Sustainable food
production is an extremely important subject in Tanzania as agriculture is the
number one industry for jobs, employing more than two-thirds of the population
(Charle & Dhliwayo, p.4). This goal is also important because of its
effects on the environment and direct link with human health and development.
Even with most working in the agricultural sector, the severe problems of
malnutrition and stunting stem from people not being able to afford the food,
not being able to keep it before it spoils, not having a variety of nutritious
foods and the epidemic of intestinal diseases that cause malnutrition.
Ultimately though, poverty remains the biggest barrier to accessing food
because agricultural work, which most people are employed in, pays very little.
In Tanzania, stunting affects 42% of children under 5 and malnutrition is a
contributing factor in 130 child deaths a day.
Children do not necessarily starve to death but the prolonged lack of
essential nutrients weakens the immune system making them unable to fight common
childhood diseases. Without adequate food, children are more likely to become
sick, less likely to go to school or do well once they are there (UNICEF-Tanzania).
Although there
are issues in Tanzania, addressing sustainable food production and its related
human health impacts requires global thinking. Indeed, resilient agricultural
practices are necessary but all countries need to think about the extent to
which farmers can or should adapt in order to produce profitable yields in the
face of climate change. If polluting
countries think that climate change should be mitigated in order to preserve
the current climate for food production among other things they will make the necessary
and deep measures to stop their devastating contributions to it. The more extreme the weather, the more inputs
and work profitable agricultural yields will take, which will affect poorer
countries more significantly than richer ones.
Currently, less than half of Tanzania’s cultivable land is under
irrigation constraining farmers to rely on the rains (Charle & Dhliwayo, p.4).
Addressing this goal in Tanzania requires first and foremost a commitment by
all countries to do what they can to ensure that those who are most affected by
climate change and least responsible will not have to adapt to impossible
levels to continue agricultural productivity and livelihoods. Sustainable and secure food production means
mitigating climate change by whatever means possible.
The agricultural
sector needs national investments and commitments as well but improvements are being
made in the closely related area of environmental sustainability. Tanzania is already mainstreaming
environmental sustainability into national planning strategies with special
focus on safeguarding biodiversity by cracking down on illegal poaching and its
illicit trade (Charle & Dhliwayo, p.10). Rural infrastructure improvements
in roads and communication networks can allow better access for farmers to
markets with less food being spoilt along the way. Irrigation can be improved by introducing
innovative and ecological rainwater collection and storage facilities instead
of being shipped by trucks. Increases by the government in the already existing
program of providing farm implement subsidies can be an effective strategy at
targeting farmers for assistance and increasing the mechanization of the sector
(Charle & Dhliwayo, p.3-4) Water, whether by rain or storage facility, and
systems that allow consistent access to it, is an enormous influencer of food
production.
Additionally, attaining
sustainable food production is increasingly being viewed as a gender equality
issue. Poverty and patriarchy reinforce each other to undermine many efforts to
empower the girl child with her human rights and her agricultural productivity.
In Tanzania, 75% of farmers are women
(“Tanzania’s Newest”, 2015). Discrimination against African women farmers in loans,
access to land, fertilizer etc. contributes to an estimated 100-150 million less people fed each day
(World Bank, 2014).
Poverty and
patriarchy in Tanzania also make a dowry payments tempting for parents when
they cannot afford school fees for their (girl) children and don’t want to support
another mouth to feed. They fear having
to feed two mouths if the girl child is of childbearing age, not in school and
at home, “idle”. This creates a situation where children are married against
their will, or capacities in an attempt for their parents to get a short
reprieve of poverty. What the Tanzanian organization the Children’s Dignity
Forum is trying to convey to people, among other negative consequences of child
marriage, is that it creates poverty, rather than relieves it. Girls do not
achieve the same level of education, become pregnant very young from scarce
contraceptive access and end up with few marketable skills or access to jobs in
order to support themselves or their child. Often, their pre-mature marriages
result in divorce or abandonment and their parents are left with a homeless
daughter and grandchild. Men may not be able to afford caring for two more
people and may have multiple wives and/or children already to care for squeezing
the family income very tight in case of medical emergencies or savings for
school for all children.
Ending
discrimination against women and girls, inclusive education, sustainable
agriculture and eradicating poverty are issues that cannot be worked on
individually. Along with practically all development issues, the desire for
long-term sustainable change will happen incrementally from concerted efforts
targeting all levels of society in a variety of ways to contribute to that long-awaited
social change. It is imperative to
continue efforts to increase the tax base, reduce corruption, and advocate for
fair prices for Tanzanian resources in order to improve the economic situation
generally but also innovative tools and eco-low-cost strategies should
particularly be marketed for female farmers.
Tanzania’s economic growth is strong but not enough of the wealth is
being shared with the agricultural sector increasing inequality, including
gender inequality. Efforts need to ensure that farmers see adequate financial
growth relative to overall national growth and that the sectors that are
capturing more of the growth have females being encouraged in them.
References
Charle, P., &
Dhliwayo, R. Tanzania 2015. Retrieved February 8, 2016, from http://www.africaneconomicoutlook.org/fileadmin/uploads/aeo/2015/CN_data/CN_Long_EN/Tanzania_GB_2015.pdf
UNICEF-Tanzania. Nutrition.
(n.d.). Retrieved February 08, 2016, from http://www.unicef.org/tanzania/nutrition.html
World Bank. 2014. "Gender Gap Holds Back Africa’s Women
Farmers: New Report Identifies Policy Interventions to Narrow and Eliminate
Gender Inequality." https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2014/03/18/gender-gap-holds-back-africas-women-farmers-new-report-identifies-policy-interventions-to-narrow-and-eliminate-gender-inequality
"Tanzania's Newest Celebrities: Female Farmers." ONE.
2015. Accessed February 12, 2016. http://www.one.org/us/2015/08/10/tanzanias-newest-celebrities-female-farmers/
