MAI - Where the Green Revolution begins
By Our Correspondent
Various rural and agricultural development stakeholders are in the advanced stages of a preparatory framework, for turning the Manyara region into the model of a public-private partnership, and an agricultural success.
The Manyara Agricultural Initiative (MAI), now with a memorandum of understanding signed by eleven governmental, private and non-governmental organizations, aims at spearheading the region’s agricultural success. The stakeholders include agricultural research actors, development partners, Manyara regional and local government authorities and private businesses.
“This model should be an example for others to come and learn. We would like to see that happen in as early as within the next two years” envisages Dr. Hussein Mansoor, northern zone coordinator of research and training for the Arusha-based Selian Agricultural Research Institute (SATI), when presenting the institution’s view of the plan during a recent MAI forum.
Previously, during the opening of the consultative conclave, held at the state-of-the-art conference hall of the new, imposing Manyara Regional Commissioner’s complex, which is to be inaugurated in a few days’ time by President Jakaya Kikwete, Regional Commissioner Henry Shekifu pledged more support to the MAI as it focuses on developing the young region, just six years old now.
In a speech read on his behalf by the Babati District Commissioner who is the Acting RC, David Holela, Manyara region’s boss said that the government is in support of sector-wide public-private partnerships that will implement the 2006-launched nationwide agricultural sector development strategy. He also welcomed cooperation with private, public and non-profit organizations from within and outside the region.
“My office understands that effective stakeholders’ collaboration is needed (in this initiative). We should aim at improving livelihoods by having increased agricultural productivity, both crops and livestock, through improved technologies and market accessibility” he emphasizes.
Originally, the idea to set up MAI started with a request from Manyara region’s authority to SNV, the Netherlands Development Organization, to establish an agricultural development initiative with the aim of putting in place a framework to enable wider collaboration with a broader stakeholder base in the region and beyond. SNV provides technical and coordination support for MAI.
In his introductory paper, Mr. Nsanya Ndanshau, senior economic development advisor for SNV - Northern Portfolio, who has been facilitating the consortium, emphasized the need for initiatives that optimize resources use and benefit a wider critical mass, hence improving the living standard of rural communities.
“Complex problems require innovative solutions and innovative solutions are created when diverse stakeholders are able to meet, share experiences and contribute to decisions and common understanding. Ultimately, success lies in the commitment to work towards a common goal. This is what we envision MAI to be” says Mr. Ndanshau.
In principle, MAI is geared to promoting income and food security for the youngest region in Tanzania. Moreover, the collaboration also hinges on the need to support the new Manyara region in linking its rural producers to both domestic and external markets.
On one hand, there are eleven organizations involved in a broad spectrum of activities such as value chain development, agricultural market linkages, market development and capacity building; and on the other hand are the Manyara regional administrative secretary and the local governments in the region, pooling together resources and efforts to improve production and marketing of agricultural produce in Manyara.
These interventions will zoom in on improving the livelihood of communities by having an effective, demand-driven system that assures producers of markets; markets of produce, and communities of income and improved living standards. The preliminary focus will be on two cash crops (sunflowers, pigeon peas) and two food crops (sorghum, beans), with also the possibility of including livestock elements such as indigenous poultry.
In response to an invitation for cooperation, various rural development projects and organizations are showing interest in joining forces with MAI to benefit a wider area and more communities.
While presenting his organization’s perspective on the plan, chief executive officer of the Rural Livelihood Development Company, Mr. Charles Ogutu, indicated areas where his office can work together with MAI, especially the sunflower sector, which is one of six areas that the Dodoma-based organization focuses on. Other areas are cotton, dairy, livestock/meat, grapes/wine and radio as a supporting sector.
RLDC has recently adjusted its strategy as it launches Phase Two that covers the period from year 2008 to 2011. It now aims at market development to improve market systems and empower rural producers to better their welfare, as opposed to previous focus on direct market linkages.
“This is a good coincidence that such an initiative gains ground when RLDC just launched Phase Two, which takes in two new regions including Manyara. Now we cover much of the central corridor, with six regions – Dodoma, Morogoro, Shinyanga, Singida, Tabora and Manyara” he said.
The RLDC project, funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and backed by technical support from a consortium of Inter-cooperation and Swiss cooperation, is focused on developing market systems to empower rural producers for productive and competitive agriculture that will improve their welfare. Initially, RLDC was providing direct market linkages support between rural producers and their markets.
So far, MAI stakeholders have shown interest in adopting RLDC’s radio sector as a stepping stone in launching a multi-region research-based public information dissemination project to educate and mobilize rural communities. While RLDC focuses on a broader central corridor and MAI on the Manyara region, their common aim is improved livelihood in their project areas. Possibly, cooperation between RLDC and MAI will cover the sunflower and radio sectors.
“Take this sunflower disease, which many stakeholders here feel should be termed an agricultural national disaster. It started in Kilimanjaro, but now is engulfing a larger sunflower producing area from Arusha and Manyara to Dodoma. On the one hand, MAI can capitalize on SARI research efforts while on the other hand RLDC can include in the launch of its radio sector the education and mobilization of sunflower growers in Manyara and the wider central corridor in fighting the disease, which is threatening the livelihoods of many communities dependant on the crop,” articulates Dr. Mansoor.
The MAI forum took two days, August 20th and 21st . It has ended with a promising strategy for the way forward that clearly continues the initial action plan.