Prosper Kulaya, Tanzania Cotton Board (TCB) planning officer said yesterday that the target was to cultivate over 1.8 million acres, but that projection may not be reached as most of the cotton growing areas received more rains, a situation that may negatively affect production.
Kulaya noted that cotton mostly grows on plain land and when there is a lot of rain such areas are full of water and therefore crop’s seeds fail to germinate well, consequently negatively affecting production.
With a lot of water in the areas, farmers tend to cultivate paddy that is friendly to the situation instead of cotton, Kulaya pointed out.
“In November and December last year there was a lot of rain therefore farmers in areas suitable for cultivating the crop they should go on as farm inputs will continue to be supplied as usual to those who will cultivate,” he noted.
He affirmed that there are enough seeds and farm inputs such as seeds, insecticides as well as sprayers to boost development of the crop in the country.
Currently cotton is grown in 17 regions in 56 districts across the country. The regions are Mwanza, Shinyanga, Mara, Simiyu, Geita, Kagera, Kigoma, Singida, Tabora, Dodoma, Manyara, Katavi, Morogoro, Iringa, Tanga, Kilimanjaro and Coast region.
Cotton is one of the country's strategic crops, contributing substantially to export revenues and employment in the two crop’s growing zones, namely western and eastern zones.
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