By Valentine Oforo
AT LEAST thirty extension officers in each new cotton growing regions are set to be imparted with recommended agronomic practices for the professional cultivation of the fiber crop, thanks to Cotton Victoria Project (CVP).
The robust initiative set to commence from January to April 2024 is expected to cover the regions of Morogoro, Kigoma,Singida and dodoma, where cotton has prove to flourish.
CVP is a brainchild of the partnership between Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI)–Ukiriguru Centre and the government of Brazil for improving performance of cotton sector in Tanzania.
Giving an exclusive interview to this publication, Dr. Paul Saidia,the Director of Mwanza- based TARI Ukiriguru Centre expressed that to start with, the focus is to train at least 200 farmers in each region of target.
"Research have proved that the four regions have needed potential for the cultivation of cotton hence the need to impart the farmers with the needed practices to enable them growing the economic cash crop professionally," Dr Saidia informed.
The useful practices to be imparted to the agro- experts, according to him, include the new cotton planting space of 60 centimeters from row to row , and 30 centimeters from hole to hole, bringing the number of the cotton plants to 44,444 per acre from the formal 22,222 plants.
"We have decided to start training the extension officers as the best and fast- track means of reaching out to the farmers in the regions. After mastering the new practices, the officer will play a meaningful role of training the farmers in their areas of jurisdiction," he said.
Explaining in details, the fiber crop mogul said the new planning system which has been hatched and introduced through the 5,802,019.08 USD worth project, and which has also been adopted by the parent ministry plays key role in help the farmers withstand effect of climate changes, as well as relevant diseases.
"For instance, through applications of the system, the farmers in the cotton growing regions so far reached out by the project have managed to cheat diseases, and other challenges to the tune of yielding bumper," he informed.
The system, among others have enabling annual tonnage production of the to elevate to impressive levels, contrary to the past years.
" The recently report from the Cotton Board of Tanzania (CBT) depict that production has improved to 280,000 tons in 2023, being from 130,000 and 170,000 tons in the two previous years respectively, " Dr Saidia observed.
Dwelling over set plans in 2024, he said the state-owned agriculture research institute will continue to bridge efforts with numerous stakeholders from private sector, and international partners to ensure the sector attain more good results.
"The focus is to have the sector producing at least 500,000 tons by 2025, whereby the set prime vision is to attain 1millon ton annually, " he expressed.
He added, in 2024, plans are to cottoning up more initiatives to ensure the farmers in all cotton growing areas across the country to adopt modern cultivating practices, but also to timely supplied with key inputs.
The project, Cotton Victoria, is implementing in cooperation with several stakeholders in the cotton value chain from within and outside the country, include the ministry of agriculture, the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC), the Brazilian Cotton Institute (IBA), the Federal University of Lavras (UFLA), and the Tanzania Cotton Board (TCB).
The initiative works to heighten the institutional capacity and human resources training in the use and dissemination of technology in the cotton production sector in the country.
The Victoria Cotton Project, and Beyond Cotton Project, all under the financial auspices from Brazil have so far played a great role to heighten the performance of the sector among the farmers in several regions, such as Mwanza, Tabora, Geita, Katavi, Shinyanga, to mention but a few.
"Since the inception of the project, Dr. Saidia informed, the initiative has been providing training, technical assistance and demonstration plots to thousands of cotton farmers who have been working hard to improve their crop management and increase their yield," he expressed.
Among others, the project also majors to out vital agro implements as tractors, ploughs, planters, sprayers, harvesters, and ginning machines.
"These tools are necessary to mechanize some of the labor-intensive tasks in cotton production, such as land preparation, planting, weeding, spraying, and harvesting," he observed.
Cotton stands among the strategic economic cash crop in Tanzania, currently attracting a total of 500,000 who are cultivating at least 1,000,000 acres in different regions across the country, including Geita, Tabora, Katavi, Shinyanga and Mwanza, among others.
Despite being endowed with the friendly agriecological zones to support cotton farming and fiber production, cotton production and productivity in Tanzania has for years been crippled with numerous setbacks in recent years, such as poor agronomic practices, pests and diseases, low quality seeds and lack of access to markets.
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