Aims At 1 Billion Dollars
The target for Tanzania’s horticultural industry is to hit an annual export value of 1 billion US Dollars in 2018 and almost double it in the following two years to reach 1.85 billion Dollars by 2020, says Jacqueline Mkindi, CEO of the Tanzania Horticultural Association (TAHA).
“Horticulture has grown in leaps and bounds - from northern Tanzania to southern highlands as well as Zanzibar. With an enabling environment and massive involvement of mostly women and youth farming at the moment, only the sky is the limit”, Mkindi believes.
The Taha-CEO recently received the prestigious Tanzanian Women Achievement Award (TWAA) for 2015, Agriculture Category. Over the past decade, Mkindi often moved between farms and boardrooms in her quest to persuade not only farmers, but also technocrats that horticulture was, indeed, a green gold in disguise.
Last year Tanzania exported nearly 203,921 metric tonnes of vegetables , earning the economy $231 million, followed by 15,113 tonnes of spices valued at $125.7 million and 12,226.4 tonnes of flowers, which earned the country $82 million. In 2014 the country also exported 6,440.6 tonnes of seeds, earning nearly $20 million and 27,601 tonnes of fruits, valued $19.2 million. data shows.
The sector has recorded an average annual growth of 11 per cent in the past six years, said Mkindi. In 2014 the total export value of 477 million US Dollars stood for 38 percent of total agricultural exports, 7 percent more than in 2013.
During the last ten years Mkindi had to overcome a lot of resistance and prejudice. Greenhouses, for instance, were the biggest foes of the entire community in Meru, Northern Tanzania, where the contemporary horticultural farming first cropped up.
It all began with a widespread myth that greenhouses prevented rains. Promoting usage of the temperature-controlling buildings was therefore tantamount to declaring a war with the community. Investors, who pioneered the industry, experienced many attempts to destroy their greenhouses in a bid by community members to discourage horticulture altogether.
Mkindi, a talented young professional, applied her charismatic personality and high-level diplomatic qualities to swiftly overcome the widespread myth. Today, greenhouse technology is the way of life in many parts of the country. Even in coastal areas such as Dar es Salaam where the greenhouse technology is not always suitable, people tend to install it in order to grow vegetables.
“I am always ready and happy to work beyond the call of duty,” reveals Mkindi, believing everything is possible provided one engages a positive attitude towards achieving his or her individual and organisation’s goals.
Mkindi dedicated her prestigious award to all farmers who are struggling to feed Tanzanians and fill the national coffers with the much-needed foreign currencies.
Chairman of Taha’s Board, Eric Ng’maryo admitted that Mkindi has been instrumental in putting horticulture on the map of Tanzania and in the minds of millions of local agricultural entrepreneurs.
“Horticulture has changed many people’s lives for the better. In terms of the national economy, horticulture has become a game changer in the agricultural sector,” said Ng’maryo.
