The announcement was made over the weekend during a working visit by lawmakers from the Agriculture, Livestock and Water Standing Committee to the North Zone.
According to Robert Mwashimara, head of bio-control at Multiflowers Limited, biological control agents can be released into crops to control certain pests by purchasing insect pests as natural enemies.
He said the deployment of safe biological control agents has so far reduced the toxicity of plants by more than 90 percent and has been able to safely eradicate pests that have been used to destroy crops.
We have developed eight types of biological agents that are effective in our new flower farms, ”he said, noting that the use of biological agents in food crops is still legal.
“Pesticides and pesticides are harmful not only to crops but also to human health and cause great damage to the soil,” said florists who complained about health problems in the greenhouse. He says that such problems are no longer practiced.
Dr. Jacqueline Mikini, CEO of Tanzania’s Horticulture Association (TAHA), said the industry was moving forward but that new technologies were needed to further its growth.
Foreign agricultural markets are looking for organic produce far from any chemicals, which means the country is embracing ‘biological’ use.
Parliamentary Agriculture Committee Chairperson, Dr. Christine Ishengoma, summed up the sentiments of the members by promising to take the issue to the National Assembly to expedite the use of biological agents in agriculture.
Tanzania’s vegetable exports are currently estimated at $ 780 million, with an industrial potential of $ 2 billion. This new capacity will be realized soon when it is opened in foreign markets, the director stressed.
The country’s main fruits and vegetables include avocados in the southern highlands, French beans and freshly cut flowers, and spices from the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba.
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