Stars players make Tanzanians proud

What you need to know:

  • The match is very important for Taifa Stars in order to revive its hopes of qualifying for the Afcon finals.
  • The last time Taifa Stars qualified for the finals was almost four decades ago in the edition held in Lagos, Nigeria.

The national soccer team, Taifa Stars, today play their Uganda counterparts, The Cranes, in next year’s Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers to be held in Cameroon.

The match is very important for Taifa Stars in order to revive its hopes of qualifying for the Afcon finals. The last time Taifa Stars qualified for the finals was almost four decades ago in the edition held in Lagos, Nigeria.

Currently, Taifa Stars is placed second together with Lesotho with one point each in group L. Uganda is at the top with three points and Cape Verde is at the bottom with no point. Two top teams in each group qualify for the finals.

Statistics show that since 2010, Taifa Stars have not recorded any victory against Uganda in international friendly matches as well as in competitions.

Records show that on March 3, 2010, the two teams met at the National Stadium and Uganda won 3-2 against Tanzania. The teams met again on July 13, 2010 and yet again, Taifa Stars lost 1-0.

On July 27, 2013, Taifa Stars continued to record unimpressive results against Uganda with 3-1 defeat in Kampala before losing 3-0 on June 20, 2015 in the match played at the National Stadium. Tanzania only recorded a draw on July 4, 2015 with a 1-1 in a match held in Kampala.

Despite the fact that the record favours Uganda, Taifa Stars can turn the tables and win against Uganda. Taifa Stars players have to know that Tanzanians expect the best results in the historic encounter.

A fighting spirit and determination are the key for the team to win in today’s encounter on away ground. We know football is a game of mistakes, but for today’s duel, Taifa Stars players have to avoid losing as soccer fans in the country want the best results. Taifa Stars players have to prove their worth and make the nation proud.

Contain aflatoxins

Aflatoxins, poisonous carcinogens, are usually found in improperly stored staples such as cassava, maize, millet, groundnuts, wheat, rice, sorghum and some spices, as well as in cotton, sesame and sunflower seeds in many African countries, including Tanzania.

Aflatoxins are produced by certain moulds (Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus) which grow in soil, decaying vegetation, hay and grains. Africa is losing $670 million annually in blocked exports to the EU because of aflatoxin-contamination.

Reports that Tanzania will soon join other African countries in rolling out new technology that will contain cancer-causing aflatoxins are most welcome.

Known as ‘Aflasafe-TZ,’ the technology reduces the poisonous chemical’s contamination in food by 80-to-90 per cent.

The technology has been developed by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (Iita) in partnership with the Tanzania Ministry of Agriculture through USAid support. A strategy to guide the commercialisation has also been designed, outlining market projections, manufacturing feasibility and distribution scenarios.

Iiata and its partners early this week organised an investors’ forum in Dar es Salaam to discuss business opportunities available in the manufacturing, distribution and marketing of Alfasafe-TZ.

We call on private sector players, policymakers, researchers, the farming community and development partners to speed up implementation of the project.