Steer peasants away from abject poverty

Agriculture is one of the sectors that provided thematic ideas for old-generation musicians. An illustrative case is a song by Marijani Rajabu’s Safari Trippers, which was often played at dawn, reminding peasnts to wake up, and, hoes on shoulders and pangas in hands, troop to farms and work diligently to boost the national economy.

The Tanzanian population is predominantly peasant, and it is on agriculture that they depend on their for livelihoods. The sector has also been a subject of catchy slogans and clarion calls like ‘siasa ni kilimo’ (politics is about agriculture), ‘kilimo cha kufa na kupona’ (agriculture is a matter of life and death), and, lately, ‘kilimo kwanza’ (agriculture is a priority sector).

Much, mainly rhetorical premium, has been placed on the expansive tracts of fertile land with which Tanzania has been endowed, as well as, until in recent times, fairly good weather.

Agricultural training colleges, and, subsequently, a university, were established to train a cadre of professionals who would give yet further impetus to the sector.

But sloganeering, exhortations to peasants to apply modern techniques and for professionals to become field operatives rather than office-based, remote control operatives, haven’t yielded the desired results. This is tantamount to betrayal to the Marijani Rajabus, who contributed their patriotic bit by way of sensitisation through musical compositions.

The once robust co-operative movement shrank, diminishing prospects for peasants to become very prosperous.

An impoverished lot

Controversies over cash crop prices, delayed payments, problems related to storage and transportation of produce to buying centres, have also been slow-down factors.

Since many peasants are an impoverished lot, the sector is a repellent for younger people who opt to migrate to urban centres to engage in pursuits like petty trading, costruction site labour, cart pushing and water hawking, which they reckon offer better livelihood openings.

The sector is thus starved of energetic entrants, who, other facilitating conditions being guaranteed, would stimulate and raise it to higher levels.

But while subsistence farming is important, commercial agriculture must be the major focus, to convert peasants into very effective producers, for their own, and the nation’s benefit.

The issues raised are among the drawbacks to that end, and matters have been compounded under the liberalised environment, whereby, some peasants have been displaced to create room for large-scale investors.

A situation that would demote wananchi from dignified, self-reliant producers, to an impoverished lot , and potential labourers on estates owned by rich people, is scaring.

Beyond showcasing some successes, the annual Peasants Day (Nane Nane) commemorations (the latest being last Thursday) must address the above, and unmentioned but related snags. Only then would Nane Nane be useful, for it would imply that peasants are verily not only having, but carrying their day !