Farmers in northern Tanzania’s region of Kilimanjaro are now venturing into growing vanilla fruits as their key source of income and a tool towards addressing poverty, an official has said.
Anna Maguire, Kilimanjaro regional commissioner said Thursday that the new venture has been attracting more and more people in the region.
She cited competitive price of the newly introduced crop as one of the reasons for the popularity of vanilla among farmers, who have been growing coffee and other cereal crops for a very long time.
Currently, the official said farmers are not walking long distances to look for buyers as there are companies in the region, which buys the fruits at a competitive price.
Juan Guardado, NEI director said Vanilla which is grown in Tanzania has proved to be the best compared to that which is grown in other countries such as Uganda, Madagascar, and Papua Guinea.
“We sell most of the flavor in the United States and European market, Kilimanjaro vanilla has been rated the best in the world market,” he said.
The vanilla plant produces bean-like fruits which are later dried to obtain a chemical known as vanillin which is used in adding flavors to foods and is also used in industries to manufacture human medicine and cosmetics.
In Tanzania other places where vanilla is grown includes southwestern Tanzania’s region of Mbeya, the eastern region of Morogoro, northern region of Arusha and Lake zone region of Mwanza. Enditem
Source: Xinhua/NewsGhana.com.gh
