ARUSHA, Tanzania, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Tanzania's semi-autonomous Zanzibar archipelago is set to increase production of rice by 30 percent in a new drive to reduce importation, a senior official said Tuesday.
Rashid Ali Juma, Zanzibar's Minister for Agriculture and Natural Resources, revealed this while speaking at the inauguration of a fertilizer manufacturing plant in the Indian Ocean Island.
In this harvesting season, the minister said Zanzibar will increase production by 30 percent, as the country grapples to plug the gap between locally produced rice and the imported one.
"We have a gap of 57,000 tonnes of rice per year, currently we're producing 23,000 tonnes annually," the minister said, insisting on the Zanzibar government's determination to boost paddy cultivation to meet the demand of 80,000 tonnes per year
According to the minister, rice is the Zanzibar's main staple food with the current demand standing at 61.3 kilograms per person annually.
Juma noted that to increase rice production, farmers should be enabled to practice modern agriculture using advanced techniques, use quality seeds as well as fertilizers.
"The fertilizer plant we have launched today is expected to produce the best fertilizer that will make farmers realize bumper harvests," he said, noting that the newly introduced plant will increase rice production by 30 percent.
He urged rice farmers to continue using the locally produced fertilizer to boost productivity.
James Flock, director general, of Zanzibar cereals development project said the installed plant has a capacity to produce three tonnes of fertilizers every day.
He said the 1,000 tonnes of fertilizers to be produced annually can be used by rice and vegetable growers in the spice island of Zanzibar.
