Tanzania: Tanzania Breweries Limited to construct modern barley processing plant in Dodoma
Tanzania’s barley farmers have a reason to smile following the new project by Tanzania Breweries Limited (TBL Plc) to construct a modern barley processing plant in Dodoma Capital City, IPP Media reported on June 29.
With capacity to process at least 30,000 tonnes of barley in a year, the facility is projected to play a key role in stimulating cultivation of the crop-based raw material among local farmers.
TBL Plc agriculture manager, Joel Msechu, told The Guardian in an interview that instead of relying on much importation of barley, the brewer company has now decided to give home farmers an economic opportunity to benefit from producing the crop and market their produce to TBL Plc at friendly prices.
Agriculture Minister Adolf Mkenda said the ministry has embarked on a strategy for the revival of mass cultivation of barley within the country, adding that the ministry has tasked the Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (Tari) to research and invent improved seed varieties of barley in order to allow the farmers to engage in mass cultivation.
"Establishment of the factory is good news to farmers in Sumbawanga, Monduli, Makete, Simanjiro, and Babati, the areas with potential for the cultivation of barley," he emphasized.
Mkenda said various researches were also in the pipeline to establish all regions with potential for growing the crop insisting that the government will make sure the farmers are served with extension offices in order to cultivate the crop in a recommended manner.
"The government had realized the importance of extension services in boosting the agriculture sector and that's why we set a crucial plan to capacitate performance of extension offices from across the country," he stated.
The minister said that the government in this fiscal year has increased budget allocation towards agro-extension services, from TSh603 mln during the last budget to at least TSh11.5 bln.
"For instance, this year we have opted to start empowering extension officers in the three regions of Singida, Dodoma, and Simiyu with an eye to pushing for enough production of sunflower," he revealed.
He said the plan was to provide the extension offices with motorcycles, modern mobile phones and other necessary agro-kits.
"Apart from that, the officers will receive training to equip them with the latest agronomic practices as well as other agricultural technologies," he asserted.
Wstecz
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