The Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Hussein Bashe, has revealed that Tanzania expects to hit $1bn in exports through its five-year strategic plan from 2021 to 2026.
He unveiled this plan when addressing members of the Tanzanian Horticultural Association (TAHA) at the association’s 15th annual general meeting at the Mount Meru Hotel.
In his speech, he lauded the association as a key player in the multimillion-dollar horticulture industry for the crucial preparatory document and made some key statements that ministerial experts work with the private sector to convene a nationwide horticultural conference on the subject.
The Chief Executive Officer of TAHA Group, Dr. Jacqueline Mkindi mentioned that the blueprint is to harness new opportunities and overcome the challenges encountered by the sector.
She admitted, “If implemented well, it will see over 2,000 tons of horticultural products exported come 2026, up from barely 850 tons exported last year.
“However, the plan needs at least $30 million to increase global and local competitiveness and to ensure the industry becomes inclusive, transformative, competitive and sustains its pace of growth,” she highlighted.
“TAHA will have to build the capacity of about 50,000 farmers in climate-smart agriculture (CSA) and over 200 crop-based facilitators to transform horticultural activities into green and climate-resilient practices,” she further added.
In furtherance to her speech, she said, “TAHA will have to mobilize over $1 million loans for its members and other industry stakeholders to access the farmers.” She added that TAHA has over the last five years linked up over 1,000 farmers to financial institutions up to the end of last year, to secure loans amounting to $2.74 billion.
According to reports, the main part of the operational needs is expected from donations of development partners, with the United States Department of Agriculture and the United States Agency for International Development contributing 29 per cent in its five-year strategic plan for 2017-2021 now being wound up.
The Association further revealed that other contributors are the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Trade Mark East Africa, TRIAS (Belgium), Sweden and the Andreas Hermes Akademie (AHA) of Germany.
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