Sisal Board Works To Revive The Sector -

By STAFF REPORTER

THE Tanzania Sisal Board (TSB) is working efforts to heighten production of the key economic cash crop with target to produce a total of 120,000 tons annually by the 2025/26 season.

The TSB’s Director General (DG), Saddy Kambona yesterday told a press conference in Dodoma Capital City that the Board was currently implementing a number of initiative to push for effective production and productivity in the cultivation of the crop among the involved farmers.

He said the number of sisal farmers have keep on mounting annually, the encouraging development which communicating that the sector was heading into a bright future.

“In 2020, TSB registered a total of 6887 smallholder farmers who engaged in the sector, whereby in 2022 the number increased to 8972,” he informed.

However, he said the sector attract others 22,000 farmers who have yet to register at the Board.

Despite facing diverse handicaps, the TSB’s chief boss said the sector had managed to record an important stride, in which the production increased from 36,379 tons in 2020 to at least 48,352.49 in 2022.

“Currently, we’re implementing a number of programs with an eye to ensure the sector attract more farmers, but also, to assure the involved farmers are cultivating in accord to the recommended agronomic practices, ” he said.

Being similar efforts, Kambona expressed that TSB have managed to collect and freely distributed a total of 6,991,200 Sisal seedlings to the smallholder farmers in the 16 different districts.

The beneficiaries districts, according to him, include Korogwe ,Muheza, Tanga, Mkinga, Handeni, Kilindi, Rorya, Bunda, Butiama, bariadi, Bagamoyo(Chalinze), Kisarawe, Mkuranga, Manyoni (Itigi), Singida rural as well as Mkalama district.

Moreover, he said the sector has witnessed a potential increase in the sisal plantations, especially for the small-scale farmers.

“In order to boost cultivation of the crop, TSB had distributed to the farmers free farms. For instance, in Korogwe district a total of 983 farmers were given free plantations, whereby others 3000 growers were given the arable farms in Kilosa district of Morogoro region, “he unveiled.

He hailed President Samia Suluhu Hassan for rolling out different support meant to revive the performance of the economic sector.

“There have a significant increase in the allocation of the Board’s development fund from the state coffer, from 100m/- during 2019/ 2020 fiscal year to 2bn/- during 2022/23 financial year,” he informed.

With the development, he said the Board has successfully managed to procure modern Sisal processing machines, as well as reviving the other dilapidated processing facilities at Kibaranga Sisal estate in Muheza district (Tanga), and at the state-owned TPL Sisal farm in Bwawani, Arumeru district in Arusha region.

“Installation of the ultra- modem facilities is projected to play meaningful role in helping the sector to reach the Sisal production and processing targets that have been placed by the government by 2026,” he assured.

Tanzania Sisal Board was established in 1997 by an Act of Parliament and is charged with the regulation and promotion of the sisal industry with the aim of making it sustainable through increased productivity and profitability.