Tanzania: Improved sorghum sought in export markets

Sadoti Makwaruzi, the chief agricultural officer, made the call yesterday at a meeting that brought together smallholder farmers and extension officers from Chamwino District, White sorghum has a large market globally so farmers must cultivate in large scale to take advantage of the market, he said, noting that the crop is regularly ordered by the World Food Program (WFP) for use in Europe, South Africa or South Sudan for recent local exports Government surveys indicate that there is a wide market for white sorghum, thus deciding to embark on a fresh bid to motivate and support the farmers to engage into large acreage of the crop, the ministerial official affirmed. WFP desperately needs white sorghum for foreign markets where it has invested about $25m, and for the financial year 2022 the organization needs 28,900 tonnes of the grain, he stated, asserting that seed supply will be assured. The government, after seeing this opportunity, has entered into an agreement with 20 ...