LEADING presidential candidate Samia Suluhu Hassan has outlined plans for modern processing and exporting premium coffee from Kagera Region.

Addressing a vast crowd at Kaitaba Grounds here yesterday, she said that the crop will receive a big boost through processing industries to ensure the country exports premium-quality coffee.

Modern fish caging projects will boost fish stocks, improve income and create sustainable employment especially for young people, she said, setting out plans to equip fishers with modern tools and skills to increase productivity.

“Due to the decline in natural fish stocks in our lakes, we will expand fish-caging initiatives to ensure steady production and better livelihoods for the youth,” she said, noting that

Bukoba port and other lake transport facilities will be improved to strengthen trade in the Lake Zone and neighbouring countries.

The president announced that 200 megawatts of additional power will soon be generated through various projects across Kagera to strengthen electricity supply and accelerate industrial development.

“Reliable energy supply is key for factories and investment growth,” she stated, highlighting plans for making Kagera an energy-secure region that drives northern corridor industrialization.

The government has allocated 10bn/- for the construction of a vast market complex in the municipality to widen trading space and improve working conditions for petty traders, she said.

 “These traders are the heart of our informal economy,” she stated, remarking that the government is committed to creating better and safer environments where small traders can trade and prosper.

Hussein Bashe, the Agriculture minister and Nzega parliamentary candidate, highlighted the country’s remarkable progress in agricultural production over the past few years, citing the doubling of coffee production in Kagera from 20,000 tonnes to 40,000 tonnes this year.

About 17m coffee seedlings have been distributed to farmers free of charge, he said, pointing at sugar production increase enabling Tanzania to export 80,000 tonnes abroad for the first time, earning $72m in foreign exchange.

Strong policy decisions have stabilised the sugar market and protected consumers, he said, pointing at the Ngono River Basin project covering 16,000 hectares and involving the construction of 10 water dams.

It will soon be implemented at a cost of 500bn/- for 14 projects to ensure year-round irrigation farming in various districts, he said, with party secretary general Dr Asha-Rose Migiro hailing Kagera as a region of great national pride. She recalled its historical role in carrying the burden of incursion and intense involvement in protecting Tanzania’s sovereignty during the war against Ugandan dictator Idi Amin Dada.