The Chinese ambassador to Tanzania, Mr. Lu Youqing, has unveiled a cotton investment plan which aims to construct cotton ginneries in the Shinyanga region of the country.
The Chinese ambassador announced the investment plan during a tour to inspect construction of cotton industries in the region with the Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) secretary general, Mr. Abdulrahman Kinana and Shinyanga Regional Commissioner, Mr. Ally Rufunga, reports Tanzanian newspaper Daily News.
Mr. Lu Youqing said the investment plan includes construction of cotton processing factories in the region with the view of adding value to improve farmers’ earnings and create an estimated 30,000 new jobs.
Mr. Rufunga said that China has shown interest in improving cotton farming by increasing productivity and giving better prices to farmers.
Contracts have been signed with various investors from China to construct seven cotton factories that will include cotton processing factories, textile factories, and factories for packaging materials, he added.
Mr. Rufunga said Chinese investors would also help to increase productivity in the region by introducing new technology as well as seeds from China.
Currently farmers in the region are producing 400 kilograms of cotton per hectare, whereas in China farmers produce 4 tons of cotton by cultivating on the same size of land, and the new technology is expected to help the farmers to grow 1,200 kilograms of cotton per hectare, he added.
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