Irrigation farming necessary for Kilimo Kwanza initiative`

The ‘Kilimo Kwanza’ initiative will not help pull millions of farmers eradicate poverty if there is no concerted effort to put in place irrigation farming infrastructure, according to farmers, who attendeds one-day training programme on ‘Kilimo Kwanza’ in Arusha at the weekend. They said continued reliance on rain-fed agriculture was unrealistic.

Naiman Kitomari from Kalangai Village said if relying on unpredictable rains continued, poverty eradication efforts would hardly succeed.

He explained that there was a need to construct irrigation infrastructure in all productive areas to boost agriculture. Citing his own example, Kitomari said he once borrowed money from the village’s Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies (Saccos) but he was unsuccessful because he relied on unreliable rains.

Maliaki Mbesere from Mkonoo Village said rain-fed agriculture had failed to help many farmers eradicate poverty and improve their livelihoods.

He noted that climate change had aggravated the situation because rainfall trends in most cases had been unpredictable.

An Arumeru District resident, William Nulu, said: “I was forced to sell my cow to get money to settle my loan from the Saccos. This is because I failed to get enough crops to meet the costs I incurred in production.”

He explained that during the farming season, the rain was not enough and so he harvested very little.

“It is a waste of time and resources for farmers to continue relying on rain-fed agriculture,” said Nulu.

Echoing Nulu’s statement, Thomas John Laizer, from Monduli District said: “This kind of farming is no longer useful and irrigation farming should be applied, instead.”

Laizer also cited lack of proper marketing as a key challenge to the implementation of ‘Kilimo Kwanza’ in Tanzania.

“There are areas where farmers have managed to produce enough crops but marketing remains a challenge as they don’t know where to sell their produce. At the end of the day, they sell their produce at a throw-away price, making them remain in the vicious cycle of poverty,” he said.

Training facilitator from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives, Abdallah Msambachi, said irrigation farming and the application of high yielding inputs were key issues to ensure optimal crop production in the country.

He called on farmers to engage in irrigation farming, which had proved to be successful in other parts of the world.

Citing the 1997 agriculture and livestock policy, the official said it was clear that the policy advocated irrigation farming as an ideal solution to unpredictable rainfall.

Msambachi further said there was a need for the private sector to engage in the agricultural sector, which he said was the backbone of the country’s economy as it employed over 80 per cent of Tanzanians.

The training programme, which was organised by Arusha-based civil society organisation Hakikazi Catalyst, meant to equip small-scale farmers with modern farming skills to implement ‘Kilimo Kwanza’. Participants came from Tanga, Kilimanjaro, Arusha and Manyara regions.