Cassava is the staple food for the poor Tanzanians
and has become the food which helps to cater when famine breaks out, for being
among the draught resistant crops in the country. In view of this, Tanzania won
the Best Government Emerging Technologies Award at the climax of the world
Government Summit Awards held in Dubai on Tuesday. Tanzanian Ambassador to the
United Arab Emirates, Mr Mbarouk Nassor Mbarouk received the award on behalf of
the government from the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential
Affairs,His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
According to a media
statement issued yesterday in Dar es Salaam by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
and East African Cooperation, the award comes following Dar’s success at
controlling cassava creek disease and cassava mosaic disease through the
Mikocheni Agricultural Research Institute. The statement noted that the country
managed to contain such diseases attacking cassava through an application of
modern equipment scientifically known as Cassava DNA Sequencer. By using this
contemporary equipment (Cassava DNA Sequencer) the experts are able to discover
a range of diseases attacking cassava which are caused by bacteria, virus and
pathogens within two days. Earlier technology which was also expensive could
take experts a couple of months to detect such problems. Cassava is a root
vegetable widely consumed in developing countries. It provides some important
nutrients and resistant starch, which may have health benefits. It is estimated
that about 800 million people in the world depend on the crop.
No comments:
Post a Comment