INSUFFICIENT involvement of the private sector in agricultural development is a reason for slow pace in transformation of the sector into commercial farming as the potential driver for economic growth and poverty reduction.
This was said over the weekend in Dar es Salaam by the Principal Economist in the Ministry of Agriculture Food Security and Cooperatives Ms Margreth Ndaba at the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) multi-stakeholder dialogue.
"Without the Public Private Partnership (PPP) in agriculture development, commercial farming will remain unrealisable," said Ms Ndaba, also the head of Development Assistance and International Coordination in agriculture sector.
She said unreliable infrastructure like limited storage capacities, lack of value addition, poor farming technology and transport facilities retard agriculture transformation endeavours. To compliment government efforts, the PPP is the best option in commercialising agriculture activities.
The multi-stakeholder dialogue was co-organised by the Research and Social Research Foundation (ESRF) and the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN).
In his opening remarks, an official in the Ministry of Agriculture Food Security and Cooperatives Mr Mbogo Futakamba said the meeting stems from the fact that Non-State Actors have inadequate awareness of the CAADP process in the country.
"The government values and embraces participation of non state actors in the country's development and agricultural sector in particular as a way to ending the woes of poverty in the society," he said.
The main purpose of CAADP dialogue is to ensure multi-stakeholder participation in the development and implementation of agricultural policy. Some of the Non-State Actors (NSA) are like Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), farmer and producer organisations, researchers, parliamentarians, the private sector and the media.
Mr Futakamba mentioned Kilimo Kwanza and the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT) as significant initiatives which aim at greater involvement of private sector in the agriculture activities.
For example, SAGCOT's objective is to foster inclusive, commercially successful agribusinesses that will benefit the region's small-scale farmers, thus improving food security, reduce rural poverty and ensure environmental sustainability.
The PPP has emerged as a key vehicle to diversify economies, grow agribusiness, ensure food security and thrive. It also stimulates access to finance, inputs and markets for smallholder farmers.
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