Seems like parts of Katavi Region are left out as far as Agricultural extension services and farm inputs are concerned.
Due to that, the deputy Minister of Constitution and Law, Geophery Mizengo Pinda directs the Tanzania Agricultural Seed Agency (ASA) to extend kernels services to those precincts.
He was responding to concerns raised by farmers in Mpimbwe council, Majimoto areas in Katavi Region, who complain of seed shortages and need assistance in order to improve production.
Mizengo made the remarks during his special tour to Agricultural Seed Agency headquarters in Morogoro region.
So he insisted that the state-owned Agency should continue to produce a variety of seeds to ensure quality and bumper harvests in both food and cash crop farming sectors.
“Farmers in Katavi incur heavy expenses while searching for seeds and even when procuring the same, even worse many of the available varieties of seeds do not meet required standards in order to ensure good harvests,” he points out.
The Chief Executive of Officer for ASA, Dr Sophia Kashenge was thus advised to establish seeds and kernels outlets in all districts and other parts of rural areas so that the farmers can access such farm inputs in time and be guaranteed of quality seeds.
At the moment, there are no seed outlets in the new Katavi region, South West of Tanzania.
With unreliable seed supplies, farmers and other growers are forced to buy the seeds through middlemen, agents and other tricky traders charging huge prices, sometimes double the original tag.
On her part, Sophia Kashenge the CEO of ASA said the Agency was in the process of establishing seed and kernels outlets in Mpimbwe council as a strategy to assist farmers to access their products and services as well as other farm inputs.
As far as Dr Kashenge is concerned also, the seed agency intends to open up a special and vast seed farm in the Katavi region, which will specifically produce seeds for the farmers of the Katavi region and neighboring regions.
She unveiled that the government through the ministry of agriculture has planned to ensure that it increases production of improved seed varieties, with an eye to heighten the performance of agriculture among farmers within the country.