PIUS RUGONZIBWA, Mtwara, 25th November 2009 @ 12:00, Total Comments: 0, Hits: 488
THE government will set aside about 238bn/- in the next budget to facilitate scientific researches in various aspects of the economy and the priority will be in the agricultural sector under Kilimo Kwanza Initiative.
The Prime Minister announced the plan on Monday in Mtwara when he was addressing a meeting at MATI Naliendele Agriculture Research Institute (ARI).
He said the plan will be implemented following the pledge by President Jakaya Kikwete that at least one percent of the national budget should be allocated in developing researches which is an important aspect in order the country thrive economically.
“I have been getting difficult to trace the funds in this financial year but it appears ministries didn’t make it. Now the exercise should be carried forward to the coming budget and I hope ministers will make sure that the goal is achieved,” Mr Pinda noted.
He said institutes such as Naliendele should retain their glory through seriously investing in researches and admitted the government mistakenly neglected serious research undertakings in the past.
Earlier, the MATI Naliendele Southern Zone Director, Dr Shamte Shomari told the Prime Minister that for the past five years, 50 percent of tutors and researchers who were posted at the institute didn’t turn up attributing the reasons to poor working environment.
“The institute can not attract new researchers any more, we now need at least 25 new ones out of only 11 available and the bad news is that almost half of those available will soon retire from the government service,” the director said.
Institutes such as Naliendele, Dr Shomari explained, have the crucial task of bringing awareness of modern farming through various researches and mentioned an example of farmers in Lindi and Mtwara where about less than 40 percent of them knew some technologies of cashew nut cultivation.
He said it was good that the government announced to retain workers on retirement in rare cadres, but added that the strategy can not be sustainable as retiring staff are already tired and would need a complete rest after a very few years of their new contracts.
“We ask for the government to introduce more motivations for workers and especially young graduates to come and work in the southern regions,” said Dr Shomari.
MATI Naliendele according to the Director, despite doing a good job was surviving in difficult financial challenges, citing poor budget whereby out of 150m/- applied for its centre for disease control and investigation 2008/09 only 12m/- was approved.
According to statistics from the institute, cashewnut could be of the great benefits to most farmers in Lindi and Mtwara. However, the problem was that about 35 percent of the cashewnut farms were not developed at all.Some had been neglected and farmers applied outdated technology.
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