JPM warns against poor quality cotton seeds
What you need to know:
- The President directed Tanzania Cotton Board (TCB) to take legal measures against defaulters. He made the remarks last week while addressing residents at the Furahisha grounds.
- “It is unacceptable that some ginneries have been exploiting cotton farmers by selling substandard seeds,” he said.
Mwanza. President John Magufuli has warned ginneries against selling substandard cotton seeds to farmers.
The President directed Tanzania Cotton Board (TCB) to take legal measures against defaulters. He made the remarks last week while addressing residents at the Furahisha grounds.
“It is unacceptable that some ginneries have been exploiting cotton farmers by selling substandard seeds,” he said.
According to him, cotton production has been on the decline partly due to the poor quality of seeds sold to farmers. He stressed that cotton planting seasons starts early October hence quality seeds must be distributed on time. He called on agricultural officers to visit farmers and give them technical advice on how to increase productivity.
Similar sentiments were echoed by the Member of Parliament for Sengerema, Mr William Ngeleja, who said that poor quality cotton seeds have stifled farmers from meeting set targets.
Statistics from TCB indicate that for the cotton growing season 2015/16 out of the 11,444 tonnes of cotton seeds distributed to farmers 3,000 tonnes were of poor quality.
