Lack of reliable market and low prices for seaweed in Zanzibar is cause for concern to farmers putting in a dilemma on whether to continue with the business or not.
A seaweed collector at work in Zanzibar
Seaweed farmers in Tumbe coastal village, Michweni District on Pemba Island have been the latest to complain that they have stockpiles of seaweed in their houses which are not selling.
“The price has been going down, last year it was 400/- now it is only 300/- per kilogramme, and our biggest buyer has not turned up to buy the product for three months now.
This is an economical burden to most of us,” said Mr Abdallah Hajji Juma, a farmer. He said most farmers in the village have piles of dry seaweed, appealing to the government to find a solution to the problem.
Ms Raya Salim Ali, a seaweed farmer said that the cost of living has been on the rise in the past three months as they struggle to woo companies to resume buying the seaweeds.
Mr Hamial Soud, an official from the seaweed cooperation, said that his company halted buying seaweed from farmers three months ago because of little demand in the international market.
“We also have a huge stock in our stores, but we expect to resume buying from farmers in the coming few weeks, because we are hoping to export soon,” said Mr Soud appealing to farmers to be patient.
According to the Department of Marine Resources, seaweed business in the Isles employs more than 20,000 “farmers” most of them women, and seaweed was one of the island’s biggest exports, after spices.
But seaweed production has been falling in recent years, from 14,040 tonnes five years ago to just under 10,800 tonnes last year. The seaweed from Zanzibar is exported to the United States, France, Denmark, Spain, China and Chile.
Experts have linked the fall to discouraging low prices of the seaweed, warmer water and turbulent conditions on the seabed because of more extreme weather since the majority of farms are in shallow waters.
By ISSA YUSSUF, Tanzania Daily News
