*USAID SUPPORTED SERA POLICY PROJECT CONDUCTS A ONE DAY SEMINAR ON FOOD SECURITY IN DAR

 Senior Agriculture Advisor at SERA Policy Project, Alex Mkindi (R ) briefs journalists at a one day seminar on food security in Dar es Salaam today. SERA is the policy arm of the Feed the Future Initiative supported by the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) with him is the USAID supported Feed the Future Senior Advisor, Tom Hobgood.

  Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security National Food  Director Karimu Mtambo talking to media during the SERA Policy project workshop in Dar es Salaam.

 A cross section of journalists during the SERA Policy Project workshop on Food Security in Dar es Salaam.

A cross section of participants attending the USAID supported SERA Policy Project workshop to present the results of cutting edge research studies on food security in Dar es Salaam yesterday.

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U.S. Embassy Tanzania

Press Release

September 11, 2013

Policy Research Helps Inform Food Security Decisions

On Wednesday, September 11, the SERA Policy Project hosted a workshop in Dar es Salaam for food policy stakeholders to present the results of cutting edge research studies on food security. The research, which was conducted at the request of the Government of Tanzania, provides information on important policy issues affecting food security.

 The SERA Project is the policy arm of the Feed the Future Initiative supported by the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The Project’s mandate is to provide the Government of Tanzania and other stakeholders with substantive research on policies affecting food security that the Government can use to make sound policy decisions.  

In 2012 results of research conducted by the SERA Policy Project on the maize export ban spurred Prime Minister Pinda to lift the export ban in September 2012. As a result, earnings for farmers especially in rural, Southern Tanzania have increased.

One of the studies presented at the Wednesday workshop showed that the while the warehouse capacity of the National Food Reserve Agency is 241,000 tons only about100,000 tons of maize is needed to cover a shortfall occurring once every five years. This is significant given that the cost of storing the maize is exponentially higher than importing it if there was a severe shortage.  

Based on findings such as this the researchers offer a number of recommendations that can ensure food security without disrupting markets. 

The dissemination of SERA Policy Project research findings helps raise awareness and demonstrate that Tanzania has a unique opportunity to become a major exporter of food crops, especially maize and rice, to the East Africa region. The workshop on the 11^th will be followed by a presentation to Government of Tanzania officials on Friday, September 13^th.

The Feed the Future Initiative is the U.S. Government’s response to global hunger and poverty. It seeks to lift one million Tanzanians out of poverty. The SERA Policy Project is the policy arm of the Feed the Future Initiative in Tanzania.