DAR ES SALAAM, Feb. 10 -- THIS is arguably the onebillion-dollar question. It has been the subject of numerous dialogues, debates and conversations among scholars, politicians and other stakeholders in the agricultural sector.

There seems to be no single answer, and even the popular ones have not been proven to work in all contexts. Probably, even todays discussion may not give a definitive answer.

However, opening our minds to think and speak about an issue, even for one minute is better than not thinking at all. So, let us go back to the town hall. I do not want us to venture into the academic arena where theories play a major role.

Our discussion will instead be based on observations drawn from selected occasions and events in the c...