By STAFF REPORTER
THE Tanzania Agricultural Seeds Agency (ASA) is working to establish a vast farm for the production of wheat seed varieties in Makete district, Njombe region.
Establishment of the envisaged key farm is part of concerted efforts by the Government to help curtailing a shortage of seed varieties for the economic cash crop in the country.
According to the relevant plan, the farm will major in the production improved wheat varieties, including ‘Juhudi’ and ‘Sifa’.
Giving an exclusive interview to this publication, ASA’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr. Sophia Kashenge unveiled that the prospectus seed estate will cover a total of 1,000 hactares, and to start with, the expectation is to produce between 2,500 to 3,000 tons of wheat seeds.
“We’re very eager to embark into implementation of the project in order to help solve the long-standing challenge of shortage of wheat seeds in the country,” she expressed.
Unveiling specific data, Dr. Kashenge informed that demand for the wheat seeds in the country is around 30,000 tonnes annually, but what is currently being produced is less than 500 tonnes, prompting poor production among the local farmers.
As an urgent and short-term measure to help containing the poor situation, Dr. Kashenge said the state-owned seeds Agency was expecting to import at least 500 tonnes of wheat seeds to help assist the local farmers in the coming growing season.
“The vision is to assure the farmers ar supplied with adequate seeds while we’re working to expand home production,” she assured.
The ASA’s chief boss, Dr. Kashenge, underscored over the need for the accumulation of more lands to enable vast production for the seeds in all areas across the country where the starch-grass crop can flourish.
The Government is now resulting in transforming the country’s Southern Highlands, especially the Makete district, into wheat production corridor as demand for the produce heightens locally, as well as in the world market.
As part of the aspiration, the Government is thus embarking onto an ambitious strategy for improving and increasing wheat production in the Makete district of Njombe region, mapped within the Southern Highland Zone.
Wheat is among important crops for food and income generation in Tanzania, but despite its importance, the production of the crop remains significantly low, around 100,000MT annually, compared to the crop demand of 1,000,000 MT per year.
The low production is ‘arm-twisting; the government to annually import about 90 percent of wheat for home consumption, whereby the current average yield per hectare is estimated at 1.6 tons and strategies of increasing productivity through intensification and intensification to attain at least 3.0 tons per hectare is in place, among others.
The Makate district is currently producing 8,242 tons of wheat from the district’s estates. Recently, the ministry of agriculture through the Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI) has hatched an important initiative in the district, which intends to double the rate of production at the moment, then increase it to reach an output of more than 200,000 tons by the year 2026.
Among others, the timely initiative focuses on increasing the area meant for wheat production in the district from the current 17,120 hectares to a total of 118,000 hectares by 2026.
The development, if it prevails, will see the local wheat farmers earning bank bursting 1.73m/- per hectare of harvest from the current value of 750,000/-per hectare.
Moreover, the development will also see a single hectare churns out 1.5 tons of wheat, which should be more than thrice the current output peaking at 0.5 tons per hectare, with application of proper farm inputs, including proper fertilizers as well as improved seeds varieties.
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