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The ten-year
programme launched in 2011/2012 aims to increase coffee production and
quality from 50,000 tonnes a year by then to 150,000 tonnes in
2020/2021.
"It is the only way
to achieve green revolution in coffee industry," said a report
presented to stakeholders by the Tanzania Coffee Research Institute
(TaCRI) during the just ended Nane Nane agricultural fair.
Besides increasing
production of coffee beans, the programme aims to raise the income and
improve the livelihoods of the growers scattered in different zones of
the country.
"The challenge
ahead of us is to meet the demand of hybrid seedlings needed for
distribution and replanting of about 365,00 hectares," the report seen
by The Citizen said.
In order to achieve
this, TaCRI, a institution based at Lyamungo in Kilimanjaro and
dedicated to coffee research, has released 15 arabica coffee high
yielding and disease resistant varieties under its breeding programme.
Also released are
four robusta coffee varieties for the growers of the crop in Kagera
Region. The varieties are resistant to coffee wilt disease (CWD) and has
excellent beverage quality.
Diseases notorious
for attacking arabica coffee are coffee berry disease (CBD) and coffee
leaf disease (CLD). Within East Africa, about 36 coffee pests have been
reported.
Successful
implementation of the programme will contribute to the financial
sustainability of TaCRI which gets its annual income from cooperative
unions and societies dealing with coffee processors and the private
sector.
The institute has
also been getting its funds from the government and donors, specifically
the European Union (EU), the Endowment Fund for TaCRI and through
collaborative activities.
The institution was set up in 2000 to rejuvenate the coffee industry through research and practical technological innovations.
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