The Minister for Trade and Industries, Miss Amina Salum Ali, said the government was now encouraging fruit and vegetable processing as a long term solution to lack of markets for fruits and vegetables, including tomatoes.
"Ongoing reforms in agriculture have given positive results. Tomatoes and other vegetables are now sold to tourist hotels, but similar items are still being imported from outside Zanzibar. We must find a way out.”
Miss Amina said her Ministry was aware of difficulties farmers were encountering in selling their produce and that it had been working hard to ensure that the tons of produce -including tomatoes- would not go to waste.
Allafrica.com quoted her as saying: "We are now calling on investors to build fruit and vegetable processing factories so that no produce is wasted.”
