MOROGORO: THE Ministry of Agriculture has urged paddy farmers and other stakeholders across the value chain to increase productivity and reduce production costs, describing rice as a strategic crop for food security and foreign exchange earnings.
The Ministry’s Assistant Director of Extension Services, Ms Upendo Mndeme, made the call during a workshop to validate and sign a joint rice sector development agreement.
Organised jointly by the Agricultural Growth Corridors of Tanzania (AGCOT) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the workshop brought together stakeholders from Morogoro, Iringa and Mbeya regions.
It was officially opened by Morogoro Regional Administrative Secretary, Dr Mussa Ali Mussa, recently.
Ms Mndeme said rice was the country’s second most important food crop and also contributed significantly to foreign exchange earnings through exports.
“We have heard the challenges facing us, including why we lack markets or why prices are high. We are told that rice is more expensive here than anywhere else in the world because our productivity remains very low,” she said.
She urged farmers and other stakeholders in the rice value chain to prioritise higher productivity to reduce the cost of producing each kilogramme of rice.
Ms Mndeme said the workshop provided an opportunity for stakeholders to identify effective ways of implementing strategies to improve the rice sector.
She added that Tanzania’s Development Vision 2050 seeks to position the country among Africa’s leading food producers.
“Our vision is to be among the top 10 countries in food crop production. We cannot become a leading producer if we do not produce quality rice, achieve higher productivity and remain competitive in the market,” she said.
Ms Mndeme also stressed the need for the Ministry and other stakeholders to strengthen farmer training, noting that some farmers mix different rice seed varieties in their fields, a practice that undermines productivity and quality.
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Meanwhile, Cereals and Other Produce Regulatory Authority (COPRA) representative, John Kapufi, said the authority plans to strengthen the regulation of rice varieties to ensure they meet the requirements of both domestic and export markets.
Mr Kapufi said rice characteristics, including aroma, grain size and overall quality, must be considered to ensure that the crop meets recognised market standards.
“Quality control will go hand in hand with improvements in crop collection, storage and processing systems,” he said.
AGCOT Corridor Manager, John Banga, said the voluntary agreement among stakeholders provides a foundation for collective accountability in addressing challenges facing the rice sector.
He said each stakeholder should have clearly defined responsibilities and timelines for implementing the agreed commitments.
For his part, IUCN Programme Officer, Samwel Kajiba, said the organisation’s partnership with AGCOT, which began in 2014, aims to improve agricultural productivity while protecting the environment.
He said the partnership, through the Sustain project in Morogoro and Iringa regions, promotes sustainable production systems, restoration of degraded land and biodiversity conservation.