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Tanzania to export six million tones of pulses to India

Xinhua, December 6, 2016 Adjust font size:

Tanzania plans to export six million tones of pulses to India, a new drive to promote the state of the crop and welfare of farmers in the east African nation.

Charles Tizeba, Tanzania's Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries said on Monday that the government plans to export a huge chunk of the leguminous crop to India following agreements with the Asian country.

He said that the exporting pulses stemmed from the visit by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the country mid this year.

"India is the main export market for Tanzania and the exports of pulses to the country have enjoyed continuous and sustained growth, this will be a huge opportunity for farmers in the northern zone where this crop is cultivated," he explained.

Visiting the Arusha-based Selian Agriculture Research Institute (SARI), the minister challenged the researchers at the center to exert much focus and studies on pulses to ensure that the country benefits from the crop.

During the visit, Dr. Charles was accompanied by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) representative to Tanzania Fred Kafeero.

"The government is looking into ways of equipping agricultural institutions so that they continue conducting basic research on such crops," he added.

At the moment, the demand of the grain legume in India is between 230,000 and 240,000 tones while its supply is 170,000 tones.

Tanzanian production and exports of pulses have both increased rapidly over the last decade.

The production of pulses is focused on cowpeas, pigeon peas, chickpeas and dried beans, mainly exported to traditional markets.

Though production of pulses in the country almost doubled in the last five years alone, Tizeba acknowledged that the country still faced serious challenges in this sector.

They included lack of available seeds, poor agricultural practices, and the presence of pests and diseases all end up affecting yields and quality, according to the minister.

On his part, the FAO country representative reaffirmed the organization's support to the country in improving food security situation in Tanzania.

"Pulses are a great source of income to Tanzanian farmers, we will continue engaging with research institutions on improving food security and also provide technical expertise in agriculture as a whole," said Kafeero. Endit