The Minister of Agriculture, Agnes Kalibata, has said that the country is under no threat of food insecurity since agricultural production is on the increase. She said that the agricultural production surpassed the previous season and that current rain behavior indicates that the production may be good as well this season. “I recently attended the Eastern Province retreat and the Executive Secretaries charged themselves with ensuring that all households in their areas are not vulnerable to food insecurity,” Kalibata said. In fact, she added that, local authorities have set a target to have at least 70% of the households who have land for cultivation in their areas, effectively cultivating their land. “It’s is a good initiative; the ministry will definitely borrow a leaf from this and apply it in other provinces,” she said. Kalibata also emphasized that the Eastern Province policy is another way of keeping the country safe from food scarcity. Prime Minister Bernard Makuza recently said that the government was doing everything possible to improve on the agricultural sector. Makuza told the Parliament that the government is currently stockpiling thousands of tonnes of foodstuff that could bail the country out in case of a crisis. Ends
