TANZANIA and the United States on Tuesday celebrated the achievements of the Mboga na Matunda (Vegetables and Fruits) programme implemented under the Feed the Future initiative of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Through strong collaboration and enduring partnership with the government of Tanzania, the 25 million US dollar, five-year MboganaMatundaprogramme improved the nutritional status of hundreds of thousands of Tanzanians in five regions across the country.

In her remarks at the MboganaMatunda closeout event, USAID Tanzania Mission Director, Kate Somvongsiri said that unlocking the potential of Tanzania's agriculture sector--which contributes nearly one-third of the country's Growth Domestic Product (GDP) and employs 75 percent of the population--is the key to achieving broad-based economic growth and sustainable development.

Over the last five years, the Feed the Future MboganaMatunda activity collaborated with the government of Tanzania to improve planting, growing, and irrigation techniques; and improved seed variety and nutrition education for over 874,000 clients, of which 58 per cent were youth.

The activity also expanded the network of buyers and sellers of agriculture products; ultimately strengthening the overall capacity of the horticulture industry.

As a direct result of the activity's interventions, micro, small, and medium enterprises in horticulture invested more than 154 million US dollars in horticulture and sold goods and services worth 373 million US dollars.