@FAO

Morogoro, 9-10 July 2024 – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with the Vice President’s Office (VPO), organized an inception and consultation workshop for preparation of the Tanzania project titled “Food Systems Transformation in Usangu landscape and Western Belt Landscape of Zanzibar” under the Global Environment Facility (GEF)-8 Food Systems Integrated Programme (FSIP).

The FSIP is co-led by FAO and IFAD, focuses on transforming global food systems from farm to table, so that they are sustainable, regenerative, nature-positive, resilient, inclusive, and pollution-reduced. The program supports participating countries in implementing their National Food Systems Pathways. It comprises 32 country “child” projects spanning Africa, Latin America, Europe, Central Asia, Asia, and Oceania region.

The Tanzania project component is led by FAO. The project aims to catalyze the transformation to sustainable rice-livestock-aquaculture food systems that are nature positive, resilient, and pollution-reduced.

The workshop brought 60 participants from the Government, Non-Governmental Organizations, Private Sector, Civil Society Organizations, Research Institutions, Producer Organizations and Private Sector.

“Rice, livestock, and aquaculture systems are crucial sectors significantly contributing to the United Republic of Tanzania’s economy,” emphasized Mr. Thomas Chali, Assistant Director of the Biodiversity Conservation Section, Division of Environment, VPO, in his welcoming remarks. Mr. Chali urged stakeholders to use their knowledge and put forward national interest in order to develop a strong project proposal that will deliver tangible and sustainable results for Tanzania.

“The food system transformation in Zanzibar is influenced by social, political, economic, and environmental dynamics. It interacts with other systems such as health, water, and energy,” said Mr. Ali U. Basha, Principal Officer from the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, Natural Resources and Livestock, Zanzibar.

Dr. Stella Kiambi, FAO ECTAD Country Team Leader, highlighted that “it is imperative to transform the food systems to mitigate environmental impact and to uphold the government’s commitment to achieve sustainable food transformation by 2030.” “FAO reaffirms its commitment as a strategic partner in food system transformation by working with stakeholders.” She stated.

The project targets the Usangu Landscape located in the plain area in the Great Ruaha River sub-basin of the Rufiji basin and the Western Belt Landscape of Zanzibar. The Usangu and Zanzibar landscapes play important environmental, economic, cultural, and social roles in Tanzania and the global community. However, the target areas face continued environmental and food production challenges. The challenges include water use for irrigation and high pressure from livestock and agricultural activities, which are causing the rapid shrinking of the Usangu/Ihefu wetland and placing immense pressure on the natural ecosystem in the Western Belt Landscape of Zanzibar. The project response focuses on robust enabling environments, integrated landscape management, and efficient and resilient value chains.

An amount of USD 8,362,691 is expected to be invested in the two landscapes.