Dodoma — AT a remote research centre in Dodoma, villagers recently
brought down huge cobs of corn right in the middle of September, the
most unlikely place and time for any crop harvests let alone maize.
The story line at that rare occasion was that it's possible to have a
healthy crop yield even in the sun-fried soils of Makotupora, some 27km
to the North of the capital city, Dodoma. Maize has remained an
officially 'banned' crop for many years within Tanzania's great central
plateau, which is home to Dodoma, Singida, Shinyanga and parts of
Manyara and Tabora regions because of severe and recurrent drought
spells.
And for years, farmers in these areas have been bombarded with
messages that they better stick to cultivating millet, sorghum and
legumes than incur losses from dismal maize yields under drought
conditions - even though most families prefer local dishes made out of
maize flour - notably 'ugali'.
But there are promising signs of bringing back maize dishes to the
family table, thanks to a new regional project, Water Efficient Maize
for Africa (WEMA), which is currently being implemented in five
countries along with Tanzania - Kenya, Uganda, Mozambique and South
Africa.
The farmers at Makotupora told researchers during a brief harvest
ceremony that they, too, would love to reap the benefits from having
access to superior seeds being developed next to their own poor crops.
Continue reading
No comments:
Post a Comment