Engage in commercial farming, youth urged

Dar es Salaam. Young people have been urged to engage in commercial farming to employ themselves and generate incomes.

The deputy permanent secretary in the ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives, Dr Yamungu Kayandabila, told the youth to stop taking agriculture negatively.

“It is unfortunate that many of the youth think that agriculture is for failures. Taken seriously, agriculture can turn around their economic fortunes,” he said at a ceremony to award the winner of the Maisha Plus Mama Shujaa wa Chakula (Food Heroine) in the city.

He said the government had started taking some initiative towards ensuring that more young people engage in agriculture. It is introducing youth camps to bring them into agriculture.

“We have set up a camp at Rufiji where farmers cultivate onions and tomatoes among other farm produce,” he said.

With the support from Oxfam, the Maisha Plus Mama Shujaa wa Chakula initiative seeks to sharpen entrepreneurial skills of young people and small-scale farmers.

“That is why we are welcoming Maisha Plus and Oxfam Tanzania to come up with ideas on how we could collaborate in the opening of camps and attracting people into farming,” he said.

Oxfam country director Jane Foster said the idea of Maisha Plus Mama Shujaa wa Chakula was aimed at promoting small-scale farmers to produce more food.

It is also aimed at engaging the young people in entrepreneurship.

The Maisha Plus reality television show highlights what is meant by food justice. Maisha Plus brought together young aspiring East Africans.