GROWING spices in Pemba Island is pushing forward environmental conservation efforts in the island, as farmers engage in traditional farming method.
The Tourism and Antiquities Officer in the Zanzibar's Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources, Livestock and Fisheries, Mr Khalid Kombo Hamisi noted in the island that the ministry was putting great emphasis on the organic farming.
"The kind of agriculture we advocate for and that many farmers have embraced has huge benefits, some of them being growth of many trees that lead the island get enough rain and hence much needed water," said Mr Hamisi in his office at Pemba town.
Spices grown in Pemba include cloves, vanilla, allspice, black and mango pepper and all are being farmed without any use of chemical fertiliser and even in the process of storage and preservation they do not use chemicals.
Mr Hamisi who was speaking to journalists who were on a field trip organized by Journalists' Environmental Association of Tanzania (JET) and sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) said the objective of the ministry is to see farmers practise the way they used to in the past, ensuring that they conserve the environment of the virgin land.
"We are working hard on this; it is better that we harvest little crop but that has high quality and hence it fetches high prices in the world market. Our spices are of high quality in the world. It is Pemba that has number one grade cloves production. The land we have is little so we must use it wisely to get quality products," Mr Hamisi said.
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Studies have been made several times on the benefits of cloves in Pemba, but also European and Asian nations have engaged in that and found out that they are cure to different diseases.
"Pemba is a virgin land - apart from making business in several farms like those in Mtambwe, we have initiated agritourism that is a form of commercial enterprise that links agricultural production and/or processing with tourism in order to attract visitors onto farms, ranches, or other agricultural business for the purposes of entertaining and/or educating the visitors and generating income for the farms, ranches, or business.
Government has controlled the cloves business that is coordinated by the Zanzibar State Trade Corporation (ZSTC) so that no individuals take advantage by paying little prices to the growers. Since ZSTC took over, prices of spices have been going up. The youth and women participate a lot in spices growing as men are more engaged in fishing activities.
Pemba Island shifts spice farming from subsistence to global markets. Tanzania's Pemba Island has some of the world's most fertile soils. The island - whose name comes from the Arabic, meaning 'the Green Island' also produces fruits, cassava, coconuts, and a range of delicious spices.
