From Tanzania to All of Africa: President Samia Leads Food System Renaissance

Flashback: The President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Hon. Samia Suluhu Hassan, launching the African Food System platform today, March 17, 2023, at the State House in Dar es Salaam. Her full statement was translated from Kiswahili.

My fellow citizens, on behalf of the government and the people of the United Republic of Tanzania, I would sincerely like to thank the leadership of the African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) for bestowing upon Tanzania the honor of hosting the African food system forum this year, 2023. I had a long discussion with Honorable Hailemariam Desalegn and also with Dr Agnes Kalibata.

At the beginning of our conversation, I didn’t think that we in Tanzania would truly be here today to launch AGRF, to be held here this year. I was pondering whether it’s possible or not, considering our journey, but when we arrived at this point, I genuinely saw it is possible. I am very grateful for your encouragement and for telling me, ‘You can do it, take up this challenge, and it will be possible’.

Truly, I’m very thankful. I also deeply thank Mrisho Mpoto for his message. I want to tell him that I know him well. As he said, ‘Let’s send him to speak out there’; I believe the minister will engage with him to assign him the task to speak on behalf of agriculture and youth. This is indeed a sign of faith and acceptance of the various reforms we continue to implement, especially in the agriculture sector. Hosting AGRF is significant for our nation, where more than 25% of our economy heavily depends on agriculture.

For many years, our agriculture was subsistence farming, and we didn’t venture much into commercial farming, except for the traditionally commercial crops like cotton, coffee, tea, and the like. But for others, we didn’t commercialize; we farmed for sustenance. The government has deliberately decided to prioritize the agricultural sector, and I will explain the reasons later.

I hope that holding this conference is a step forward and a good beginning towards achieving the results we anticipate the agricultural sector. I also want to express my gratitude to everyone who committed their resources and time to make today’s event a success. To our guests who have traveled from afar, I apologize for the journey, and welcome to Tanzania. And to those following me online, we thank you very much for joining us. I know all of you are agriculture enthusiasts, and together we will ensure that the issue of food security and good nutrition is an agenda for each one of us.

We have heard here the good history or meaning and work of AGRF and AGRA, which I don’t want to repeat, but we have heard simply from retired Dr. Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete telling us that Tanzania once hosted the AGRF meeting in 2012 and that meeting contributed to the agricultural development we have today to some extent.

So I must say now, Tanzanians hosting this forum again is another step to announce to the world that our country aims to become the food storage for Africa, hence we have started investing budgetary and strategically in fundamental areas including improving productivity in production by ensuring farmers use quality seeds and get fertilizers and nutrients on time, making sure the youth are prioritized in investment and agricultural reforms in the country through a program we have devised called Building Better Tomorrow (BBT), investing in research and opening new international markets for crops, building climate change adaptable irrigation infrastructure, establishing an inclusive environment for the private sector, participating in the agricultural value chain and reducing post-harvest loss especially in vegetables and fruits.

My fellow citizens, through this forum, producers, investors, active people worldwide, and more than three thousand businessmen will get the opportunity to discuss how to advance the agricultural sector, promote tourism, trade, and the investment opportunities available in the country. This step will help increase investment in the agricultural sector, promote tourism, stabilize markets and technology for the benefit of Tanzanians, Africa, and the world at large.

Tanzania has a long history concerning agricultural revolution and we have always known that agriculture is a crucial sector for our country’s economy. Therefore, agricultural revolutions have been occurring from one phase to another and contributing to various campaigns here in Tanzania including subsistence farming, but we also entered the ‘Agriculture First’ campaign and now agriculture is business.

All these strategies since Tanzania gained independence have set a solid foundation in production in the agricultural sector, which has now enabled our country to be self-reliant on food. Our country, Tanzania, is self-reliant on food except for a few crops that we import; a lot of achievements have been attained including the establishment of research institutions, Sokoine University of Agriculture, the establishment of regulatory institutions and seed boards, the establishment of the southern Tanzania agricultural corridor and our vision is to establish other agricultural corridors in other parts of Tanzania as well as creating an enabling environment for the private sector in the value chain. But since we are with Dr. Jakaya Kikwete, I thank him very much that during his time the promotion of agriculture was well done but he has continued to work on this sector in Africa and worldwide and today being the chairman of the World Food Prize, a global platform, congratulations very much Honorable, we thank you very much.

My fellow citizens, the government is committed to ensuring the country is self-sufficient in other few crops that we still import from outside, crops that we import from outside include wheat, cooking oil, and sugar. Along with solving the challenge of having low productivity in agriculture and ensuring the farmer benefits directly, so we have said that we are self-reliant but there are crops that still, wheat is one of them but I want to say that we have a complete plan to ensure that we revive all wheat farms, and they are farmed modernly but on cooking oil we have planned well by using our youth to go and produce cooking oil there in Kigoma palm and other areas coconut, we are going to organize ourselves well to ensure we are self-sufficient in cooking oil too. Regarding sugar, I was reading a report recently and found that we have moved from a large gap of not being self-sufficient in sugar but we have come down well and until this year we have a gap of only thirty thousand tons which by next year factories being constructed, factories coming to be built and factories being expanded which increases production we are going to reduce the sugar gap further, we are going to focus now on producing industrial sugar but sugar for consumption by the citizens we are going to be self-sufficient.”

That is the government’s goal to be self-sufficient in food but also to be a food storehouse for Africa. Our main goal is to ensure that by 2030 through our Agenda 10/30 strategy ‘farming is a business’, we achieve the goal of the agricultural sector contributing 30% to the growth of the national income and also ensuring that Tanzania is self-sufficient in food and feeding neighboring countries and possibly the African continent because food is the security of a country, and without food, our countries are not safe. So we must ensure we have enough food to protect the security of our nations. Brothers and sisters, when we talk about farming here, many will think we are talking about crop farming, but those before me put it well that farming also includes fishing and livestock keeping. In all these areas, we are going to organize properly.

What excites me is that on the crop farming side, a youth project of block farming or cluster farming has already started. On the 20th of this month, the day after tomorrow, I am going to launch that program in Dodoma, but other regions will follow. We are starting with training 812 youths, and after graduation, we will hand them their land titles to start work in areas where we have already set up irrigation infrastructure. So we’re going to start with a bang, and I would also like the Minister of Fisheries to show us the progress in his area when the Food Systems forum is held here in September. I want to see the cattle farms, the fish ponds, and this is for both mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar. All the ministers are here. In the sub-sectors of agriculture, there is an important sector that we often overlook, and that is the environment and climate change. We must pay proper attention to it. We are used to relying on aid to take care of our environment, but if the aid doesn’t come, we have to tighten our belts and have a comprehensive plan.

I was looking at the food needs statistics for Africa, and I saw that after the Covid-19 pandemic, global security shocks and climate change have caused a significant food shortage in the world. Looking at Africa, for every five people, one is entirely without food, one gets one meal, another can afford two, and only one can afford three meals a day. But one in five has no food at all. This statistic is alarming, given our population of 278 million according to UN statistics and other agricultural stakeholders. But the prediction is that the situation could get even worse. In East Africa, we’re told that 60% of the population is food insecure compared to 40% in West Africa. Therefore, we have a big task in East Africa to ensure sufficient food production. What shocked me even more is that apart from the factors I mentioned, there has been a lack of rainy seasons for over four years, especially in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia. We in Tanzania must thank God that we still get rain, have fertile land and youths. What we lack is funding and good plans.

“From 25-27 January this year, I participated in a conference of African heads of state on food sufficiency and resilience held in Dakar, Senegal. That’s where my brothers Desalein and Agness really pressured me, saying, “You must really focus on this; Tanzania has all the resources, you must take it.” I confidently agreed that I would take it on. Now, during that meeting, African leaders issued a declaration to invest in strategies to be self-sufficient in food and to open opportunities to increase food production in Africa. To implement this declaration, we resolved, among other things, to establish councils to promote agriculture and boost food production. I am pleased to inform you that the government of the United Republic of Tanzania has already established such a council to look into food sufficiency in Tanzania, or what we call the “Presidential Food and Agriculture Delivery Bureau”. This council will have the following members: Honorable Mizengo Kayanza Peter Pimba, a former Prime Minister of the United Republic of Tanzania, who will also be the chair of the council. He always said he is a farmer’s child, so now we are giving him this responsibility: “Honorable Prime Minister, we entrust you with the Tanzanian agriculture council.” Other members will include Honorable Hailemariam Desalegn, who will also be a member of our council. We included him because he is working in the fields, but mainly because he said, “Tanzania, Move move!” So, in this journey, he will be pushing us forward. We also have Mr. Geoffrey Kirenga, the CEO of SACGOT, and this is because of his excellent performance in the SACGOT region. We want him to use that same experience to open other agricultural zones in Tanzania. We also have Mr. Andrew Masawe, who was a permanent secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture. We want him to use all the experience he has gained over the years.”

This council will also have a secretariat and the following members: First, Dr. Florence Turuka, who was the chief secretary in our government but is currently a lecturer at Sokoine University of Agriculture in SUA. Another member of the secretariat is Dr. Jacqueline Mkindi, the executive director of the Tanzania Hot Culture Association TAHA. We know that currently, the fastest money-making crops are in horticulture. So, we want you to introduce the youth to horticulture., which is a quick win for the sector to earn money quickly. Another member of the secretariat is Dr. Mwatima Juma, the chairperson of the Tanzania Organic Agriculture Movement or TOAM. So this is the council and the members of the secretariat. We wish you good work, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank Honorable Desalein for accepting our appointment. He first consulted with Tulum and then said, “Go ahead, I am behind you”. We are very grateful.

The government’s intention is to work with our partners to implement the vision of African countries to be self-sufficient in food. I would also like to officially launch this council today. So, when you leave here, ask the Minister of Agriculture where your offices are, and start work tomorrow, you’ve been launched. It is my hope that with the experience you all have, council members and the secretariat, you will grow this sector. I have found the right advisors to advise me in this sector.

In general, the council will have the following duties: To assess our set strategies to elevate the agricultural sector and advise on the best way to implement them. Secondly, to advise on the best methods to innovate and develop local creativity in food availability in the country. Third, to advise on the best ways to strengthen the financial sector and enable capital and finance access for investors and farmers in the country. I am glad that banks are here, and congratulations and thank you for responding to the call to lower the interest rates to 9%. I believe as we move forward, you will find ways to lower it even more, including strengthening the farmer loan guarantee funds and strengthening farmer savings and credit cooperatives. Another thing is to advise on the best systems and methods to strengthen the private sector and government in investing in the agriculture sector. Yesterday, I was in South Africa, and in our trade discussions between Tanzania and South Africa, we noticed that South Africa imports a large amount of rice from Vietnam. So, we told the Tanzanians that we have 22 million hectares that can be planted with rice using irrigation. We asked the businessmen there involved in agriculture to come together to develop these 22 million hectares. Imagine how much food we can produce; we can feed Tanzania, feed South Africa, and sell to other areas. This is where we want to go. I know there are challenges with land planning and land use planning, but the committee will look into that, but the goal is to move forward to grow agriculture, ensure food sufficiency in the country, and also in Africa.

Another thing we want the committee to do is to promote and assist in obtaining loans or aid from development partners for investment in agriculture. The secretariat has very competent people; Dr. Mwatima is there. She was with IFAD until she retired. She knows how to navigate through IFAD and get funds to improve agriculture in Tanzania. Another thing is to advise on the best and sustainable ways to include the youth in the government’s investment. And here when I say youth, I mean both young men and women in this investment in agriculture. In general, I wish you all the best; our hopes are on you. Tanzania is looking at you. If we succeed, it’s because of you. If you let us down, it’s because of you, but I don’t think the true champions of Tanzania will let us down.

My fellow countrymen, in conclusion, I would like to call on the international community, AGRF platform partners, the private sector, and development partners to participate fully in the upcoming agricultural sector development conference to strengthen the food systems in Africa. With these few remarks, I would now like to announce that the Africa Food System Forum 2023 will take place from 5th to 8th September 2023 at the Julius Nyelele International Conference Centre in Dar es Salaam.

This council will also have a secretariat and the following members: First, Dr. Florence Turuka, who was the chief secretary in our government but is currently a lecturer at Sokoine University of Agriculture in SUA. Another member of the secretariat is Dr. Jacqueline Mkindi, the executive director of the Tanzania Hot Culture Association TAHA. We know that currently, the fastest money-making crops are in hot culture. So, we want you to introduce the youth to hot culture, which is a quick win for the sector to earn money quickly. Another member of the secretariat is Dr. Mwatima Juma, the chairperson of the Tanzania Organic Agriculture Movement or TOAM. So this is the council and the members of the secretariat. We wish you good work, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank Honorable Desalein for accepting our appointment. He first consulted with Tulum and then said, “Go ahead, I am behind you”. We are very grateful.

The government’s intention is to work with our partners to implement the vision of African countries to be self-sufficient in food. I would also like to officially launch this council today. So, when you leave here, ask the Minister of Agriculture where your offices are, and start work tomorrow, you’ve been launched. It is my hope that with the experience you all have, council members and the secretariat, you will grow this sector. I have found the right advisors to advise me in this sector.

In general, the council will have the following duties: To assess our set strategies to elevate the agricultural sector and advise on the best way to implement them. Secondly, to advise on the best methods to innovate and develop local creativity in food availability in the country. Third, to advise on the best ways to strengthen the financial sector and enable capital and finance access for investors and farmers in the country. I am glad that banks are here, and congratulations and thank you for responding to the call to lower the interest rates to 9%. I believe as we move forward, you will find ways to lower it even more, including strengthening the farmer loan guarantee funds and strengthening farmer savings and credit cooperatives. Another thing is to advise on the best systems and methods to strengthen the private sector and government in investing in the agriculture sector. Yesterday, I was in South Africa, and in our trade discussions between Tanzania and South Africa, we noticed that South Africa imports a large amount of rice from Vietnam. So, we told the Tanzanians that we have 22 million hectares that can be planted with rice using irrigation. We asked the businessmen there involved in agriculture to come together to develop these 22 million hectares. Imagine how much food we can produce; we can feed Tanzania, feed South Africa, and sell to other areas. This is where we want to go. I know there are challenges with land planning and land use planning, but the committee will look into that, but the goal is to move forward to grow agriculture, and ensure food sufficiency in the country, and also in Africa.

Another thing we want the committee to do is to promote and assist in obtaining loans or aid from development partners for investment in agriculture. The secretariat has very competent people; Dr. Mwatima is there. She was with IFAD until she retired. She knows how to navigate through IFAD and get funds to improve agriculture in Tanzania. Another thing is to advise on the best and most sustainable ways to include the youth in the government’s investment. And here when I say youth, I mean both young men and women in this investment in agriculture. In general, I wish you all the best; our hopes are on you. Tanzania is looking at you. If we succeed, it’s because of you. If you let us down, it’s because of you, but I don’t think the true champions of Tanzania will let us down.

My fellow countrymen, in conclusion, I would like to call on the international community, AGRF platform partners, the private sector, and development partners to participate fully in the upcoming agricultural sector development conference to strengthen the food systems in Africa. With these few remarks, I would now like to announce that the Africa Food System Forum 2023 will take place from 5th to 8th September 2023 at the Julius Nyerere International Conference Centre in Dar es Salaam.

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