Govt backs date palm research

**TANGA: **THE government has pledged full support for research into date palm cultivation in Tanzania, in a move aimed at reducing reliance on imports and creating new income opportunities for farmers in droughtprone regions.

The research, being conducted by the Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI), seeks to establish the suitability of date palms for semi-arid areas, particularly Dodoma and Singida regions.

Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Professor Peter Msofe, announced the government’s commitment on Tuesday during the World Food Day Exhibition in Tanga after touring pavilions showcasing agricultural innovations.

“The government will extend all the support needed to establish date farming in the central regions of Tanzania, particularly Dodoma and Singida,” he said.

The initiative could help Tanzania reduce its reliance on imported dates. Trade data shows that the country imported approximately 5.24 million kilogrammes of fresh and dried dates in 2023, valued at 1.49 million US dollars (about 3.91bn/-).

The United Arab Emirates accounted for approximately 3.25 million kilogrammes, worth 933,120 US dollars (about 2.45bn/-) highlighting the potential for local production if research confirms the crop’s commercial viability.

Prof Msofe said a date palm production project was launched in September with support from Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The project aims to strengthen agricultural resilience and improve the livelihoods of drought-affected smallholder farmers through exploratory date palm cultivation.

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TARI Hombolo Centre researcher, Gaspar Ngimiloko, said studies were underway to determine whether date palms could thrive under Tanzania’s growing conditions. He said researchers had begun receiving germplasm from abroad and had produced 3,700 seedlings for planting in selected trial farms in Dodoma and Singida.

Mr Ngimiloko said the research would assess soil conditions and other environmental factors before recommendations were submitted to the relevant authorities to guide future expansion. Preliminary observations suggest that Tanzania has the potential to produce dates locally and reduce its import bill, provided the trials establish the crop’s commercial viability, he said.

Another TARI researcher, Joseph Nzunda, said the studies would identify date palm species and varieties best suited to Tanzania’s climatic conditions. He said the research could take up to ten years to produce conclusive results, although modern technologies, including irrigation, could accelerate some stages of the process.

The studies will also address challenges such as limited access to improved planting materials, reliance on traditional varieties and difficulties in introducing high-yielding foreign cultivars.

TARI and FAO are developing a date palm production training manual to support the transition from scattered traditional cultivation to more structured commercial farming. Tabora Region has also been identified as a potential area for date palm cultivation.

Successful production could diversify farmers’ incomes, strengthen food security and create opportunities along agricultural value chains, including processing and exports. Prof Msofe also commended the institutions, companies and innovators participating in the exhibition for developing solutions to Tanzania’s food production challenges.

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