Tanzania high-yield seeds to improve rice output

To boost local rice production, the government of Tanzania has begun the distribution of high- quality and high-yield rice seeds across the country. The seeds, coming from KATRIN Crop Research Centre, are semi-aromatic with yields of about 3.7 tonnes per hectare, according to the Deputy Minister for Agriculture.

The government has supplied the seeds in several regions of the country with the help of Agricultural Seeds Agency (ASA). The minister said that seed production has grown almost six times in the last five years, from some 245 tonnes in 2008 to about 1,440 tonnes in 2012.

Average rice prices in the country remain high due to the country’s dependency on imports, estimated at about 150,000 tonnes in 2012. Consecutive poor harvests led to about 45% year-on-year increase in prices to around $1,190 per tonne before the harvest season in June 2012, according to the UN Foof and Agriculture Organisation.

The latest forecast by FAO says Tanzania’s paddy rice production in 2012 is expected to decline to 1.12 million tonnes (about 733,000 tonness, basis milled), down about 23% from the poor harvest in 2011 mainly due to poorly distributed rainfall during June and July 2012