Tanzania: Cassava farmers appeal for govt support to tap into China market

Published 2021년 11월 6일

Tridge summary

A critical shortage of a superior cassava variety, Mumba, in central zone regions of Tanzania is jeopardizing the country's efforts to meet its cassava supply agreement with China, which demands 2 million tonnes annually. This situation arises as the current planting cycle of the favored variety has expired, and seed purification by the responsible breeder is still in progress. The lack of this variety is demoralizing farmers in Dodoma and Singida regions, who have been encouraged by the government to increase cassava production to meet China's demands. The government is working to enhance cassava productivity and access to necessary technologies while local companies are registered for cassava exportation to China. However, the world price of dry cassava does not cover the production costs in Tanzania, highlighting the challenge of balancing supply and demand in the market.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

The concern surfaces following unavailability of the favourable cassava variety in central zone regions as the current plants have gone out of planting potential cycle and the responsible breeder have yet to purify seedlings. Mumba is the only superior cassava seed which has so far proved to flourish well in Dodoma and Singida regions. In May 2017, Tanzania signed phy-tosanitary protocol with China—the bilateral business development which apart from green lighting local companies to directly trade with China, it opened market access for dry cassava from Tanzania. China’s annual cassava demand from Tanzania stands at 2 million tonnes. From 2012 to 2016, the Mennonite Economic Development Association (MEDA) was funded by TARI to research and breed best cassava varieties with an eye to improve productivity among cassava farmers in the country, the vital program which saw introduction of the Mumba variety. Stephen Magige, Country Manager for MEDA said the initiative was gearing to ...

Source: IPPMedia