Posted on November, 15, 2018 at 09:14 am
AGRICULTURE, Natural Resources, Livestock and Fisheries Ministry has said that people here should expect to benefit soon from the ongoing agricultural revolution that aims at having enough food, livestock and fish in the country.
“Agricultural revolution started by the seventh phase of Zanzibar government aims at improving the lives of people, particularly reducing poverty,” Dr Makame Ali Ussi, Deputy Minister for Agriculture said when launching the 2018/2019 season for rice growing at Ngurumo-Pujini farm in Pemba.
He said the government is committed to achieve the goal and farmers and fishers should support the move by properly utilising farm inputs—seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and tillers or plough tractors services provided to them at subsidized cost.
Dr Ussi said stakeholders in agricultural revolution should play their part so that the goals are achieved including to increase rice production. “If we increase production, we can reduce importation of rice,” he said. Over 80 percent of rice consumed in Zanzibar is imported.
Wete District Commissioner, Abeid Juma Ali, thanked the ministry for supporting farmers, charging, “Farmers need to be supplied with farm inputs and provided with tractors for early preparations for rice planting.”
Source: Daily News