Pigeon Pea Set to Transform Livelihoods in Rural Tanzania

The Regional Director of the international crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics, ICRASAT, Dr Said Silim has called on the governments in the Eastern and Southern Africa to put systems in place that would access dryland seeds to farmers faster.

Addressing farmers, researchers and a team of the Eastern Africa Press in Babati, Manyara region, Tanzania, Dr Slim said that while research centres have come up with appropriate seed traits that meets the needs of farmers, “it was imperative that these seeds was accessible and the governments ought to put machinery in place for this to be achieved.

This he said would need governments to work in close partnerships with the private sector which would be able to multiply the seeds research, put up marketing groups to buy grains that would offer better prices to farmers.

Currently, efforts are being made through some 2000 germplasm in Kenya, Tanzania, Monzambique, Uganda and Malawi to help fight Fuserium wilt a fungal disease that attacks the plant through the roots, causing the crop to wilt, that greatly affects the pigeon pea market, worth 30, 000 tonnes a year.

Besides, researchers at the India-based ICRISAT with a regional office in Nairobi are also working on varieties that are drought-tolerant, high yielding and early maturing.

According to Dr Silim, current efforts towards improving varieties are helping farmers in Babati region, whose Babati White, a traditional pigeon pea variety is best in the world but had been decimated by the fungal disease to have hope again.

Currently, ICRISAT is promoting use of Pigeon pea varieties 40 and 53, which have been developed with resistance to Fuserium Wilt in Babati, a region with highest production of pigeon pea in the Eastern Africa region.

Pigeon Pea, is a dry land crop that requires a rainfall of between 400- 1000 millimeters with varied temperatures growing from the 0 meters above sea level to 1600 meters with the high altitudes requiring long duration varieties which could take as long as 10 months.