TANZANIA Agricultural Research Institute (TARI)-Uyole Centre in Mbeya Region in collaboration with Eastern African Grain Council (EAGC) and other agribusiness stakeholders have organised agribusiness expo that aim at transforming subsistence farming to commercial agriculture’.
The Director of TARI Uyole Centre, Dr Tulole Bucheyeki told the ‘Daily News’ that the expo, which is scheduled for May 8 and 9th, this year at the center would provide one-stop production and marketing platform to farmers and create interaction and showcasing new technologies to farmers and other stakeholders.
According to Dr Bucheyeki, more than 14 exhibitors are expected to participate to the expo where over 3,000 stakeholders will benefit from the technologies showcase.
Initially, various technologies will be displaced that include farm preparation, layout, planting and crops management at the site.
He pointed out that in this season, about 17 companies already enrolled and are participating in preparations of the exhibition. He added that various technologies such as maize, sunflowers, soybeans, beans, pyrethrum, sorghum, Irish potatoes, wheat and horticultural crop will be presented.
Others will include conservation agriculture (CA), agricultural inputs and post-harvest handling and processing technologies.
“In this expo, TARI-Uyole has prepared to demonstrate new maize varieties as TARI ZH6305 and TARI ZH615ST, which were released in the last year 2019. The varieties has a high tolerance to pest and diseases and high yielding capacity, and can produce 9-10 tonnes per hectares,” Dr Bucheyeki noted.
Dr Bucheyeki explained that in this year exhibition is aimed to reach the majority of farmers and other stakeholders along the value chain.
At present more than 1,000 farmers has already visited and trained at the site. All stakeholders engaging in agriculture such as farmers, researchers, agro-dealers, seed companies, agro-processing companies and entrepreneurs are freely invited to participate.
Highlighting activities carried out by TARI, the TARI Director General (DG) Dr Godfrey Mkamilo said TARI has the mandate of conducting research, disseminating research results to stakeholders and linking various agricultural stakeholders in the value chain which is done by its 17 TARI centres.
