HORTICULTURAL growers can now learn practically about good agricultural practices, climate-smart technologies, and crops commercialization for high yields and income respectively, at a newly opened state-of-the-art ‘National Centre of Excellence for Horticulture.’

Agriculture deputy minister Hussein Bashe (C) cuts ribbon at Tengeru in Arusha Region recently to inaugurate a national centre of excellence for horticultural farmers. He is with, among other people, UNDP Resident Representative Christine Musisi (3rd-L), TAHA Group CEO, Dr Jacqueline Mkindi (2nd-R) and TAHA board chairman Zebadiah Moshi (3rd-R). Photo: Guardian Correspondent

The full-fledged Tengeru horticulture farmer’s services centre of excellence on the southern slopes of Mount Meru in Arusha, built by the private horticultural apex body TAHA, through financial support from UNDP, will showcase some of the most advanced and climate-smart technologies for horticulture nursery and cultivation.

The UK BRC recognized CoE which already created decent employment for 250 mostly women and youth, is also the strategic trans-shipment hub, serving as a one-stop centre for perishable crops destined to various international markets.

To be specific, the hub with the state-of-the art cold storage, packaging and sorting facilities designed to guarantee horticultural crops reach the overseas consumers at their optimum quality.

The centre also offers shipment services under one roof, offering a ray of hope for thousands of local small-scale growers and exporters to participate in the export value chain.

“The perishable hub eases the transport of local perishable goods, such as green beans, fruits, spices and vegetables to export markets around the world,” says TAHA Group CEO, Dr. Jacqueline Mkindi during the launching of the centre.

An environmental friendly hub stationed at Tengeru vicinity along the Arusha – Moshi highway to offer perishable exporters a hustle-free connection to the country’s largest gateway, Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA) to dispatch their produces to various destinations in the World.

Dr. Mkindi said the centre also has a mobile cold refrigerator, the first facility of its kind in the country, courtesy of Brunel University London and Centre for sustainable energy use in food chains, with a capacity to offer cold chain management for perishable crops from farm gate to the pack house, potentially reducing a post-harvest loss.

“Our strategy is to unleash the full potential of horticulture. It’s our conviction that horticulture has the potential to turn around the country’s economy and drive the majority of youths from abject poverty to a promised land of milk and honey” said TAHA Chairman, Eng. Zebadiah Moshi.

Inaugurating the CoE, Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Hussein Bashe poured a lot of praises to TAHA and UNDP for truly complimenting the government’s efforts in building key infrastructures critical to unleash potential of the agriculture sector.

“I take this opportunity to congratulate TAHA, UNDP and urge development partners to emulate the spirit to work towards enhancing the infrastructures in the agricultural sector to enable the farmers to meet the market requirements”.

“We can train farmers to the sky, but without perquisite infrastructures to support their crops reach consumers at their optimum quality, there’s no way we can transform the destiny of the farmers by enhancing their income manifolds,” Bashe explained.

He asked TAHA and UNDP to ensure that the centre is equipped with hi-end lab technologies so that extensive research could be carried out for producing high yielding varieties of fruits and vegetables.

“This Centre of excellence must have high tech poly-house for vegetable nursery and a high tech nursery for fruits to help farmers to maximize their profit,” Bashe noted.

UNDP Resident Representative, Christine Musisi said that in a year or two, she expect to see tangible results of the centre evident through exponentially higher yields of quality products in the country, increased exports of horticultural products with clarity on the country of origin, improved nutrition nationwide and true economic empowerment of a critical mass of smallholder farmers in Tanzania, particularly women and youth.

“This centre is a celebration of our partnership and efforts in transforming the horticulture industry in Tanzania. For us UNDP and TAHA, the hub means to bring prosperity, especially for smallholder farmers – youth and women – with sustainable gains for the nation as a whole” UNDP boss noted.

Musisi said that she had an opportunity to visit numerous small-holder farmers in Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Bunda, and Busega where she encountered untold testimonies about increased incomes, children’s education, improved health, and enhanced social status with access to decision-making processes in their communities, courtesy of TAHA and UNDP project.

“As UNDP, we are delighted to partner with TAHA in providing high-quality extension services, transforming over 3,900 subsistence farmers, mainly youth and women, into modern competitive entrepreneurs by facilitating access to financing, technology, inputs, infrastructure, and markets in Europe and the Gulf,” Musisi.

Indeed UNDP in collaboration with TAHA and other development partners such as Trade Mark East Africa (TMA), Trias, and Recolto, have recorded tangible achievements in nine districts in Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Mara, and Simiyu.

For example, the official data shows, farmers are now harvesting 35,000 kg of tomatoes per acre, compared to 9000 kg acre before the joint intervention, equivalent to a 77 percent increase in productivity.

The project also saw increased access to inputs. For instance, TAHA has facilitated a blanket registration of 213 pesticides and Biological control agents in Tanzania, making them more readily available as per market demands.

The trend also applies to climate-smart technology adoption, with 70 percent of trained farmers have been embracing new technologies and practices that increase productivity, cut post-harvest losses from 65 to 32 percent, and meet quality standards of high-end markets.

In terms of nutrition through school gardens, the project imparted the knowledge to over 2,206 (1,119 Girls: 1,087 Boys) pupils in Bunda and Moivaro primary schools in Mara and Arusha regions respectively.

These pupils are taking these practices to their families.

The joint report further indicates that the project saw the new markets opened for smallholder farmers in the Middle East, and negotiations are underway to secure the Ukraine market worth more than $4million per year.

On the issue of access to finance, TAHA and UNDP have successfully linked over 300 farmers to financial institutions to access affordable loans, as they have unlocked one billion Shillings from NMB and TADB.

“As we launch this Tengeru Farmers Centre, we see it as a centre of excellence in horticulture from which innovations will lead to transformation and growth of the horticultural sector in the country,” Musisi said.

Read original article

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of TradeMark Africa.