Govt buys 6bn/- high tech aircraft to boost agriculture

DODOMA: THE government has acquired a 6bn/- aircraft designed to combat crop and plant pests through aerial surveillance and precision spraying.

The decision to purchase the aircraft is meant to safeguard agriculture and strengthen food security.

Speaking after receiving the aircraft on Friday, Minister for Agriculture Hussein Bashe said that its acquisition is in line with the ruling party CCM’s five-year manifesto, which concludes this year.

“The plane will enhance efficiency and expand the scope of surveillance and control of plant pests in the country,” he said.

He added: “This plane will greatly assist in controlling plant pests, especially destructive birds like the quelea quelea, armyworms and locusts, which significantly contribute to crop loss in the fields, posing a threat to food security in the country and reducing agricultural productivity.”

Mr Bashe explained that the plane will be under the Tanzania Plant Health and Pesticides Authority (TPHPA).

He called on TPHPA to eliminate counterfeit pesticides from the market and roadsides, insisting that the authority has the capacity to deal with the problem that affects farmers across the country.

“You have the capacity, qualified personnel and financial resources to act,” said Bashe.

The minister clarified that the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi’s 2025 – 2030 manifesto has given priority to the Ministry of Agriculture and in particular improvement of irrigation farming.

“The manifesto highlights five years of investment in irrigation and we have a major project to invest around Lake Victoria and Lake Tanganyika, covering three million hectares,” he said.

He added that currently, the country has an ongoing project covering only 900,000 hectares and that farmers are struggling with quelea quelea.

Earlier, TPHPA Director General Prof Joseph Ndunguru said the ‘Thrush 510P2+’ plane will contribute to expanding and strengthening food security in the country.

“This airplane will be a game-changer for Tanzanian farmers including those in Mbarali, Kapunga, Igunga, Singida, Magu, Simiyu, Manyara, Kondoa, Mvomero, Kilosa and others, as it guarantees better harvests and crop safety,” he said.

Prof Ndunguru further explained that the aircraft has a fuel tank capacity of 863 litres, enabling it to stay airborne for at least four hours.

“It also has a pesticide tank with a capacity of 1,930 litres. With this capacity, the plane can control quelea quelea birds, armyworms and locusts over an area of 2,400 acres in a single operation,” he said.

He also noted that the aircraft will be a crucial tool in controlling locust outbreaks which frequently affect Tanzania and threaten food and livestock feed security.

Tanzania has been invaded by three types of locusts; red locusts, desert locusts and tree locusts.

He explained that the country has five major breeding areas for red locusts, covering a total of 8,000 square kilometres (equivalent to 1,976,843 acres). These areas include the Wembele valleys, Malagarasi, IkuKatavi plains, Bahi plains and the Rukwa basin.

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“This special airplane will help in surveying and controlling red locusts in the said areas,” he insisted.

Prof Ndunguru said that earlier Tanzania relied on aircraft from the Desert Locust Control Organisation for Eastern Africa (DLCO-EA) based in Kenya to fight quelea quelea bird invasions on farms.

He said one of the challenges has been delays in deploying the aircraft due to operational issues.