STORY: Tanzania's Zanzibar farmers embrace harvest with Chinese-introduced rice variety
SHOOTING TIME: July 31, 2024
DATELINE: Aug. 3, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:53
LOCATION: ZANZIBAR, Tanzania
CATEGORY: TECHNOLOGY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of rice fields
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Swahili): ALI ABDALLAH JAKU, Local rice farmer
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): LIU ZAOCHANG, Researcher from the Shanghai Agrobiological Gene Center
4. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): SALUM FAKI HAMAD, Researcher with Zanzibar Agricultural Research Institute

STORYLINE:

More than 300 rice farmers in Tanzania's Zanzibar are embracing a bumper harvest following the introduction of a water-saving and drought-resistant rice variety from China.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Swahili): ALI ABDALLAH JAKU, Local rice farmer
"They brought these seeds here for trials, and they planted on smaller space at first, but we have seen the harvest was so huge.
I believe when they start to distribute them, the variety will be a game changer to us and improve our income."

The Chinese rice variety, the WDR73, which uses a minimum amount of water and tolerates drought, was introduced in Zanzibar in March 2024 by the Shanghai Agrobiological Gene Center. 

SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): LIU ZAOCHANG, Researcher from the Shanghai Agrobiological Gene Center
"One of its main features is that its growth period is 10 to 20 days earlier than the local ones. The second is that our seed setting rate of this variety is also very high. The seed setting rate is above 90 percent, and its potential role is very high.
From the perspective of the cooperation between China and Tanzania in agriculture, especially in rice cultivation, I think it is very promising."

A local agricultural expert hoped that the Chinese-introduced variety could play a huge role in the development of local varieties by breeding with the new genetic resource.

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): SALUM FAKI HAMAD, Researcher with Zanzibar Agricultural Research Institute
"Up to now, we are convinced this variety is good. 
We value the collaboration, because they bring us this variety, so we get new genetic resources. We cannot end here. We can also use this variety to improve our local variety.
We are now exchanging our staff. Our scientists get the opportunity to go to China to learn new technologies and also we see people from China they come here and see how we are performing, so we are getting to exchange ideas and knowledge. And so that we are improving our capacity."

Rice is the main staple food in Zanzibar.

The number of farmers using the new variety is expected to rise to 6,000 in the next farming season.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Zanzibar, Tanzania.
(XHTV)