THE President Magufuli-led administration has embarked on measures aimed at empowering field extension officers towards boosting agriculture, livestock and fisheries sectors that are currently facing numerous challenges.
The government wants all officers to be given transport facilities and take charge of nearly 40 per cent of all council revenues, to enable them respond effectively to challenges facing the key economic sectors.
The initiative was announced by Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa in Dodoma yesterday, at the first ever nationwide forum bringing together extension officers and leaders from the ministries of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Development as well as the Ministry of State, President's Office, Regional Administration and Local Government .
The government says revolutionising the agriculture, livestock and fisheries sectors was critical for increasing availability of raw materials, especially those from the agriculture sector, to meet the projected demand in the revived and envisaged industries.
The Premier said extension officers were key players in strengthening the said sectors for the development of industries and the economy at large. He directed the Minister in charge of regional administration and local government, Mr Seleman Jaffo, to ensure that 40 per cent of revenues collected by councils trickled down to extension officers in compliance with the Local Government Finance Act No 9 of 1982.
The legislation has a provision for 20 per cent to be allocated for agricultural activities, 15 per cent (livestock) and the remaining 5 per cent for fisheries. "The fund has never been disbursed and I need an account for every amount allocated every December," he said.
The President's executive order of 2001 also directed 15 per cent of the councils' revenue from livestock activities to be directed to extension services. The government announced that it was intending to hire more extension officers to help transform the three key economic sectors.
It has allocated 144.77bn/- for hiring extension services in the Financial Year 2018/19. Government records indicate that Tanzania needs at least 20,100 extension officers in the field of agriculture but only 8,323 are available.
In the livestock sector, the required number is 21,768 against the available 8,600. The fisheries sector has the lowest number, 750, while the required number is 6,000. The team which is meeting in Dodoma for a two-day meeting, has also been tasked to produce an action plan, conduct a census of activefarmers, fishermen and pastoralists.
Plus, additional key details, including type of crops and size of their farms, number of livestock and area size as well as existing fishing projects and number of fishers. The premier said understanding the actual figures would help the government plan ahead on the required inputs and other requirements.
Mr Luhaga Mpina, the Minister for Livestock and Fisheries Development, said the government had made positive decisions in the fisheries and livestock sector, thanks to the ongoing operations.
The minister told the prime minister that the two operations, Operation Dagaa and Operation Sangara, which were conducted between January and June this year, had enabled the government to collect 16.33bn/- in fines and penalties.
He said about 574,482 pieces of illegal fishing nets were impounded during the operations. About 358,332 kilogrammes of unrestricted fish targeted for illegal importation were also seized.
"Between March and June, we intercepted at least 37,262 cattle being illegally exported to India; 125,015 goats and sheep were also trafficked to Kenya, Uganda, Comoro and Zambia. In addition, 2,136 donkeys were illegally exported," he said, adding that at least 7.18bn/- that would have otherwise been lost was saved.
