THE Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is preparing a vital financial project, the Tanzania Food Systems Resilience Programme (TFSRP) in collaboration with the World Bank.

Katsura Miyazaki, JICA executive senior vice president, made this affirmation in Dar es Salaam yesterday at an event to sign a concessional loan agreement for 22.742bn Yen (354.45bn/-) with Japan to fund the agriculture and rural development two step loan project.

Frank Nyabundege, the Tanzania Agricultural Development Bank (TADB) managing director, said that the five-year project is intended to address challenges in agricultural and rural development finance.

“Through this partnership, TADB will extend medium and long-term subsidized loans to farmers, cooperatives, agribusinesses and other beneficiaries across the country,” he said.

The project will focus on enhancing agricultural productivity and promoting sustainable farming practices in regions producing maize, rice, wheat, sunflower, and horticultural products, with a focus on youth and women, he said.

Maize will be targeted in Iringa, Njombe, Songwe, Rukwa, Katavi, and Ruvuma regions, rice in Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Manyara and Mbeya, while sunflower will be the focus of lending in the central corridor and the southern highlands.

Dr Mwigulu Nchemba, the Finance minister, said at the signing ceremony that the project will help to drive growth in the agricultural sector by improving farmers' productivity through access to affordable financing.

The will oversee project implementation while the loan disbursement is located at TADB.

“This will be achieved by providing medium and long-term subsidized loans to farmers, production groups and agro-based related enterprises, enabling them to invest in modern farming practices, quality inputs and advanced technologies,” he said.

Increased financial support will facilitate crop diversification, encourage climate-smart agricultural practices and contribute to food security, rural development and overall economic stability, he further noted.

The project is aligned with the national five-year development plan, focusing on boosting competitiveness and industrialization for human development, aiming to increase efficiency and productivity using available resources, he stated.

 “It also aligns with the second phase of the agricultural sector development plan, focusing on strengthening agricultural mechanization, ensuring food and nutrition security, improving market access and increasing value addition,” he further noted.

The agreement is part of the growing support from Japan, evidenced by an increasing number of bilateral development projects tied to official development assistance, he said, adding that the support aims to improve agricultural productivity and farmers’ incomes by promoting mechanization within key agricultural value chains.

“The two step loan project will focus on rice, maize, wheat and sunflower, key crops outlined in the five-year national development plan,” he said.

The project will help strengthen the value chains for the crops and improve food security, while the horticulture sector will also be included to create job opportunities for women and youth, promoting financial inclusion, he stated.

JICA’s promotion of agricultural technology will contribute to climate smart agriculture in line with policy priorities at the lending bank, he added