Tanzania’s Ruvuma To Produce 37000 Tonnes Of Avocado By 2025

By Michael Sikapundwa, [caption id="attachment_102348" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Ruvuma Regional Commissioner ( RC ), Colonel Laban Thomas sees brighter days ahead for avocado production. Photo Michael Sikapundwa[/caption] Tanzania’s Ruvuma region is set to increase avocado production from 1,769 to 37000 tonnes by 2025. The Regional Commissioner ( RC ), Colonel Laban Thomas, revealed the new development during an annual meeting with over 100  agricultural stakeholders over the weekend. According to Colonel Thomas, the region has developed strategies to make avocados a third cash crop. Some strategies to be considered are creating farmers' groups, supplying avocado seeds to farmers, and training farmers on planting and harvesting avocados. ‘’We have set strategies after the current report showed low productivity. One hectare produces 0.7228 tons, which is impossible for a region blessed with fertile land,'' said Colonel Thomas. Also in attendance was China's Ambassador to Tanzania, Chen Mingjian, who encouraged the increase in avocado production and soya beans because China has a high demand for them. ‘’Apart from avocado, soya beans are a nutritious plant with more vitamins for child growth and a part of income for small-scale entrepreneurs because from soya you can get other products like soya milk, soya meat, soya oil, and animal food,” said Ambassador Mingjian. On his part, the regional agricultural official Onesmo Ngao projected great success because in the farming season in 2021/22, farmers showed their interest in avocado production and said it would be easy to implement it on the actual ground.