President Jakaya Kikwete
Mr Kikwete said unscrupulous leaders of the cooperative unions borrow money from banks to buy crops from farmers but end up misusing the same.
President Kikwete who was officially closing Nanenane agriculture fair at Ngongo grounds here, said the poor leadership in the cooperatives was slowing down efforts to revive the role of agriculture in the growth of the economy.
?When I entered office in 2005, almost all unions were defunct and were heavily indebted,? he said, adding that the government thus took initiatives to help service their debts.
The move sought to enable them take active role in agriculture development, particularly in buying farmers? crops. ?Unfortunately, some cooperative unions have fallen into heavy debts.
This is unacceptable,? he said. The malfunctioning cooperative unions have instead discouraged farmers to increase productivity, he noted.
?The government will not service these debts again unless you come up with genuine problems and feasible solutions to the misconduct,? he stressed.
The president also observed that the agricultural development he launched on Friday will provide a lasting solution to farmers? problems of accessing finance.
He said the Tanzania Agricultural Development Bank Limited (TADB) has been established to address the national goals enshrined in the Tanzania Vision 2025, specifically to facilitate attainment of food self-sufficiency and security, transformation of agriculture from subsistence to commercial, and bringing about economic development and poverty reduction.
The government has since invested 60bn/- in the bank to make good its commitment to oversee formation of a bank to improve farmers? welfare.
The bank is expected to catalyze delivery of credit and related services to agricultural value chains, including a wide range of short, medium to longterm financing products to the agriculture sector, with the bank expected to contribute towards achieving agricultural sector growth targets, in a sector said to be employing more than 70 per cent of the country?s workforce and accounting for most of the raw materials for local industries.
Similarly, he said commodity exchange, to begin its operation soon, will provide lasting solution to markets to farmers? produce.
By SEBASTIAN MRINDOKO, Tanzania Daily News
