Posted on April, 25, 2016 at 10:08 am
Tanzania is rolling out high-yielding, salt-resistant rice varieties to help farmers attain record harvests, after almost ten years of research.
Under the Agra-PASS breeding programme, the Tanzanian scientists have developed three rice varieties: SATO1, SATO6 and SATO9 and made them available to farmers from late March.
Sophia Kashenge, a scientist working on the project at the Morogoro-based Sokoine University of Agriculture said the new breeds could resist increased salt in the soil, a factor that has contributed to failing rice harvest.
“These newly developed rice varieties were released in March this year, after being approved,” Dr Kashenge told The EastAfrican.
Plans are under way to produce 500 metric tonnes of the varieties to satisfy the local market by the next crop season.
The researcher said that these varieties could yield six tonnes of rice per hectare even in salty ground — up from 0.5 tonnes for traditional varieties that grow poorly in such soil.
“Rice growers can harvest six tonnes per hectare, the highest yield ever recorded in the entire eastern and southern African region,” said Dr Kashenge.
Tanzania’s farmers mainly grow local and traditional varieties, many of which have low-yield potential. Most of the rice grown depends on rainfall and many irrigation schemes need urgent rehabilitation.
Upland systems are prone to drought, weed infestation, and attacks by pests and diseases. Rainfed lowland systems suffer from floods during heavy rains but can also face drought.
Rice competes with other crops such as maize, for land and labour. Inadequate postharvest technologies result in low-quality rice and low prices in the market.
But, these new rice varieties will see rice growers across Tanzania reap the benefits of their efforts.
Source: www.theeastafrican.co.ke