The East African (Nairobi)
Wilfred Edwin
26 October 2009
Tanzania's newly introduced agriculture policy -- Kilimo Kwanza -- is beginning to bear fruit with the introduction of the National Cereals and Other Produce Bill, 2009.
The Bill will benefit all sectors of agriculture, including fresh support for fruit and vegetable producers.
The Bill provides for policy reforms that are aimed at improving agriculture and helping cereal producers remain competitive in the global market.
The Bill, which has been praised by MPs and farmers alike, is expected to sail through parliament to become the National Cereals and Other Produce Act, 2009.
The Bill will be tabled for the first time this week when Parliament convenes its October session beginning this Tuesday, October 27.
The legislation provides for a new board of Cereals and Other Produce to supervise production and subsequent marketing of traditional food crops.
Gideon Cheyo, chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee for Agriculture, Livestock and Water, said in Dar es Salaam that the formation of the board was long overdue.
"The board will fill the vacuum left by the former General Agricultural Products Export (Gapex) and the National Milling Corporation," he said. Gapex was a government parastatal that collapsed in the 1990s.
According to Mr Cheyo, the new effort to strengthen the contribution of agriculture and food security will also see amendments to the Food Security Act of 1991, whereby a Cereals and Other Produce Regulatory Authority will be formed.
The absence of the board has left cereals production and marketing in disarray, with farmers being tricked by middlemen through use of inaccurate weights and measures.
The new law addresses the concerns of taxpayers, increases support for agricultural environmental programmes and balances the diverse needs of Tanzania's family-based food and fibre production system.
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