Contour farming is not beneficial- Prime Minister

Dear Editor,

He advises them to adopt terrace farming.
The MP uses this meeting to broadcast his intention of contesting
He says shikamoo even to infants (breast feeders).
The Prime Minister, Mizengo Pinda, has said that contour farming, which is greatly used in Tabora region where he visited, is unbeneficial, and instead he advised them to use terrace farming as it is very beneficial.
He made this statement Friday last week, February 26th, when addressing Sikonge town residents in Tabora region, at a public meeting held on TASAF market grounds.
The Prime Minister, who was on his seventh day of tour in the region, said he did not like seeing farmers continuing with contour farming for they use great effort but harvest very little, and that sort of farming is not productive.
“In our friends’ countries nobody bothers with non-terrace farming, they apply only terrace farming in every place and that is one reason why it becomes easier for them to use modern farming appliances such as tractors”.
Many like to farm in that way because contours are countable, but he emphasized the disadvantages of such farming that it wastes space between contour and contour, and wastes space when planting seeds for a farmer is forced to leave a lot of space unplanted.
Many people in the western Zone, he added, like contour farming, but this is only because of tradition and knowing that it will make work easier for weeding, but terraces save space which is lost between one contour and another, and fertilizers affect each plant with terracing, whereas in the contour method, fertilizers slip down along with mud.
In order to eradicate contour farming, farmers ought to start using power tillers or ploughs using animals. ”Farming is medicine..Councils executives ought to look for medicine to liberate the small farmer; anything that is obtainable should go to assist in solving his/her problems,” he emphasized.
He used the opportunity to remind all councils country wide to make sure they implement his directive of purchasing 50 power tillers for every district council, and 20 power tillers for every municipality, using their internal resources and distributing them to wards and villages, so that farmers reduce the practice of using out-of- date tools for farming.
In another development, the Sikonge MP said Mkumba used the PM’s meeting to announce his intention of re-contesting for the constituency seat, while greeting people who attended the meeting with “shikamoo”, even to suckling babies. The MP has already served the constituency for ten years.
Last Friday, the PM visited water sources in Tabora region, at Igombe and Kazima, and in the afternoon he summarized his eight days’ tour of the region.
Late that evening the PM flew to Kilimanjaro region, where he was expected to be the Guest of Honour at the Famous Kili Marathon competition, which was held last Sunday, February 28th in Moshi municipality.

By Irne Bwire, Sikonge-Tabora.