By Bisola Adeyemo
More than one million coffee seedlings were distributed to Tanzania farmers for this planting season in efforts to improve crop production.
The distributor, Kagera Cooperative Union (KCU 1990 Ltd) also encouraged farmers to welcome the use of digital scales to replace the platform scales, according to Tanzania daily news.
KCU 1990 Ltd Chairman, Mr Ressy Mashulano, said that during phase one KCU will buy at least 50 digital scales while the target is to purchase about 150 digital scales.
Farmers are encouraged to plant clonal coffee varieties which are resistant to coffee wilt disease (CWD), for increased yields and earn more money,” he said also appealing to the farmers to replace the old coffee trees in favour of the clonal varieties.
Elaborating, Mr Mashulano said KCU recently distributed over one million clonal varieties to the farmers free of charge for the planting season,However, he appealed for government intervention to enable agricultural extension officers who work as Ward Executive Officers (WEO) to return to their former villages.
“We are facing an acute shortage of Agricultural Extension Officers (AEO). KCU recently employed about 40 extension officers but the number was not enough,” he said.
“The clonal varieties have high yields and resistant to the coffee berry disease. A well managed coffee plant could produce up to two kilograms enabling a farmer to pocket at least 6,000/- per kilogram. Clonal coffee yields three times more coffee and is resistant to the coffee wilt disease,” he said.