It should be noted that at the moment, solar energy has not been utilized fully as an energy source in Tanzania, even though the country is in one of the major global solar belts, with 2,800-3,500 hours of sunshine per year and a horizontal global solar radiation of 4-7 kWh/m2 per day. One of the major advantages of solar power irrigation systems is that the environment experiences lower emissions from irrigation activities and food production, and the water levels are managed more sustainably. Marginal lands enjoy greater utilization, which improves resource efficiencies. Also, renewable [100] energy irrigation increases the productivity of Tanzania's agriculture sector. It can reduce food imports, which with 80%, take the largest share of Tanzania's total merchandise imports. Studies have documented a number of economic factors associated with these kinds of technology. The market size for all types of irrigation technologies in Tanzania mainland was estimated to be US$86.2 million in 2018 and is expected to grow to US$151.3 million by 2022. The average market size for SWPs is estimated at USD 50 million - USD 100 million growing at a CAGR of between 5% and 10%. The average capital outlay (ticket size) is estimated at USD < USD 500,000 with the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 20-25%. The indicative time frame of this model is less than 5 years based on empirical studies which show small-scale irrigation technology presents excellent IRR— in some cases as high as 28% within a short term (less than 5 years) to generate a return. [102] [99] [101]
irrigation equipment (if applied properly), such as agro- forestry or mulching. In any case, it is also worthwhile to explore the potential for the role of embedded information services in promoting some of these practices.
3.10.3. Increase uptake of organic inputs and environmentally friendly crop protection products
There is an opportunity to advance green growth in the sector via increased uptake of organic inputs and environmentally-friendly crop protection products (e.g. protective nets), which bear the potential to increase incomes through yield increases, especially in the long run considering positive impact on soil health and biodiversity. This also holds the potential to diminish the exposure of farmers and surrounding populations to the potentially hazardous chemicals contained in non-organic alternatives. The interventions should be geared towards helping youth and youth enterprises to recognize the value of organic products, for instance, via support to leading local organic input suppliers to gather and disseminate evidence on their effectiveness (e.g. through demonstration plots), or to develop uptake-facilitating business models (e.g. out-grower schemes). Once a certain degree of uptake has been achieved, interventions might look towards leveraging attained environmental friendliness to facilitate entry into higher-value markets (for instance, increasing local sourcing by hotels and restaurants). Such an opportunity, however, will also require quality improvements, the establishment of direct trade relationships with youth farmers and even potential partnerships with packaging and/or processing companies to provide solutions geared towards preserving produce freshness.
3.10.2. Promote and disseminate environmentally friendly/resilient farming practices
Given low awareness and uptake, there is great scope for PSSA to engage in the dissemination of skills related to more resilient and environmentally friendly practices, which bear the potential to help secure long-term youth livelihoods as well as increase yields (and hence incomes) as a result of both increased productivity and diminished vulnerability to climate shocks. The intervention might look to partner with government and youth producer groups to develop public and private training solutions facilitating the spread of relatively simple and affordable practices such as inter-cropping, no-till agriculture, on-farm fertiliser production (e.g. of compost) or mulching. More advanced practices, such as agroforestry, might be considered for introduction as well via embedded services provided by tree seedling producers. Irrigation technology providers might also have an incentive to promote complementary adoption of practices which can significantly improve soil water retention and hence increase the effectiveness of
3.10.4. Improve post-harvest handling
There is further opportunity for promoting “green” sector growth. This can be achieved by empowering youths to improve post-harvest handling processes through technology and skills. This could significantly decrease the current high food waste levels as well as help to preserve produce freshness, and decrease food safety risks, both of which are essential to opening up higher-value markets. Interventions could consider working with leading packaging and storage solution providers and pilot business models aimed towards improving their visibility/ branding, considering that many market actors along the value chain are still simply unaware of the existence and value of these products.
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Youth Enterprise Policy Analysis Report
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