Dodoma. The National Irrigation Commission (NIRC) has unveiled a new state-of-the-art irrigation technology, known as the centre pivot system, at this year’s Nane Nane Agricultural Exhibition, in a move designed to accelerate modernisation and efficiency in Tanzania’s irrigation farming.
Speaking during the ongoing national agricultural fair at the Nzuguni Grounds in Dodoma, the Commission’s Acting Director General, who also serves as Director of Administration and Human Resources, Ms Maria Itembe, said the deployment of the centre pivot technology marked a significant milestone in the Commission’s drive to revolutionise irrigation through innovative solutions.
“This year, we have introduced a variety of new systems. We have a ‘technology village’ featuring advanced irrigation machinery, borehole drilling rigs, dam construction equipment, and several other installations that were absent from previous exhibitions,” said Ms Itembe.
She added that the centre pivot equipment, on display at the exhibition, is a new addition to the Commission’s toolkit and has been adopted from international models with the aim of boosting irrigation productivity across the country.
“The equipment behind me is a large-scale centre pivot irrigation machine. This is a new technology that we are currently installing in our irrigation projects,” she said.
Ms Itembe noted that the technology is already being deployed in various irrigation schemes across the country, in line with a government directive promoting the use of modern agricultural technologies to raise productivity and ensure year-round farming.
“We are fully prepared to implement this vision. We have received clear guidance from His Excellency Vice President Dr Philip Mpango, who officially opened this year’s Nane Nane exhibition, urging the adoption of cutting-edge agricultural technologies,” she noted.
She said through the equipment on display, farmers would gain valuable insights and benefit from improved irrigation services, as we have expanded outreach across all regions.
“It is now time for Tanzanians to seize irrigation farming opportunities and produce throughout the year without relying solely on rainfall,” she said.
The Commission believes that adopting the centre pivot system will improve efficiency and allow farmers to harvest multiple times a year, significantly increasing their incomes and contributing to the national economy.
According to Ms Itembe, the initiative also aligns with the government’s broader efforts to expand irrigation infrastructure, with the aim of increasing the total irrigated area from 500,000 hectares to 980,000 hectares, ultimately targeting 1.2 million hectares nationwide.
“These achievements are a direct result of the substantial increase in the Commission’s budget, which has grown from Sh46 billion in the 2020/21 financial year to Sh403 billion in the current financial year,” she said.
She further emphasised that despite the high cost of acquiring modern machinery, this progress has been made possible by the strong commitment of the Sixth Phase Government under President Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan, which has prioritised irrigation as a critical pillar in transforming the agricultural sector.
