Posted on December, 11, 2017 at 12:05 pm
By Jonathan Musa
Speaking to The Citizen through the phone on Sunday, Itilima District agriculture officer, Dr Kessam Maswaga, said because weather kept fluctuating, it was better for farmers to remember the impacts of going without food and, therefore, exploit the current seasonal rains.
Simiyu. Following the ongoing rains in various parts of the country, farmers have been urged to make use of them by planting crops.
Speaking to The Citizen through the phone on Sunday, Itilima District agriculture officer, Dr Kessam Maswaga, said because weather kept fluctuating, it was better for farmers to remember the impacts of going without food and, therefore, exploit the current seasonal rains.
According to Elija Ngocho, a farmer at Itilima, it was crucial for the government to deploy extension officers to help them improve their yields. Mr Ngocho added that most farmers were practicing one type of crop farming, but lacked experience in cultivating other crops.
“Many of us have been planting cotton and maize on small farms. However, since weather patterns started changing, the government issued directives for growing drought-resistant crops, but this requires skills from qualified individuals,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Tanzania Meteorological Agency manager in Lake Zone regions, Mr Agostino Nduganda, said there would be rain (moderate) from October towards the end of December, this year.
He, however, urged authorities to make sure that all infrastructures were kept in conditions that would prevent them from damage.
“Moderate rain is expected till late December, it is our expectations that farmers would make use of the rains to have plenty of crops planted during this time,” he concluded.
Source: The Citizen