Due to an increasing demand for the citrus fruit, Immature lemons are flooding Gulu markets in Uganda.
This is happening as the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is providing funding to assist 6,240 small-scale farmers in rural Tanzania who were negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lemons and other fruits are selling extremely well during the pandemic because they, together with other items, boost immunity.
This demand has led to skyrocketing prices. One lemon fruit that used to be sold at Shs200 in Gulu City now goes for Shs1,000 or Shs2,000 depending on the size.
One trader, who has been vending lemons for the past three years, said he sells at least three basins daily, which earns him a minimum profit of Shs75,000.
He said farmers are now harvesting immature lemons because of the high demand from within and the neighboring countries such as Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania.
A local fruits and vegetable farmer told a news outlet that farmers are being forced to harvest immature lemons because the fruit is being stolen from their gardens.
In the mean time, the IFAD grant will help farmers access inputs, provide market linkages and access agricultural and market information to improve their productivity and increase their resilience.
Growth in Tanzania’s agricultural sector was projected to decline from 5 per cent in 2019 to 2 per cent in 2020 due to the recent locust infestation and the pandemic.
The decline in growth has resulted in a number of negative impacts including high cost of inputs and limited access to markets with small-scale farmers bearing the brunt.
Despite the many challenges they encounter, crop cultivation remains the main economic activity for most small-scale farmers in Tanzania.
To help boost their productivity, the grant will distribute 23,650 kilograms of bio-fortified maize seeds, 14,460 kilograms of sunflower seeds and 971,000 seedlings of fruits and vegetables.
In addition, the grant will help safeguard the gains made under the Marketing Infrastructure, Value Addition and Rural Finance Support Programme (MIVARF) – an IFAD supported project that closed in 2020 – by using its existing agro-input distribution system to reach the targeted farmers.
Through its Rural Poor Stimulus Facility (RPSF), IFAD will provide US$ 882,841 as part of its COVID-19 response in Tanzania.
At this time when the COVID-19 crisis threatens to push another 500,000 Tanzanians into poverty, the grant aims to minimise the impact on livelihoods, resilience and food security.
It will target farmers – half of whom will be women and 30 per cent youth, as well as agro-dealers, off-takers and extension officers in Dodoma, Njombe, Simiyu, Singida and Unguja regions.
