By Fatma Abdu
Bukoba — The government has been advised to amend some procedures and rules governing the release of seeds to allow farmers to start using a newly discovered seed – Tanzania 130 Cassava Seeds.
Head of Maruku Research Centre, Mr Innocent Ndyetabula, made the remarks to journalists and other government officials who visited the facility in Bukoba District, Kagera Region.
He described the Tanzania 130 cassava seeds as drought tolerant and resistant to the cassava brown streak virus; both the disease and changing weather conditions are chief agronomic challenges in the region, as they are across the country.
“Tanzania 130 cassava seeds that is produced under Tissue culture technology is drought tolerant and resistant to the major diseases ravaging down cassava harvests … we are now awaiting certification from the Tanzania Official Seed Certification Institute (TOSCI) to facilitate release of the seeds to farmers,” Mr Nyetabula said.
He added the researchers had since made recommendations to the government – through TOSCI – to amend the rules and procedures, with specific reference to Tanzania 130 cassava seeds – so they could be released to farmers in Kagera region and across the country.
He pointed out that being drought-tolerant, the crop is relatively cheap to produce because it does not require expensive inputs such as fertilisers or improved seeds, also allowing the farmers to replant cuttings from the previous crop.
Dr Simon Jeremiah, a researcher from Ukiriguru Research Centre, said the new seeds, namely, Tanzania 130 cassava seeds developed under TC (tissue culture) technology, would greatly improve food productivity and help curtail the spread of the cassava brown streak virus disease.
He said that its productivity was relatively higher compared to other cassava seeds, with yields increasing from 20,000 tones to over 30,000 tons per acre.
He said that the vision behind Tanzania 130 cassava seeds was “to see a Tanzania in which cassava productivity and incomes of smallholder farmers are boosted through an accessible and affordable commercialised seed system for producing quality assured planting material of improved, diseaseresistant varieties.
” He added that there was a need to develop varieties of cassava seeds that are increasingly resistant to its major diseases that would help to produce higher crops for the benefit of farmers and the nation as a whole. Tanzania 130 seeds has already been used in Uganda where it had helped improve small-holder productivity.
credit:allafrica.com
