Posted on February, 14, 2019 at 10:28 am
THE government has been advised to take appropriate measures to improve farming that will yield good results so that the country has sustainable foodstuffs to feed its people.
Mr Omar Seif Abeid (Konde) appealed to the government to improve a farming environment so that farmers with support from development partners could produce enough rice.
“Z anzibar requi res about 99,577 tonnes of rice annually for its people, but the current production is just 25,794 tonnes (equi valent to 25.93 per cent only). We have land and experts, we must produce enough to narrow the gap,” said Mr Abeid.
In response to the call from the legislator, the Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Natural resources, Livestock and Fisheries, Dr Makame Ali Ussi, said the government in collaboration with development partners planned to increase rice production. He said the Expanding Rice Production Project (ERPP) was among the programmes aimed at increasing rice production.
“A similar programme is also being implemented in Morogoro (Mainland Tanzania). This also leads to improved rural incomes and food security.”
The deputy minister said improved crop production through better irrigation, crop management and innovative marketing strategies would make the life of farmers better.
He also said the project contributed to climate change adaptation by supporting improved irrigation and water management systems.
He also said that Exim Bank of Korea was supporting improvement of irrigation infrastructure to increase land from irrigation farming from 810 hectares to 2,399 hectares by 2021.
Source: Daily News