NEWS

Tanzania has received a grant of US$13.4 million from the British government for the implementation of a four-year agriculture development projects in 18 of the 30 regions in the country.Speaking at the launch of the project in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday, the Tanzanian Livestock and Fisheries Development minister, Dr David Mathayo, said the project was vital for the national socio-economic development and would employ millions of Tanzanian youths.

 

“We are going to create millions of jobs for Tanzanian youths, and these jobs will benefit farmers, livestock keepers, traders and others,” Mathayo said.

 

The project labelled “Livelihood Enhancement through Agriculture Development (LEAD)” will be implemented by BRAC, an international non-government microfinance organization based in Bangladesh.

 

According to Mathayo, the implementation of the project is a notable development as the government struggles to solicit funding for the agriculture sector which is the backbone of the country’s economy.

 

The project aspires to boost agricultural yields and productivity, increase rural income, build capacity for small scale farmers and food security.

 

Dr Mathayo said LEAD will include agriculture and livestock (poultry) and directly engage 48000 poultry farmers in the country.

 

The project also will address the constraints facing farmers, build their capacities, assist them to access high quality farming inputs and create marketing facilities for their produce, he added.

 

“In the course of implementation, a total of 105,000 people will benefit directly from the project,” the minister noted.

 

Furthermore, the British High Commissioner to Tanzania, Diana Melrose, said BRAC has successfully implemented projects in different countries, which contributed impressively in transforming the lives of the poor.

 

The diplomat express optimism that the same results would be seen in the current BRAC-managed agricultural project in the country.