Author: FATMA ABDU
AfricaPress-Tanzania: Agricultural research technologies should reach farmers in rural areas to boost farm productivity and their income.
Mbeya District Administrative Secretary (DAS), Mr Saitoti Stephen said this during a two-day meeting of agricultural research technology beneficiaries held at the Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute, Uyole Centre (TARI Uyole) in Mbeya region recently.
The meeting aimed to discuss ways of sustainable agricultural research technology development and transfer at TARI Uyole, which brought together various stakeholders, including researchers, tutors, farmers, development partners, local government authorities and mass media
The annual task force meeting also aimed to reflect 2019/ 2020 progress and plans for 2020/2021 activities conducted in the Centre and how technologies produced benefited farmers and other stakeholders in the region.
Welcoming participants, the TARI Uyole Centre Director, Dr Tulole Bucheyeki said time has come for the researchers, collaborators and partners to gather and deliberate important issues for farmers in the country and the world at large.
He further said that the population is increasing at a progressive rate and food at arithmetic progression, so the race for food is inevitable and Africa must use the shortest path to food security.
Dr Bucheyeki further said that TARI Uyole Centre maintains and focuses to deliver technologies of 14 groups, basing on contribution to the national economic growth and agricultural productivity and sustainability.
The Director mentioned focused areas in major food crops, including cereal, leguminous, root and tuber and horticulture, and in major cash crops including pyrethrum, palm oil and cashew nuts.
Others are agro-mechanization, industrial raw materials, soil health and socio-economics, fighting pests, crops for market demand, increased productivity, seeds availability, technology transfer, linkage and collaboration with national and international organizations, cross cut issues in climate change and diseases and nutrition aspects.
Commenting on the event, farmer’s representative, Mr David Kabungo appreciated technologies initiative that fit farmers and economic needs, making income generation and food security possible.
Earlier, Dr Benjamin Kiwovele, a retired researcher said that the meeting provided appropriate technologies to stakeholders to smoothen the use of technology transfer methods, such as field demonstration plots for increased rate of adoption.
