The Permanent Secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office, Dr. Jim Yonazi, overseeing Policy, Parliament, and Coordination of Government Activities, has issued six directives to stakeholders, expert teams, and lead experts participating in the Mid-Term Evaluation of the Second Phase of the Agriculture Sector Development Programme (ASDP II) and the re-planning for the next five years. This is to ensure the process contributes effectively to both the program and the agricultural sector as a whole.
Dr. Yonazi emphasized the importance of following the work plan for timely completion, accurate interpretation and use of information by lead experts, active participation and cooperation by the expert team, and sufficient support from sectoral ministries including necessary information. Lead experts, in collaboration with stakeholders, are instructed to identify strategies to address challenges encountered in the second phase of the program, and development partners and the private sector are encouraged to continue supporting the exercise with financial resources, expertise, and information.
These directives were issued on August 15, 2023, at the Protea Courtyard hotel in Dar es Salaam, where Dr. Yonazi opened the Initial Stakeholder Meeting to prepare for the Mid-Term Evaluation, covering the first five completed years of ASDPII. The ASDPII is a ten-year program implemented in two phases of five years each, launched on June 6, 2017/18. The program is currently in its mid-term, with the entire ten-year implementation set to complete in 2027/2028.
Furthermore, Dr. Yonazi assured all stakeholders in the agricultural sector of sufficient support from the government through the Prime Minister’s Office, the main coordinator of ASDP II, in coordinating and managing the review of the program and the strategic plans for the remaining five years of the second phase.
He expressed hope that the collaboration with stakeholders, including AGRA and others like the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), would continue to grow in the next five years (2023–2028) of implementing the ASDP II.
Finally, Dr. Yonazi reminding and urging all stakeholders in the agricultural sector to register and participate in the upcoming Africa Food Systems Forum, scheduled to take place in Tanzania in September 2023. The forum, to be held at the Julius Nyerere International Convention Centre in Dar es Salaam, will gather various stakeholders from within and outside Tanzania.
He emphasized the importance of participation in the Forum, to be held from September 5-8, 2023, with Tanzania hosting this year’s edition of the African Food Systems Forum.