FAO commits to further help small-scale agribusinesses

 

Speaking in an exclusive interview with The Guardian recently, FAO Tanzania Country Representative, Diana Tempelman, said the support focused on assisting the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT) initiative to boost agro-production and processing industries along the Dar es Salaam-Mbeya corridor. 

 

She was speaking during the UN week celebrations to mark the 69th anniversary on the establishment of the United Nations.

 

Tempelman also said that further efforts were made to link farmers with other value chain players such as traders and agro-food processors through the recently established collaborative pact with the Rabobank/NMB Foundation.

 

“FAO is now looking into ways to enhance men, women and young farmers’ access to agricultural financing. Under this agreement with NMB, FAO will continue to provide technical assistance to increase the productivity of rice and cassava crops, linking producers to agribusinesses to increase their access to markets, while the NMB will be responsible for building farmers’ financial literacy skills and group management skills to become more credit-worthy and obtain formal loans by the end of the four year programme,” she said.

 

 She underscored that during the coming years FAO will further facilitate producers and formal agribusinesses to capitalise on market opportunities in the existing regional communities such as the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and East Africa Community (EAC) of which Tanzania has been a long serving member. 

 

She noted that the Agricultural Sector Development Strategy objectives include creating an enabling and favourable environment for improved productivity and profitability in the agricultural sector and increasing farm income to reduce income poverty and ensure household food security.

 

Tempelman highlighted FAO’s continued support to Agricultural Sector Line Ministries to elaborate a Sector-Wide Agricultural Development Plan, given that “the Agricultural Sector Development Strategy (ASDS) provides a comprehensive blue print for advancing the sector and specifying how the sector will achieve MKUKUTA and MKUZA targets,” she said.