TZW
He made the remarks here yesterday while opening a seminar on ‘Revision of the National Irrigation Master Plan,’ adding that there is a need to observe irrigation method that matches with the water resource, further saying that contrary to that no intended goals would be achieved, but delay the whole process.
However, he pointed out that irrigation should only be practised in areas with water resources, saying: “We plan to have more than one million hectares of irrigation come 2025, but it only depends on how best we develop and strategise our priorities and plan for a transformed agricultural sector.” Dr Mkumbo said the country needs to transform its agricultural sector by applying irrigation technology, instead of depending on rains, which is no longer reliable due to recent climatic changes.
“Economic performance among other factors depends on the agricultural sector which employs 70-75 per cent of Tanzania population, hence to have a competitive and a high performing one is crucial, therefore, shifting to irrigation farming will make it successful,” he told the participants. He advised them to get clear understanding of the document and content to get enriched with the project and manage to implement it smoothly.
In his remark, Senior JICA Representative, Mr Kentaro Akutsu, said investment in irrigation development was indispensable to unlock the country's great potential, thus a call to have in place the National Master Plan 2018 to 2035. “Irrigation development cannot be done by just simply having finance.
Human resource development is crucial if efficient and effective irrigation development was to be achieved,” he further said. Mr Akutsu urged the practitioners to enrich the master plan so that it would be easily implemented in their areas