Good times beckon for Same ginger growers
Same. The future is promising for ginger growers in Same District, Kilimanjaro Region, thanks to the rehabilitation of a processing factory expected to resume operations soon.
The maintenance of the factory whose processing capacity is at least 10 tonnes of the fresh produce per day is about to be completed.
The plant is currently under maintenance in Mamba-Myamba ward, a major ginger production zone.
This emerged last week during the visit to the facility by the Kilimanjaro Regional Commissioner, Nurdin Babu.
The plant is owned by the Public Service Social Security Fund (PSSSF) and the ginger farmers’ cooperative in the area. In 2008, it almost collapsed forcing the farmers to dump most of their fresh produce for lack of market.
Kilimanjaro is the leading region for production of ginger country-wide, accounting for 70 percent of the output.
Kigoma, Ruvuma, Tanga and Morogoro are other regions where the crop is produced.
Mr Babu said with the completion of the factory in sight, farmers should ensure they produced good quality ginger.
“They should meet the local and international standards,” he told the farmers, saying the revival of the factory was a blessing.
Ginger production in the country has increased to 22,000 tonnes per year, according to PSSSF director general, Hosea Kashimba. “About 15,000 tonnes of the total or 70 percent is sourced from Mamba-Myamba in Same District,” he explained.
The plant can process about 3,000 tonnes of the produce a year or 10 tonnes a day. Mr Kashimba said the factory will have modern equipment to wash and process ginger ready for sale.
The PSSSF chief challenged farmers to follow the recommended agronomic practices in order to improve the quality of the produce.
Mr Kilango Mfanga, a farmer, admitted that for years they ended up with huge losses due to a lack of market.
Ginger is a flowering plant with a root widely used as a spice and in folk medicine. Elsewhere, it is generally used in traditional medicine as a dietary supplement.
In 2019, world production of ginger was 4.1 million tonnes, led by India with 44 percent of the world’s total.
