By VALENTINE OFORO
CASSAVA stands among the important economic cash crops in Tanzania's agricultural landscape, and the popular starchy tubers crop is being used as a staple food consumed in various forms across the country.
Despite endowed with favourable weather for the cultivation of the crop, productivity of cassava in the country has been hampered by prevalence of various diseases, such as cassava brown streak disease (CBSD) and cassava mosaic disease (CMD), which severely affect yields.
Pests, diseases, limited access to improved varieties and seed dissemination channels have also been among key cassava production constraints across the country.
To that end, the advancement in certified seed production for cassava in Tanzania is indeed a significant breakthrough for agricultural development, particularly for smallholder farmers who are engaging into the key sub-sector.
Giving an exclusive interview to this publication concerning efforts to help cassava farmers in the country to adopt certified seeds in order to improve yields, Dr. Regina Kapinga, Head of Advocacy and Resource Mobilization from International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) unveiled that the experts and stakeholders in the crop have already started to take some useful strategies.
According to her, the instrumental strategies and efforts have seen key research institutions bridging efforts and expertise to produce certified cassava seed varieties to help farmers to overcome the challenge of diseases.
“The vision of the on-going efforts is to develop disease-resistant cassava varieties and establish an economically sustainable seed system to provide farmers with high-quality planting material,” Dr Kapinga unveiled.
She disclosed the institutions involving into the robust initiative as IITA, Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA), the Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI), and the Tanzania Official Seed Certification Institute (TOSCI).
“In the major initiative, the agricultural pundits from the mentioned institutions are working to address a number of challenges, including those basing on pest and diseases, as well as limited access to improved varieties,” According to Dr Kapinga.
.She cited major initiatives to address these challenges which include strengthening Early Generation Seed (EGS) production at Tanzania Agriculture Research Institute (TARI) using high-ratio propagation technologies such as Semi-Autotrophic Hydroponics (SAH).
‘’This is just among the most successful methods used to efficiently propagate cassava planting material in a controlled environment’’ She said.
Dr Regina emphasized that, to achieve the last mile seed delivery to smallholder farmers, stallholders have been building the capacity of business-minded farmers called Cassava Seed Entrepreneurs (CSEs) and they are registered by TOSCI.
“According to a thorough research conducted by IITA in collaboration with TARI, certified cassava seed has a yield advantage of at least 81 percent over recycled seed, which is a strong incentive,” Dr Kapinga unveiled.
As part of concerted efforts by the government to heighten production and productivity in the crop, recently, the Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with key stakeholders including, the Tanzania Cassava Producers and Processors Association (TACAPPA), IITA, and AGRA - Sustainably Growing Africa's Food Systems, hosted a significant Cassava Business and Investment Forum in Dodoma Capital City.
The gathering which attracted at least 150 delegates representing various sectors, including investors, policymakers, government officials, farmers, seed entrepreneurs, researchers, and development partners focused to discuss, reflecting on, and deliberating the business opportunities and challenges within Tanzania's cassava sub-sector.
The event was graced by Dr. Hussein M. Omar, the Deputy Permanent Secretary on behalf of the Agriculture Minister, Hussein Bashe.
In his remarks, among others, Dr Omar acknowledged the pivotal support of development partners such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and Cornell University in the efforts to spur the performance of the sector.
He observed that, the initiatives like BASICSII, Muhogo Bora, and Next-Gen have significantly contributed to bolstering the country's cassava seed systems, ensuring the availability of 25 high-yielding and disease-resistant varieties, and facilitating the emergence of 1,000 youth and women-led cassava seed entrepreneurs who provide last-mile seed delivery to smallholder farmers.
In 2023, they sold 69 million cuttings with approx. TZS 3 billion and was planted at least 7,000 hectares.
On the other hand, he cited key challenges in meeting targets outlined in the National Cassava Development Strategy (NCDS) 2020 – 2030.
"By 2030, the plan is to distribute at least 3.5 billion cassava cuttings, and 30 percent of the total area under the cassava crop should be planted with improved varieties. But we're far behind from attaining this target and thus, more investment is needed to support this strategy," he challenged.
Relevant research established that utilizing certified seed will bring about a substantial yield increases, translating into higher profits per hectare.
This underscores the importance of seed certification in ensuring seed quality and disease management, ultimately contributing to enhanced food security and income generation for farmers.
Tanzania is the twelfth largest producer of cassava in the world, and the sixth in Africa with the current productivity of 8.5 tons per hectare, the low extent in comparison to 60 tons that can be produced per hectare through application of improved seeds and recommended agronomic practices.
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