THE STATEMENT BY THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, LIVESTOCK ANDENVIRONMENTAgriculture Sector stands second in terms of its contribution to Zanzibar GDP (MOFEA GrowthStrategy Report 2006). Based on MOFEA 2006, any serious strategy for reduction of ruralpoverty and improvement of food security requires considerable improvement on the income ofsmallholder producers in agriculture related activities and thus must promote improvements intheir production activities. Due to this importance, the sector has been ranked as third prioritysector next to Tourism and Trade Sectors in MKUZA. Despite the potential of agricultural sectorsin reduction of rural poverty being widely recognized and documented, the challenge howeverlies on how to support specific changes that will lead to a greater role of the sectors in thereduction of poverty. The most critical one is on how to transform smallholder subsistenceagriculture into viable commercial entities. This will not only increase the contribution of the<strong>Agricultural</strong> Sector to GDP but also (and more importantly) it will increase its contribution inreduction of rural poverty.Currently, our <strong>Agricultural</strong> Sector is riddled with various inadequacies including the low use ofproduction technology and investment capital, low private investment in the sectors,underdeveloped agricultural support services, depletion of the natural resource bases andenvironmental degradation and over reliance on rain fed agriculture. Others are out-dated lawsand weak law enforcement mechanism, reduction of agricultural labour force caused by theHIV/AIDS pandemic, malaria and drug abuse, frequent disease and parasites/pests outbreak, andunreliable weather condition. On the other hand, there are also several opportunities that we needto explore; including the comparative advantage in production and marketing of some cash cropsparticularly organic spice and tropical fruits, sufficient underground water and good climaticconditions, and the less exploited marine resources in offshore and on shore water.This SP placed special emphasis on addressing core constraints to and potential for thedevelopment of the sector by creating conducive policy and legal environment for effectiveimplementation of agriculture related activities, enhancing smallholders’ access to essentialproduction inputs and services, promote deep sea and artisanal fisheries in a sustainable manner inorder to increase fish catch. Other issues addressed in this SP include the improvement ofmarketing efficiency so as to inculcate private sector involvement in production, processing andprovision of marketing services, empowerment of rural communities and encourage them toparticipate effectively in management of natural resource base in their respective areas for thebenefit of current and future generations. This SP also features the need for reviewing of some ofthe agriculture related policies and regulations and formulation of some new policies includingCooperative Development Policy.A particular emphasis will also be on addressing rural sectors that deemed sensitive for improvingfood security and vital for reduction of rural poverty. This includes crop and livestock productionactivities particularly those performed by resources poor farmers and artisanal fisheries, andencourage the formation of rural based saving and credit associations (SACAS) to cater for thecredit and saving need for this segment of the population. The implementation of this <strong>Strategic</strong>Plan will be done in a manner that articulates the objectives and targets of the NationalDevelopment Vision 2020, MKUZA, MDG, the CCM Manifesto for 2005 General Election andAgriculture Sector and Sub sector Policies.5
The issue of improving human resources in various cadres within the Ministry mandates,mainstreaming gender issues in agricultural development and tackling threat from HIV/AIDS andmalaria will also be taken aboard in this new SP.(BURHAN SAADAT HAJI)MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE, LIVESTOCK, AND ENVIRONMENTZANZIBAR6
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