Tanzania Government to increase youth employment in agriculture ...

Deputy Minister for Labour and Employment, Dr Makongoro Mahanga

The government has expressed concern in the continued drop of employment by the youth in the agricultural sector, saying there is a need to create a more conducive environment.

The Deputy Minister for Labour and Employment, Dr Makongoro Mahanga, told journalists on Tuesday during the five-year anniversary of BRAC in Tanzania that the government was committed to doing so.

?Current trends show that the number of youths employed in agriculture is dropping drastically as most of them opt for entrepreneurship. However, lack of skills and capital is rendering them unemployed and there is need to do something about this,? he said.

He explained that the government was aware that agriculture, livestock and fisheries are the biggest employers and that mechanisms were being put in place to ensure that the necessary infrastructures were in place to woo more youths in these sectors.

Dr Mahanga said that working closely with BRAC would ensure that many of the nation?s plans and goals would be met, taking into consideration that the organization targets the reduction of poverty, ignorance and disease.

BRAC is a multifaceted development organisation founded in Bangladesh in 1972 with the primary role of poverty alleviation and empowerment of the poor through a range of programmes in economic, social and human development.

Since its inception in June 2006, BRAC Tanzania has been running successful programmes in microfinance, agriculture and livestock, livelihood and business development services and community health care.

The Deputy Minister for Community Development, Gender and Children, Ms Ummy Mwalimu, said that she was very impressed to learn that BRAC Tanzania covers 18 regions of the country and has an outreach of 1.37 million men, women and children.

Ms Mwalimu said that she was fascinated by the fact that, unlike other financial institutions offering microfinance services, BRAC Tanzania doesn?t require collateral and that more organizations should borrow a leaf from it.

The Deputy Minister for Information, Youth, Culture and Sports, Dr Fennella Mukangara, also expressed her satisfaction of the activities of the organisation but said that there was need for more tangible results.

?It is encouraging to see that you are creating employment. However, I have to say, having employed 1,183 people as staff is rather small and greater work needs to be done to expand to other regions not yet covered,? she urged.

Former Minister for Labour and Employment, Prof Jumanne Kapuya, said at the time of the organization?s inception, he welcomed it because it sought to fight the nation?s three biggest enemies ? poverty, disease and ignorance.

Prof Kapuya said, being a young nation, where 65 per cent of the population is between 15 and 35 years old, unemployment among the youth was a huge problem and any assistance to tackle it was very welcome.

?A lot is being done by the government and the private sector. By looking at your achievements in the past five years, it is clear that you are vital and I urge you to expand to more areas,? he said.

The BRAC Country Representative, Mr Gunendu Roy, said that he would take up the challenges that had been thrown at him but also reminded of the numerous hurdles facing those working in the rural areas.

Mr Roy said that he planned to increase the branches from 112 offices to 200 by 2016, venture to six other regions and reach 200,000 borrowers by the end of that year.

By MASEMBE TAMBWE, Tanzania Daily News

Source: http://in2eastafrica.net/tanzania-government-to-increase-youth-employment-in-agriculture-sector/

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