Airport offers opportunity to horticulture players
The ongoing improvement of Mwanza Airport offers a chance for producers to export fruits and vegetables with much ease. PHOTO|FILE
Mwanza. The government wants producers of horticultural products to make use of the available infrastructure in the endeavour to penetrate international market and aid the blossoming of the $764 million industry.
This comes at a time when the government has unveiled a Marshall Plan for horticulture as it seeks to fuel the growth of the sector’s contribution to the gross domestic product to $1.85 billion annually come 2021.
One of the infrastructure projects that producers of horticultural products are required to exploit is the ongoing expansion of Mwanza Airport, the Mwanza Regional Commissioner, Mr John Mongella, said here at the weekend.
Gracing an exhibition for financial institutions here at the weekend, Mr Mongella said it was when producers make use of the available infrastructure that they will make sense out of the government’s investments in mega projects.
Tanzania Horticultural Association (Taha) organized the exhibition where financial institutions exhibited the various products and solutions that they have for farmers.
“There are some people asking how will a construction of an airport impact an individual citizen’s life? Let me tell you that the construction of [Mwanza Airport] will touch on everybody’s life including those in the horticultural industry because there is even storage and transport infrastructure for their products,” said Mr Mongella.
Taha chief executive officer Jacqueline Mkindi said the purpose of the exhibition was to show the availability of capital to producers, traders, exporters and processors of horticultural products.
“We are also promoting the country’s horticultural sector, targeting such products as flower, vegetables, fruits, and spices among others. We also want to make sure that our products make use of the available modern technology and try as much as possible these technologies reach our members,” said Ms Mkindi.
Mr Peter Gongoseka, a horticultural products producer who produces 20 tonnes of vegetables within two weeks, urged the financial institutions to lower the interest rates so that farmers can afford the loans provided by the institutions.
He asked farmers to join to government-recognised institutions like Taha, saying that that will help them acquire the necessary capital to help them increase the production of their respective products.
