Njombe — THE Ministry of Agriculture has launched soil testing trials to address soil acidity in Njombe, Iringa, and Katavi Regions.
A statement issued by the ministry on Thursday stated that the initiative targets smallholder farmers to provide them with knowledge on mitigating the effects of soil acidity, including training on the use of organic mineral fertilizers and agricultural lime to reduce acidity levels in their farms.
Moreover, the ministry stated that a team of experts from the Department of Agricultural Land Use Management and Planning has conducted soil sampling and pH testing on farms belonging to 22,000 farmers across the three regions.
According to the ministry, the three-year exercise, beginning in the 2025/2026 period, is being implemented under the Tanzania Food Systems Resilience Program (TFSRP) to fulfill Disbursement Linked Indicator (DLI) 7.2, which focuses on fertilizer and soil amendment trials aimed at reducing soil acidity.
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"The experts have also provided training to some of the farmers in the regions and agreed to set aside demonstration plots that will be managed jointly by the farmers and the Ministry. The Ministry will supply agricultural inputs, including seeds, fertilizers, and lime, to ensure these plots serve as training grounds for other farmers," the ministry stated.
For his part, the Director of the Department of Agricultural Land Use Planning, Engineer Juma Mdeke, stated that the trials are being conducted after farmers received special training on the impact of soil acidity on agricultural land and ways to mitigate its effects to improve crop productivity.
He further said that the Southern Highlands zone, Njombe, Iringa, and Katavi Region, particularly in some districts, has been severely affected by soil acidity, which calls for the exercise.
"Our exercise is strategic to reduce this problem, and we will guide our farmers on using fertilizers as a remedy to completely eradicate acidity so they can benefit from improved crop yields," he said.
