoe in the head, injuring him. The incident resulted from the farmer’s refusal to hand over irrigation
to the next farmer. He argued that he had not completed irrigating his whole farm and yet his turn to use the water had expired, leading to the fight. The money therefore could not have arrived at a better time as the improvement of the channels is expected to increase water flow and irrigation efficiency. According to the village chairman, Damiano Aqisha, the Tshs 190m will be disbursed in April and a committee to manage the funds is already in place. “The implementation of the project will start in May and we expect it to be complete in June,” said Aqisha. Joseph Kwaslema, an onion farmer is hopeful that his yield will increase twofold after the construction of the modern channels. Kwaslema will be
able to irrigate the whole of his two acre farm. Currently he is only able to irrigate one acre. Also thrilled by the government assistance is Mushi Hitler who currently is only able to irrigate half of his three acre onion farm. The Lake Eyasi basin is well known for onion farming and during his visits to the area in 2005 and 2010, President Jakaya Kikwete promised to help the onion farmers to improve irrigation farming. The onion farmers of the Lake Eyasi basin sell their onions in Arusha where they are sold locally as well as exported to Kenya and then Dubai. Prices per sack range between TSH 60,000 and Tshs 120,000 depending on market conditions.
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