Kagera farmers to get high-yield Robusta coffee seedlings

JJAD Kagera Farmers (T) Company in collaboration with the Tanzania Coffee Board (TCB) will provide three million improved Robusta seedlings to Kagera farmers that guarantee them high yields.

JJAD Director General, Dr. Albert Katagira said in Kagera Region over the weekend that they are expecting to offer the seedlings to farmers this week to motivate them in growing high yielding Robusta coffee.

He said the event to offer the trees will be held at Karenge Village at Kaisho Ward in Kyerwa District in Kagera Region and urged farmers to take advantage of the opportunity. According to the TCB statement, farmers from the region are urged to benefit from the free high quality seedlings adding that seedlings are ready for cultivation.

Dr. Katagira said in October last year, JJAD Kagera Farmers scoped an award as the best fine coffee producer for 2021 in Tanzania.

He said the company emerged victorious as the top coffee producer during the competition organized by the TCB in Moshi, Kilimanjaro Region in a competition named Tanzania Fine Coffees Competition 2021.

The competition involved testing of 68 samples of coffee produced and processed by various companies and regions countrywide and the competition takes place every year involving coffee-processing and producing companies from different regions throughout the country.

As part of a strategy to enhance the production of quality coffee, JJAD has signed a contract with the TCB for producing Robusta coffee seedlings, with technical assistance from the Tanzania Coffee Research Institute (TACRI).

According to Dr. Katagira one quality-coffee seedling has the capacity to produce 2.5 kilogrammes of coffee in a year. The company has drafted a long term and strategic plan aimed at producing 1.5 million coffee seedlings in the 2021/2022 financial year and three million seedlings in 2022/2023 year.