CCM presidential candidate Samia Suluhu Hassan has urged Tanzanians to increase investment in the livestock sector, pointing at vast opportunities in global markets.

At a rally yesterday in Mbalizi town, Mbeya Region, the candidate pledged major improvements in agriculture, health, water and clean energy in the region in the years ahead. She stressed that livestock development should go hand in hand with widening crop acreage to maximise incomes for rural households.

Citing ongoing construction of a modern slaughter facility in Utengule, expected to raise meat quality standards for local and export markets, she said that international demand for meat is huge. “Tanzanians must seize this opportunity by investing more in livestock and the ongoing vaccination campaigns will ensure the resilience of the sector,” she stated.

She said agriculture is central to rural livelihoods, with nearly 85 per cent of Mbeya’s rural residents depending on farming activities, boasting avocado, maize and pyrethrum as leading crops.

The candidate reassured farmers that subsidised inputs will remain a government priority. “We have made subsidised farm inputs available,” she said, urging farmers to register so as to benefit from the programme. “But let me stress – the inputs are for farming, not for resale,” she cautioned.

Local leaders highlighted recent achievements in the region, crediting the government for major developments in social services. Over the past four years, Mbeya Rural District has built six new health centres, ten dispensaries and a new hospital, while water projects billed at 13bn/- have been implemented across several wards.

In education, 9.3bn/- has been invested in new classrooms and teachers’ houses to address congestion and improve learning conditions, they said in remarks at the rally.

Patari Shida Patari, the Mbeya Rural parliamentary candidate, reported that more than 110,000 farmers in the constituency are now benefitting from subsidised farm inputs, while 171 community groups have accessed loans from council’s 10 percent earnings.

 He appealed to the government over the need for Mbalizi to be upgraded to a town council to accelerate development activities, as with the change, improved service delivery can be expected, along with responding more effectively to community needs.

He lauded progress in construction of major routes, including the 52-kilometre Umalila road and the 22-kilometre Isyonje–Kikondo road, linking Mbeya city to Makete in Njombe Region but is mud washed during heavy rains.

 “Upgrading these routes will reduce accidents and ease the transport of goods and people,” he said, highlighting that 3.5bn/- in loans had been disbursed to women, youth, and people with disabilities in the district.

The 119bn/- Kiwira water project steadily progressing at 45 per cent complete, promising long-term relief from water shortages, he stated, while Prof. Palamagamba Kabudi, the Information, Arts, Culture and Sports minister accompanying the president on the campaign trail, said that transformation in agriculture, infrastructure and health underlines the government’s record of delivery.

Dr Asharose Migiro, the party secretary general, praised Mbeya residents for their loyalty, urging them to consolidate gains by voting overwhelmingly for the CCM candidate late October.