Tanzania Plant Health And Pestcides Association To Improve Accountability In The Borders
The Acting Director of Tanzania Plant Health and Pesticides Association (TPHPA), Prof. Joseph Ndunguru has told Kagera Regional Administrative Secretary, that he is committed to see accountability improves in all border posts in the region.
TPHPA is to protect and promote agricultural health and provide efficient regulations of pesticides and production of quality marketable agricultural products.
Prof. Nduguru made the statement recently when he met Kagera RAS, Toba Nguvila in Bukoba when he paid him a visit on matters pertaining the association and accountability in collecting levies at borders.
He said that TPHPA will continue making necessary strategies to improve good performance to great to serve the customers.
However, the Regional Administrative Secretary informed him of some challenges that need to be attended to, to make the public enjoy services given by his institution.
Later Prof.Ndunguru toured Missenyi district, Mtukula post bordering Uganda, and in Ngara districts he visited Rusumo post bordering Rwanda and Kabanga and Omurusagamba posts bordering Burundi.
At Rusumo border post, he held talks with TPHPA workers insisting on, among other things, not to allow importation and exportation of unauthorised food commodities and pesticides.
“I am told by our inspectors here, that unscrupulous traders mix two types of food production or unwanted particles to deceive as one type, notably rice. We are going to buy a new and modern machine, Portable DNA Sequencer, powerful in detecting food and plants for food safety to meet this challenge”, said Prof. Ndunguru.
He added that the device will be brought at the Rusumo border soon as a way of strengthening the markets and adding productivity in agriculture as well as income.
Most challenging about pesticides there is the lack of effective control measures, has forced farmers in many countries to rely on pesticides , which are in most cases misused, thus posing a threat of pollution of ecosystems and subsequently decline of productivity of aquatic fauna including fish, which provides a source of protein and nutrition to rural and urban households.
The TPHPA boss was in Kagera Region, Northwest of the country on a working tour to direct and motivate his institution workers to perform for positive results.
By Mutayoba Arbogast
