The Syova Food Production and Distribution Company has launched a special program to train Tanzanian farmers and agricultural stakeholders at large on various techniques that should boost their agricultural endeavors.
Syova - formerly known as East African Seeds Ltd - is one of the largest seed-producing companies in the country with the capacity to produce cereals such as maize and sorghum, sunflower, vegetables and fruits such as watermelon and hybrids. The company's Marketing and Sales Officer, Godless Pallangyo, said the aim of the program was to build the capacity of the stakeholders so that they could discharge their duties professionally and efficiently.
"We have launched this program after realizing that without agricultural education, our farmers cannot produce productively and have been wasting their resources and incurring losses," said Pallangyo.
Watermelon grower Nzuki Omari said the cultivation of vegetable and fruit crops can be a sustainable way of addressing youths unemployment challenge facing the country. "For example, I personally have been cultivating watermelons for more than 20 years now and this work has enabled me to educate my children up to university level, owning a modern house and sustaining my daily bread," he told allafrica.com.
The farmer has been a role model and owns a 20-acre melon farm with modern irrigation infrastructure, employing more than 20 people. Regarding the market for the melons, he said there is a sufficient market in Arusha and Dar es Salaam regions and neighboring cities of Nairobi and Mombasa.