Friday, December 18, 2009


Church plans agriculture varsity
Beatus Kagashe

The Roman Catholic Church in the country is planning to establish an agriculture university in Ruvuma Region in collaboration with the Daughters of Mary Immaculate (DMI). Cardinal Polycarp Pengo said in Dar es Salaam yesterday that the church was in the process of acquiring 3,000 hectares of land on which the university would be built.
Speaking at the inauguration of a new building at St Joseph College of Engineering and Technology, Cardinal Pengo said the move aimed to complement government efforts to modernise agriculture. Cardinal Pengo was the guest of honour at the inauguration of the four -storey building named after him, which would serve as a hostel for students at the college.
The Sh800 million building can accommodate 1,300 students. St Joseph Group of Institutes official Thomas Ananth said experts from India were expected in the country next January to survey the project site ahead of the institute?s construction.
"We expect the construction to have started by March, next year, and the registration of the first intake of students in August,"said Mr Ananth, adding that Ruvuma had been picked because its weather was conducive to agriculture.
The college will have five departments, namely horticulture, crop science, animal science, integrated farming systems and aquaculture, "which will expose thousands of Tanzanians to the best farming practices".
"The college will provide students with the best agricultural techniques, and this will help in implementing the 'Kilimo Kwanza' initiative by producing many experts," Mr Ananth said. Cardinal Pengo said the establishment of the university would go a long way in addressing challenges in the agricultural sector.
The aim was to make agriculture lucrative and encourage people to move from urban to rural areas. The Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) is currently the only institute in Tanzania offering first degree, master?s and PhD courses in agriculture, forestry and nature conservation, science and veterinary medicine. Tengeru, Liti, Uyole, Morogoro and Ukiruguru are among institutes offering diplomas in agriculture-related fields.
They also serve as agricultural research institutes. Cardinal Pengo criticised the approach in the 'Kilimo Kwanza' initiative, saying it would not bring about the desired success quickly. He said there was a need to focus on farmers themselves instead of concentrating on farming.
Cardinal Pengo said the initiative should have been called 'Wakulima Kwanza' (Farmers First), and geared at providing farmers with appropriate knowledge and equipment to enable them to transform their lives. He warned that 'Kilimo Kwanza' would attract many foreign investors to the country, and sideline the locals.
"It should have been called 'Wakulima Kwanza' because it would put more emphasis on educating farmers than emphasising on farming itself," he said. Cardinal Pengo said the government should have started with 'Wakulima Kwanza' and 'Kilimo Kwanza' would have followed automatically because people would have been empowered to modernise agriculture. "How can we say 'Kilimo Kwanza' when farmers don't have proper education on farming? The initiative will not work because it has not paid much attention to educating the farmers on how to change their way of farming."

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