Hussein Bashe
From the butcher shop to parliament
The vibrant town of Tabora lies in the hinterland of Western Tanzania. The town was founded by Arab traders in the 1850s and developed into a centre of slave trade and a hub for major caravan routes. Tabora borders Shinyanga to the north, Singida to the east, Mbeya and Songwe to the south and Katavi, Kigoma and Geita to the west.
Tabora is by far the largest region in Tanzania in terms of surface area at 76.2 square kilometres. In German occupied Tabora, Nzega was the most prosperous town of Central Tanganyika due to its vast population of circa 699,691 whose main stay was trading, logistics, agriculture and livestock keeping.
August 26th, 1975 was marked by the birth of Hussein Mohammed Bashe in the town of Nzega East in the small street of Ndambile (now Ntingiya). The now Honorable Minister for Agriculture and member of Parliament was the first of six siblings. A journey rich in experiences describes the story of Hussein Mohammed Bashe, who’s trials and tribulations contributed to his remarkable rise in Tanzania’s political landscape.
Now in 2023, Bashe – an agrarian, affectionately known for his centre-left political views, believes that agricultural transformation is at the core of Tanzania’s economic development. Under the leadership of Her Excellency the President of the United Republic of Tanzania Madame Samia Suluhu Hassan whose vision for economic transformation through agriculture serves as a guiding pillar for all the works that Bashe continues to achieve in the agriculture docket, the Country has continued to make strides regionally and globally.
Key milestones
Under his leadership, the Ministry of Agriculture has laid the foundation to, and continues to execute towards Tanzania’s economic prosperity through stern policies and measures on food security. The Ministry of Agriculture’s key milestones revolve around increasing farmers’ efficiency and productivity. Its Vision 2030 aims to reduce crop wastage from an average 20-30% to 5%, avail raw material for industries by 100%, create 3 million new jobs for women and youth, reduce poverty by 50%, increase exports from USD 1.2 to 5 billion and grow the sector by 10%.
Bashe advocates for the transformation of agricultural financial models through the use of LCs (Letter of Credits) to finance inputs for small holder farmers via cooperative societies. This belief led him to the establishment of the Tanzania Cooperative Bank which now serves cooperatives as well as small holder farmers.
Additionally, Bashe holds-firm key principles that drive his passion for a transformed agri-sector including :
private sector participation (further accelerating land tillage by small holder farmers from two to ten acres), the transformative and enabling force of technology in agriculture through digital platforms and strongly believes that agriculture is business. He believes that food security will be driven by trade and insists that the subsidy programme and input support are driving forces behind reduction of cost of production further propelling profitability and throughput for small holder farmers. In 2022, Bashe introduced the BBT (Building a Better Tomorrow) initiative which aims to nurture and develop a new generation of young farmers. The program was launched by Her Excellency the President of the United Republic of Tanzania Madame Samia Suluhu Hassan.
BBT is poised to accelerate the effective participation of youth and women in the sector. In line with the government’s ambitions in agriculture, BBT sets out as the platform for engaging youth in large-scale plantations or block farms, providing access to land, finance, technology and access to markets. Under the stern leadership of Her Excellency the President of the URT, Bashe’s agriculture ministry has executed the Agenda 2030 and among other things, implemented the automated farmers registration system where today, more than 3 million farmers across the country are fully registered and are direct beneficiaries of an effective and efficient system of distribution of fertiliser subsidies. Full of enthusiasm, he echoes President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s dream to transform the agriculture sector hence enabling Tanzania to become a major food producer and exporter beyond the region’s borders. Early years…
Hussein Mohammed Bashe thrived as a child – born and raised in the small village of Nzega in rural Tanzania. His father, Sheikh Mohammed of the Nzega District and his mother Zaynab, a homemaker, both raised the soccer-crazed Bashe in line with teachings of their Muslim faith. Their small community believed that a neighbour’s child is one’s own bringing true meaning to the saying “it takes a village to raise a child”. Bashe grew up receiving contribution in form of school uniform, shoes, fees, books, encouragement and support from his community all of which have shaped his current disposition as a responsible, responsive and driven leader for the people of his (Nzega Urban) constituency
and the country at large.
Bashe readily admits that his late parents had a profound influence on him. His mother, Zaynab instilled in him the need for education while his father imparted entrepreneurial skills. Speaking about his mother he says, “She made sure that I went to school every day, without exception! She resorted to drastic measures when I was stubborn and unwilling, to the point that one day she linked one of my arms with hers and literally dragged me to school with her when I resisted going.
My mother had faith in my academic abilities and always encouraged me to apply myself. She instilled in me the belief that I could do anything I set my mind to and believed in my potential for greatness even though as a young boy all I wanted was to use my talents to make money with my father.”
Farming and livestock keeping was the main economic activity of their Somalidescent society. On the family’s ten-acre piece of land, Sheikh Mohammed and Zaynab traded produce from the land at the local market to feed Bashe and his four siblings. As the first-born boy-child, the expectation to prosper the family business through generations laid on Bashe and therefore, from a young age he was immersed in understanding and taking part in the family business and became knowledgeable in the ways of farming, livestock-keeping and trading particularly livestock auctioning and butchery.
All-the-while, Bashe continued helping his father to ensure that the family had enough money to meet their needs. With the highest level of self-discipline and determination, Bashe managed to balance the needs of the family and his desire to further himself through formal education, a value firmly instilled by his mother Zaynab. He achieved satisfactory results from school relative to many of his peers in similar circumstances.
These were the first signs that Bashe was developing a strong will that would shape his life and career. He belonged to the Sobibo social group in town. Sobibo is where the youth gathered in the evenings to socialize and discuss current affairs. Today Sobibo is a football club running the slogan Sobibo itajengwa na wana Sobibo wenyewe to mean Sobibo will be developed by members of its own community, a tag line which will continue to influence Bashe’s beliefs as a politician.
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Office ya Mbunge
- +255 766 010 666
- info@husseinbashe.org
- P.O.Box 106
- Mtaa wa Humbi - Uzunguni