Inevitable
Senior Member
- Apr 27, 2012
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Philippe Dongier, World Bank Country Director for Tanzania, Uganda and Burundi
A recently released Word Bank report says in Tanzania, contribution of the agriculture sector to overall GDP has declined deeming Tanzania as one of Africa's sleeping agricultural giants having twice as much land as what it currently has put under cultivation.
The report emphasises that agriculture is Tanzania's key economic driving force and with increased productivity, the sector has great potential for food security, job creation and sustainable poverty reduction.
The process of agriculture transformation, according to the report titled "Tanzania: Productive Jobs wanted," has potential to create direct jobs and again more employment along the value chain.
Speaking during the report launch over the weekend in Dar es Salaam, the World Bank Country Director for Tanzania, Uganda and Burundi, Philippe Dongier said agriculture success has been illustrated by among others, Thailand and Vietnam.
"These two countries have managed to create productive jobs in their agricultural sector by diversifying from food staples to higher value commodities to access value-added supply chains, and increasing agricultural exports through improved product quality and safety," he said.
He said this despite rising incomes and urbanisation also leading to structural transformation, where the labour force gradually moves away from agricultural activities toward manufacturing and services.
"For Tanzania," he said "…the current challenge is to realise its potential to create more productive jobs in the agriculture sector through greater linkages between commercialisation and transformation activities, and productivity improvements within the farms through improved inputs knowledge, and technology."
"The country also has ample water resources for irrigation purposes both gravity fed and well-based irrigation…despite these natural endowments, the country has performed poorly both in exports and productivity," reads the report.
The report notes that most of the arable land in Tanzania is used by smallholder farmers that cultivate less than two hectares of land and the dominant staple crop, maize, is grown by more than 70 percent of rural households that all suffer low production.
Further, it points out that, most crops are not planted in irrigated land, and poor productivity is often a result of erratic rainfall, and underuse of fertilisers and improved seeds due to high prices of these inputs.
According to statistics in the report, contribution of the agriculture sector to overall GDP has declined relative to the rise of other sectors, going from an average of 28.8 per cent in 2002-05 to 25.3 percent in 2006-10.
Over the past two decades (1990-2011) agricultural performance was decent with an average growth rate of 3.8 percent, says the report but it still barely kept up with population growth and agricultural GDP per capita over the same period which grew only by 0.9 percent.
It explains that, agriculture is dominated by crop farming, which accounts for more than 70 per cent of the sector.
"The composition of the sector has stayed fairly stable, with the livestock sub-sector coming in second place and registering a contribution of 15 per cent," reads the report.
"The potential for transformation and productive job creation in agriculture lies with harnessing the elements of growth shown in other countries," it advises.
Through he report, the World Bank says sources of growth in agriculture can come from increased inputs such as land, labor, fertiliser or improved seeds.
The WB also demand for changes in the composition of the national crop portfolio with shifts to higher value crops, improved productivity and greater linkages with commercial agribusiness through contract farming opportunities.
Source:Guardian
http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/?l=72194
