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The Tanzania Forest Services Agency (TFS) has pledged to strengthen its partnership with the Institute of Rural Development Planning (IRDP) as the two institutions seek to expand cooperation in environmental conservation and other areas of mutual interest.
TFS Conservation Commissioner Prof Dos Santos Silayo made the commitment on Monday, September 14, 2026, when he visited IRDP’s main campus in Dodoma and met the institution’s rector, Prof Hozen Mayaya.
Prof Silayo said stronger cooperation between the two institutions would help build institutional capacity and create opportunities for joint initiatives with practical benefits for both sides.
“Our cooperation is important in strengthening institutional relations and enabling the two institutions to work together in areas of mutual benefit,” he said.
Prof Silayo was in Dodoma ahead of his participation in the opening of a training programme for newly recruited TFS employees at the agency’s Miyuji campus.
Prof Mayaya welcomed the commitment, saying IRDP had benefited from TFS support, particularly through the provision of tree seedlings for conservation activities.
He said the seedlings had been used for tree planting within the college and in neighbouring communities, helping to increase tree cover and promote environmental conservation.
“The college has been receiving tree seedlings from TFS whenever needed for planting in different areas of the institution and surrounding communities,” Prof Mayaya said.
He said the partnership had supported the college’s efforts to protect the environment while encouraging surrounding communities to participate in tree-planting activities.
The cooperation brings together TFS’s role in forest management and IRDP’s expertise in rural development planning, creating room for joint initiatives that can link environmental conservation with community development.
The two institutions are expected to continue identifying areas where their expertise and resources can be combined to address environmental and rural development challenges.
For IRDP, access to tree seedlings is one of the tangible benefits of the partnership, while continued institutional cooperation could provide a broader platform for environmental initiatives involving students, staff and surrounding communities.