Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa on Friday appealed to the donor community for international measures to protect farmers in poor countries against falling commodity prices.
Addressing the opening session of a meeting here between the government and major donors, Mkapa urged donors, regional and world trade organisations to look at ways of stabilising farmers' incomes, since "otherwise the ongoing poverty reduction initiatives would be destined to failure."
"Our farmers are exposed fully to the vagaries of the commodity markets, often prey to machinations and whims of middlemen and crop buyers.
"We saw it last year with cashew nuts, when farmers had their incomes drop by a staggering 75 percent, from 800 Tanzanian shillings (90 US cents) a kilo to less than 200 shillings (20 cents) in one season," Mkapa said.
He said the story was the same for other crops, including coffee on which the livelihood of families and entire communities critically depended.
Mkapa noted that in the rich industrialised countries, the government could afford to cushion their farmers with subsidies, so that their incomes could be reasonable and predictable.
"My government cannot afford any subsidy ... but the poor Tanzanian farmer also needs a safety net... he needs predictable incomes that can send his or her children to school, well-dressed and fed," he said.
The two-day Consultative Group meeting for Tanzania aims at hammering out a consensus on tackling the challenges in the country's national development path.
Mkapa told more than 100 delegates, mostly from the United States, European Union and multilateral institutions, including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), that his country's economy was doing well.
He attributed the trend to the implementation of reforms of economic and investment policies.
He said that economic growth was projected to reach six percent in 2001/02, up from three percent five years ago, while inflation would remain below five percent, compared to over 30 percent some six years ago.
Mkapa said his government aimed at consolidating the gains and listed maintenance of peace, promotion of the rule of law, war on poverty and strengthening of good democratic governance as priorities.
World Bank resident director for Tanzania and Uganda James Adams, who was chairing the meeting, commended Tanzania for its impressive economic performance over the last five years, saying it reflected a "strong and committed government leadership."
Adams pledged a continued good working relationship between the Tanzanian government and donors. |
