Posted on March, 16, 2017 at 11:05 am
IN addition to ensure plenty of food in the country, the government is putting up new strategy including cultivation of new Soya species that ensures high yields to its local farmers.
The remark was made by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Dr Charles Tizeba, during the Southern Agricultural Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT) partnership forum meeting in Dar es Salaam, adding that Soya meal has the highest source of protein, twice that of meat and fish.
He said it was the authority’s priority to boost food production in the country. Dr Tizeba said despite the crop containing a lot of protein, many people still prefer to get the same nutrient from meat, especially the red one, which according to experts is also not health friendly.
While addressing participants who attended the forum, mostly farmers the minister hinted that for SAGCOT to succeed in improving the lives of farmers in the country, it should further educate them on how to address poverty by ensuring plenty of food in their midst.
He said ensuring food security and reducing poverty among the growers, entails giving priority to Soya beans production and other related crops which mature fast enough in their fields. “When you visited Silverland Industry which produces poultry feeds, you saw how Soya beans is processed to make animal feeds.
This is a good opportunity for you to exploit to increase its yields,” Dr Tizeba pointed out. Prior to the forum meeting in Dar es Salaam, some of the participants had an opportunity to visit different regions including Ruvuma, Iringa, Mbeya and Njombe, where they witnessed how Soya beans, potatoes, tomatoes and rice as well as livestock have increased the incomes of the local farmers.
Speaking at the Silverland Industry in Iringa Region earlier, SAGCOT Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Geoffrey Kirenga said demand for the crop in the local market was increasing, but production is still low.
“Silverland needs 7,000 tonnes of Soya for poultry feed production, but they are currently receiving about 2,000 tonnes, forcing them to import the difference from outside the country,” he said, urging the farmers to seize the opportunity to increase production of the crop.
However, farmers of the crop said their major challenge was how to get access to loans which could enable them prepare large tracks of land to cultivate the crop. In Songea, Ruvuma Region, farmers had appealed to the government to assist them with loans which could enable them prepare their farms in time and apply the necessary farm inputs.
“We are forced to cultivate small portions of our land, for example, in the last harvest, I only managed to get 500,000/-, where half of the money was spent on preparing the plot to cultivate Soya beans,” once said Martina Chilambo, a farmer from Nakahengwa village in Songea.
On his side, the Nakahengwa village Chairperson, Ester Silavanus, praised the Soya beans cultivation in the area, saying it has ‘saved’ many famers and in addition raised up their incomes. She said efforts should be doubled and the farmers encouraged to improve its production including educating other peasants who have not yet given it priority.
“This is the third season since we started soya beans farming and we have harvested about 300 tonnes, and this is bound to increase every new coming season, because the villagers are now heeding our call,” Ms Silavanus added. According to experts, Soya beans was introduced in the country in 1907 by the German colonialists and it was doing well in the hilly areas.
In another development, Tanzania and Netherlands are working together to increase local food production as well as boost Africa’s continent food security. Dutch Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Ms Marjolin Sonnema, said she was satisfied with the talks between the two governments and their commitments to promote food crops, especially focusing on extensive growth of Irish potatoes. “We have good bilateral relations.
We are happy with the talks we have had on promoting agriculture in Tanzania and we shall ensure we bring in more quality variety seeds of Irish potatoes and double our efforts in training potato farmers and other stakeholders,” she pointed out.
Source: Daily News