Over 25,000 tonnes of cotton seeds set for distribution
MWANZA : THE TANZANIA Cotton Board (TCB) is set to distribute about 25,000 tonnes of cotton seeds countrywide from next month for the current farming season.
It is also going to distribute 10 million pesticide packages, as well as 100,000 pesticide sprayer pumps, said the TCB Ginnery Inspector, Mr Ramadhan Dissa, during the ongoing West Lake Zone Agriculture Exhibitions and Farmers’ Nanenane celebrations in Mwanza.
“These are government efforts to improve the cotton crop, whose price increases in local and international markets,” he said.
Similarly, TCB is intensifying public education to encourage farmers to adhere to new farming measurements, which include a 30-centimetre interval between plants and a 60-centimetre interval between the lines, totalling 44,000 plants in an acre.
According to him, the new measurements double farm outputs compared to old measurements, which had a 40-centimetre interval between plants and a 90-centimetre interval between the lines, resulting in a total of 22,000 plants per acre.
He added that when a person considers new measurements and all modern farming principles, including proper fertiliser application and timely pesticide spraying, it is most likely to have between 2,500 and 2,700 kilogrammes per acre.
“In case one faces some unavoidable challenges like climate change impacts, then they will have between 800 and 1200 kilogrammes per acre, compared to old measurements that only give 300 to 350 kilogrammes,” he said.
Additionally, the TCB has demonstration cotton farms for ‘how-to-do-it’ practices for farmers, in addition to extension officers who regularly visit every farmer.
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Adherence to best farming principles, including effective pesticide spraying, is what provides quality harvests, said Mr Dissa, warning that partial pesticide spraying attracts insects that absorb water from plants, affecting maturity and compromising quality.
Opening the exhibitions involving Mwanza, Geita and Kagera regions under the theme: ‘Vote for the Best Local Government Leaders for Sustainable Development of Agriculture, Livestock and Fishing sectors,’ Geita Administrative Secretary (RAS), Mr Mohammed Gombati, commented that exhibitors should learn from available experts and fully invest in those sectors for sustainable food sufficiency and economic growth.
“These are sectors that employ the majority of Tanzanians and the government invests intensively for sustainable development, including the promotion of nutrition to its people,” he said.
