Kilimo Kwanza: Agriculture First in Tanzania? Andrew Coulson, Institute of Local Government Studies University of Birmingham, England

Small farms or large?  The debate is 100 years old !  The Germans started by collecting small quantities of crops from small farmers - they ended up supporting German settlers  The British – similar story !  Independence – small farms and co-operative marketing – but then settlement schemes and block farms

Small farms can be competitive  More hours spent  Mixed cropping  Minimal disturbance to the soil  Harvesting that produces a quality product  Other methods of risk management Yields may be as high as on large farms Costs will be low. Small farmers respond to price incentives. In China the average plot size is 0.3ha – and there are hardly any large farms

The World Bank’s change of heart  Tanzania’s agricultural exports have been growing very very slowly  The World Bank is now recommending that for the next 10 years at least, Tanzania should promote exports of food crops – rice, maize, cassava  Tanzania is already Africa’s 3 rd biggest producer of rice  There should be no distinction between food crops and cash crops – the distinction is a colonial concept – just crops, some of which can be sold

The 10 pillars of kilimo kwanza 1. A national vision 2. A mobilization of financial resources – including a Rural Development Bank 3. Institutional reorganisation - good governance, good co- ordination 4. “Paradigm shift” - production of the right crops 5. Land titles, and use of land “to promote harmonious exploitation” 6. Better incentives, including removal of market barriers 7. Industrialisation – processing (forward linkages), fertilizers, seeds, machinery and tools (backward linkages) 8. Science, technology and human resource development – using an increased % of government income 9. Infrastructure – irrigation, storage, ports, airports, roads, markets, etc 10. Mobilization of all Tanzanians

Agricultural banks in developing countries have problems  Farmers are very good at finding ways of not paying back their loans  The best successes come when loans are linked to a processing facility, e.g. a ginnery or coffee pulping facility – but even then there may be problems  The best forms of credit are credit unions – where the community police the loans

What do small farmers need ? 1. Access to land 2. Good prices 3. To be paid on time 4. Good roads, especially local roads 5. Good seeds – though mostly they will keep the best from last year, and use those 6. Availability of tools, fertilizers, insecticides etc if they want them 7. Appropriate storage and/or processing facilities 8. Market information – e.g. by mobile phones 9. Not much else !

How small farmers can be discouraged 1. Not being paid – or paid late 2. Middlemen who take a big cut in the price – private or state 3. Unofficial taxes, e.g. at road blocks 4. Non-market restrictions, such as export bans or prohibitions on growing certain crops 5. Any other tax or bureaucracy 6. Lack of reliable seeds or rootstock.

What will they do with their profit? 1. Invest in better houses 2. School fees 3. Consumer items or clothes 4. Invest in better or more tools or agricultural technologies In other words, the profit will be recycled. Food prices may rise initially, but when production increases they will fall, to be somewhat near world prices (hopefully).

Is it Kilimo [agriculture] or Maendeleo ya Vijijini [community development] ?  It needs to be both – because there will not be any maendeleo [development] unless there is income  However, we should be aware that women do more than half the work in agriculture – so they need to be included in any planning  There will be much less maendeleo if there are large farms and landless casual workers

What about livestock ?  It has an important part to play  “Mixed farming” benefits both crops and livestock  Tanzania has huge potential here also – but there is need to respect the livestock keepers, for example by making sure they have sufficient grazing and water for the dry seasons

seeds An American company – Monsanto – is trying to control the whole world market in seeds:  By patenting new and some old varieties  By promoting GM crops which require its weedkillers – with the result that other farmers nearby may suffer  Already many traditional varieties of seeds have been lost Hybrid seeds are more complex, because most varieties need new seeds each year

research  An agricultural research station is not the same as a farm  In research trials, it is common for tasks which cost money – such as weeding – to be done perfectly! [for example in a fertilizer trial]  Recommendations often do not take account of labour bottlenecks, or local situations  As a result, farmers often reject the recommendations, and are right to do so !

extension  Extension workers may not be sure if what they are telling the farmers to do is right or wrong  They may not have the confidence to recommend what they think is best  It is very hard to be a good extension worker – perhaps more should be farmers themselves and more should be women!  If farmers are rejecting their recommendations, then we should look and see why – this is a useful research project

The Role of the State So what should the state do to support small farmers?  As near to nothing as possible! If in doubt do not intervene  Intervene to make markets work better  Undertake agricultural research  Undertake socio-economic research, including monitoring and evaluation of implementation  Provide advice when new problems arise  Help with exports  Statistics and information

conclusions  Kilimo Kwanza comes at a good time  The potential is there  The primary agency for increased agricultural output will be small farmers, and for increased exports what have traditionally been called “food crops”  The role of the state will be to provide the conditions for this, and keep its own costs down  The change of mindset this requires will not be easy