.State, FAO out to uplift seaweed sector

THE Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Fishing, Ms Lulu Msham Abdalla, says plans are underway to improve seaweed farming in the islands, one of the strategies to that end being purchasing 500 small boats known as ‘vihori’.

She said the small vessels that were easily navigable can be beneficially used for transporting harvested seaweed and that the government was working with the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) to buy and distribute them to farmers.

“The ministry has been doing all it can to support seaweed farmers,” Ms Abdalla said, in response to questions from backbenchers in the House of Representatives, who wanted to know when the government would provide the small carrier vessels used during the harvesting of the seaweed.

According to the deputy Minister, each small boat is estimated to cost 200,000/- and that the 500 vihori would be funded by the FAO, if the ongoing negotiations succeed. Zanzibar exports about 10,000 tons of seaweed annually, which it seeks to double by 2020 through improved farm management practices and alternative farming methods.

However, farmers have been complaining about lack of market outlets and a drop in local prices from 900/- down to only 300/- per kilogram. Seaweed buyers and exporters attribute the unstable prices to market trends in the world market.