Rural Development Strategy 2001.

The overall objective of the Rural Development Strategy is to provide a strategic framework that will facilitate the co-coordinated implementation of sector policies and strategies concerned with the development of rural communities. In particular, the RDS will support the implementation of the Poverty Reduction Strategy and create a development environment that will contribute to enabling rural communities and households achieving sustainable livelihoods. In this respect the Rural Development Strategy will identify short and medium term priorities that will support the goal of sustainable livelihoods, and contribute to the longterm goal, outlined in Vision 2025, of sustained economic growth. To strengthen efforts at improving food security the Government has deregulated markets and prices, making various administrative structural changes. With the enactment of the Food Security Act of 1991, functions related to food crops were transferred to the Food Security Department (FSD) in the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MAFS). In addition, the private sector is being supported to undertake production, input supply and crop market functions.
Poverty in Tanzania will not decline without growth in rural incomes, and rural incomes will not grow without improving productivity of the agriculture sector, and growth of rural nonfarm businesses. Agriculture and non-farm rural enterprises are primarily private sector activities, but focusing on them does not mean supporting large-scale agriculture programmes. Increasing and promoting the equitable distribution of economic growth involves also increasing crop and livestock productivity and quality of products for domestic and export markets. Development Objectives are: Increased productivity in the agricultural sector, achieved household and national food security, and raised the standard of living in the rural areas. Diversified rural economy that contributes to economic growth and increasingly creates employment and income generating opportunities. It was clearly noted that poverty in the rural areas can only be reduced through increased income growth, and that the rural incomes can only grow by improving productivity of the smallholders, pastoralists and non-farm enterprises. Findings from all the zonal workshops show that success to this mission cannot be realised without targeting rural based productive activities and other related policy variables. These activities and policy variables include: · Agricultural Productivity; Livestock Productivity; Extension Services; Rural Financial Institutions; Fisheries; Agricultural Taxation; Roads and Communication; Agro Processing Industries and Marketing.
The importance of agriculture cannot be overstated. It accounts for about half the national income, three quarters of merchandise exports, and is a source of livelihood for about 80% of Tanzanians. Agriculture has strong linkages with the non-farm sector through agroprocessing, urban markets, and export trade. Trends in poverty reduction are highly dependent on the growth of agriculture and related rural non-agricultural activities. The RDS emphasises an integrated approach to the rural areas, through crosscutting issues such as: gender and HIV/AIDS.
Among the important strategies and approaches for strengthening market linkages and promoting the participation of private sector in rural development are: (i) The creation of a conducive environment for private sector to enter into commercial agriculture and commodities market. (ii) The removal of unnecessary regulations and taxes on agricultural commodities. (iii) The facilitation of private sector investment in market infrastructure, such as processing and storage facilities. In addition to strengthening market linkages and private sector participation, these measures are pre-requisites for forging stronger networking among the key stakeholders of Tanzanian rural growth. The implementation of these measures will forge an important partnership as well as developing a strong linkage between the rural based peasant farmers (villages) and the private sector commercial centres.