Tanzania: MPs decry deteriorating agro sector

Members of Parliament on Wednesday decried the country's deteriorating agriculture and livestock sectors, with some saying the widely touted backbones of the national economy were on the verge of succumbing to meningitis.

They faulted the government seriousness in developing agriculture, describing the 192bn/- budgetary allocation to the sector which employs about 80 per cent of the country's population as a mockery to Tanzanians.

Finance and Economic Affairs Minister William Mgimwa, unveiling the budget estimates here last Thursday, said the government plans to partner with the private sector in rice and sugarcane farming, with 192.2bn/- allocated to agriculture, fisheries and livestock.