Hon. Japhet Hasunga made the remarks while opening the three days Agricultural and Livestock conference and exhibitions which is taking place from Wednesday 4^th to 6^th December 2019 at the Main Campus of Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA).

Large percentage of Tanzanians are farmers but do not have proper education on what to do to be productive, so the great work done by the Sokoine University of Agriculture will get us to the right place. He continued to say that the Conference and Exhibitions is of great importance as it brings together small and large scale farmers and other agriculture and livestock stakeholders to exchange ideas for the benefits of agriculture and livestock.

"I believe that this is an implementation of  the directives issued by our Father of the Nation and the first Chancellor of Sokoine University of Agriculture Mwalimu  Julius K. Nyerere during the inauguration of the university " said Hon. Hasunga

He emphasized that the father of the nation of Tanzania envisioned the Sokoine University of Agriculture to be a place where farmers and people who depend on agriculture would come to learn practical Farming techniques so that they can become better farmers. Mwalimu Nyerere also advised Sokoine University of Agriculture to demonstrate practical agricultural practices in its teachings, so the idea of owning a model farm and organizing the Exhibitions as well as inviting various stakeholders from outside the university is to put in action the instructions of the Father of Nation.

He concluded by saying that the Ministry of Agriculture and the Government as a whole have organized various agricultural development programs in the country including training of farmers on proper use of good seeds, proper fertilizers, correct pesticides and value addition and marketing.
 

On the other hand, the secretary general in the Ministry of Livestock, Hon. Elisante Ole Gabriel thanked the Minister of Agriculture Hon. Japhet Hasunga for his excellent speech while congratulating the organizers of the conference and the exhibitions. He said that industry development needs resources and so far the most important resource needed for example in the meat industry is to have enough livestock and Tanzania has enough of it. He noted that until December 2, 2019 the country had a total of 32 million cows, 5.5 million sheeps, 2 million goats, 69.1 million chickens and 637,000 Donkeys.

He added that the Ministry of Livestock is very supportive to the Sokoine University of Agricultural in its effort of promoting livestock activities and He urged the university leadership to prepare students for self-employment in the Livestock Industry as the means of giving an answer to the employment challenges in the country.

Another speaker was the Deputy Secretary-General in the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Prof. James Mdoe who also congratulated Sokoine University of Agriculture for investing in practical learning. He said that the world is currently in phase 4 of the Industrial Revolution so it is good for the University to change all outdated curricula and develop new curricula that will enable students to live up to what they are taught in the classroom.

Speaking on behalf of the Management of the Sokoine University of Agriculture, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (academic), Professor Peter Gillah thanked the Minister of Agriculture for agreeing to come and launch the Conference and the Exhibition despite his busy schedule.

He stated that the management of the University had sincerely accepted all the advice and suggestions given by all the speakers and that they would act on their advice accordingly. He encouraged all students, staff and stakeholders to continue to visit various booths to learn more about Agriculture and livestock during these three days of exhibition