HOSTING the country’s organic agriculture festival is a step towards achieving the goals of the Zanzibar Development Vision 2050, aiming for a better, sustainable and resilient life for all people.

Zanzibar Second Vice President Hemed Suleiman Abdulla, made this declaration when gracing the 2024 Organic Agriculture Festival at the Dole Agricultural Exhibition Grounds in the Zanzibar West A District.

The festival contributes to sustainable tourism, organic farming, climate resilience, achieving national goals and the sustainable development goals (SDGs), he said, noting that the vision seeks to make Zanzibar a hub for sustainable tourism and organic agriculture.

It is already bearing fruit, with various efforts underway to boost the economy and protect the environment for current and future generations, he stated, describing.

Organic farming as essential in ensuring food security, improving health and protecting the environment. 

This enables the provision of new livelihood sources and enhancing the resilience of agricultural systems against climate change, he said, pointing at government plans in that field, like the production of value-added organic products.

Shamata Shaame Khamis, the Agriculture, Irrigation, Natural Resources and Livestock minister, said that the government is making efforts to encourage farmer’s to move into organic farming, eliminating chemical pesticides, thus protecting the environment and improving consumer health.

Organic Agriculture (T) chairperson Dr Mwatima Abdalla Juma stated that organic agriculture is growing rapidly worldwide, with Zanzibar having developed a strategy for organic farming.

The main challenge in advancing organic farming is adhesion to chemical pesticides, as it ignites ingestion complications, thus the need for efforts to oversee the elimination of chemical pesticides and promoting organic farming, she stated.

Subsidies are vital for organic farming to take root, chiefly in assisting efforts to develop new techniques for improving organic agriculture, she said, seeking approval of the National University of Zanzibar as a center for organic agriculture.

Ikram Ramadhan Soraga, director of the Organic Agriculture Institute of Zanzibar, said the festival was intended to lay the foundation for sustainable development and raise public awareness on organic farming techniques.

The festival provides a platform to connect farmers and secure markets here and abroad, to strengthen agriculture and boost tourism.