BUKOBA: AUTHORITIES in Kagera Region are working around the clock to tackle an outbreak of the deadly ‘Coffee Black Borer’ following reports of its spread across several areas.
Assistant Secretary for Economy and Production at the regional secretariat, Mr Isaya Tendega, told a recent Regional Consultative Committee (RCC) meeting that experts from the Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI) at Maruku Station are visiting affected areas to assess the extent of the damage and determine urgent measures.
About 450 coffee farmers are participating in the exercise.
Mr Tendega noted that by January this year, TARI had already distributed 10.8 million improved coffee seedlings to farmers for the planting season, with plans to increase the total number of seedlings to 30 million.
Kagera is one of Tanzania’s leading coffee-producing regions, with farmers in the area producing between 40,000 and 50,000 tonnes of robusta coffee annually, representing roughly 50 per cent of the country’s total production.
Coffee is grown across Bukoba, Muleba, Karagwe, Kyerwa, Ngara and Missenyi districts along the western shores of Lake Victoria.
However, average productivity has long remained low, at 0.32 kg per tree, due to poor management practices and the fact that many coffee trees are over 60 years old.
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Smallholder farmers face a range of challenges, including limited extension services, high and adulterated input costs, low coffee prices and minimal youth participation in coffee production.
Other obstacles include weak institutional support, inadequate marketing systems and the impacts of climate change.
These challenges have contributed to low productivity, poor coffee quality, low farm-gate prices and instances of coffee racketeering.
In response, the government has introduced measures to support the sector, including banning the sale of coffee directly from farms.
Growers are now required to sell their produce exclusively through farmers’ co-operatives to improve quality control and market regulation.