ARUSHA, Tanzania, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Cotton production in Tanzania has increased by 67 percent this harvest season compared to the previous one due to increased investment in the crop and strengthened regulation of agricultural inputs, a senior official said Tuesday.
Omary Mgumba, Tanzania's Deputy Minister for Agriculture said that cotton production jumped to 221,600 tonnes in the current season surpassing the 133,000 tonnes produced during the previous season.
He said that the government through the Tropical Pesticides Research Institute and Tanzania Official Seed Certification Institute has been keen enough in regulating the quality of agricultural inputs by undergoing germination tests of cotton seeds before taking to farmers for sowing.
"The government's plan is to create good environments that could increase farmers' efficiency, productivity and eventually profit. So, we'll continue investing in improving the crop in the country," Mgumba said when speaking in the country's capital Dodoma during the ongoing parliamentary sessions.
Cotton is Tanzania's largest export crop after coffee. It contributes to 24 percent of total agricultural exports and 4 percent of total exports.
Simiyu, Shinyanga, Mwanza, and Singida regions have been cited as Tanzania's cotton growing giants out of seven chief cotton producing Lake Zone regions.