Mbeya Region residents in Tanzania have been urged to grow passion fruits to increase their incomes due to its great demand within and outside of the country.
Rungwe District Commissioner, Dr Vincent Anney made the remarks at the weekend during the visit by the Programmes Advisory Committee for improving the value chain in regard to coffee, tea and horticulture products known as AGRI-CONNECT.
The programme is sponsored by the European Union (EU) and implemented in various areas in the country, and for the Southern Highlands regions it is implemented in three regions – Mbeya, Songwe and Katavi regions.
Dr Anney gave the advice to farmers following the committee’s visit to a passion fruit farm owned by farmers of the UAMSHO Group at Utengule Village in Mbeya District. “But also, I advise, especially men to eat the fruits, they have big zinc content which assist in men’s sexual prowess, which is a great problem to many men at the moment,” said Dr Anney.
UAMSHO Group Chairperson, Agnes Ndeka said they started cultivating the crop three years ago but now they can see great achievements. She said they reap the fruits on a weekly basis selling a pail between 8,000/- and 10,000/- depending on the money season and use some of the money to expand their farms.
She said apart from the Dodoma market, they have also got another market in Dubai, UAE hence they plan to expand their farms to meet the new demand.
Source: Ippmedia.com