AfricaPress-Tanzania: FARMERS and food traders in the country have been urged to take advantage of the increased regional and global demand for food likely to be brought by the outbreak of Covid-19.
The remarks were made by the Senior Agricultural Researcher at the Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI), Dr Filson Kagimbo in an interview recently.
“There are indication of hunger hitting some neighboring countries which will raise food demand from Tanzania especially maize and rice,” he noted.
Some countries have already introduced mandatory lock-down and curfew in the fight of Covid-19 infection, which means food production, was at stake.
However Dr Kagimbo cautioned over selling all food products to avoid plunging the country into hunger and financial crisis in times of coronavirus outbreaks.
“Farmers and traders need to be cautious not to sell all stock they have at once in the name of quick money while the situation is to be controlled,” said Dr Kagimbo who is also the Director of based at TARI Kihinga center in Kigoma Region.
He said that in times of crisis like Covid-19 outbreak, people tend to buy food in big amount that might persuade farmers to sellout all their products at lower price and run out of food.
Dr Kagimbo instead advised that farmers make sure they stock harvests in this season, and that it is a right time for the government ensures national food reserve is filled up with enough stock.
Apart from the outbreak of a viral disease which has already claimed lives and affected economic production greatly in the country and other parts of Africa, the East African region was invaded by destructive locusts which affected food production and scientists predicts that other armies of locust will re appear in a short period and terrorize food production.
In what can be considered to be the East African food basket, Tanzania exports rice and maize to neighboring countries every year, a move which may help combat poverty among the country’s poor famers.
