Moshi — THE Minister for Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives, Eng. Christopher Chiza, on Friday inaugurated the Tanzania Coffee Development Trust Fund and appealed for transparency, so as to win the hearts of stakeholders.

He said the fund should also employ personnel of high integrity, committed and versed in its operations to attract as many stakeholders as possible and improve coffee production in the country.

Eng. Chiza, who was flanked by the Chairperson of the Tanzania Coffee Board, Dr Eva Hawa Sinare and the chairman of the fund, Mr Andrew Kakama, warned that the fund should shun nepotism when recruiting its workforce, because by doing so it will not be efficient in serving its stakeholders.

He also told the audience that his ministry was faced with a number of challenges, including the enactment of Plant Breeders Act and the launching of cooperative and irrigation commissions and review of coffee regulations which stakeholders will be invited to air their views.

Eng. Chiza informed the gathering in the TCB conference room that participation of the private sector in the coffee industry should increase from the present 4 per cent to at least 6 per cent so as to boost and promote private - public partnership.

Earlier, Mr Kakama told the minister that a resolution to launch the fund was made during the Coffee Stakeholders Conference held in Morogoro from May 26 and 27, 2011 and that the fund was registered on September 16, 2011 as a partnership entity under the board of trustees.

He said the fund was launched following crop policy reforms on research, inputs, quality seeds distribution, adding that it was set up to perform 14 functions, which included to meet costs of research activities and extension services and inform stakeholders on the outcome of research findings, to mention but a few.