Kagera agronomists to learn banana production in Eswatini
AUTHORITIES in Kagera Region will soon dispatch a team of agronomists to Eswatini to acquire skills on learn how Tanzania can improve the crop production.
Kagera Regional Commissioner (RC), Mr Albert Chalamila said that for many decades residents in the region have been depending on bananas as their main food crop, and thus Tanzania has a chance to learn from Eswatini that is one of the major banana producing countries in South of the Sahara.
“We are finalizing plans to dispatch a team of agronomists to Eswatini that is one of the major banana producing countries in South of the Sahara, especially to learn modern technologies of improving productivity,” he said.
Equally, he appealed to residents in the area to diversify bananas as an alternative cash crop to the traditional coffee.
Elaborating, he said due to its geographical location, Kagera Region could benefit by exporting bananas to other East African Community (EAC) members.
Kagera region shares common borders with four EAC nations-Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and Kenya across Lake Victoria. The region enjoys a favourable weather pattern with average temperature of 26.02 degree Centigrade and annual rainfall ranging between 880-1,100 mm during months of September to January and March to May.
The agricultural sector plays a crucial role in the rehabilitation process of the country’s economy. Exploration of fertile areas and conducting research on what types of crops can be produced in such areas for optimum production is the only way of achieving food self-sufficiency and earning substantial foreign exchange.
