TZ to double rice production by 2018

Morogoro. The government in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) have launched a special project on rice production.

Under the project, FAO will support the country’s efforts to double rise production by 2018.

The project to be carried out under the auspices of Venezuela, is aimed to support smallholders’ efforts to improve rice production and seek m markets for them.

“This project will provide small-scale farmers with an opportunity to acquire new agricultural practices and benefit more from the crop,” said the FAO country representative, Mr Fred Kafeero, during the launch of the project in the region yesterday.

Rice is the third most important food crop in Tanzania after maize and cassava. According to official data, annual rice production now averages at about 1.35 million tonnes a year. Smallholder farmers currently produce 74 per cent of the rice produced in the country.

Mr Kafeero said rice production in Tanzania was increasingly becoming important to the economy, making it a major source of food, employment and income-generating business for many Tanzanians.

However, the FAO official noted that, although significant progress has been made, the country continues to rely heavily on rice imports.

Mr Kafeero explained that rice production was increasingly becoming important to the economy whereby, among other benefits, it is one of the major sources of employment.

“It is good to see that of late Tanzania has made major strides in rice farming, whereby measures taken by the government have enabled the country to increase its production to the extent that it meets the local demand,” he explained.

“With financial support from the government of Venezuela, FAO is going to support Tanzania in its efforts to improve domestic rice supply and strengthen the rice market in Tanzania,” he said.

“This is expected to contribute towards the country’s goal to double rice production by 2018,” added Mr Kafeero.

He said that the project will provide an opportunity to build on on-going initiatives and partnerships by assessing national rice development strategies