Tanzania's Seaweed Farmers Bring the Ocean's Bounty to the World

As the sun rises over Pemba island in Tanzania, Shajia and other seaweed farmers head towards the water to harvest their seaweed at low tide.

When Shajia first started farming seaweed in 1995, she did it largely along the shore. In the decades since, conditions have changed.

“Due to the high temperatures caused by climate change, the seaweed was not doing well on the shores,” she explains. “We were forced to go deeper into the ocean.”

The IFAD-supported LDFS project is helping Shajia adapt to the new normal. As well as receiving equipment, she’s learned how to grow seaweed along ropes. This ensures a plentiful harvest that is easier to gather and is protected from the tides.

Processing the precious produce

At midday, the boats return to shore, laden with their glistening produce. The seaweed is then sorted and spread out on drying racks at the local collection centre.

The dried seaweed is then exported for use in medicines and processing into carrageenan, a gelling substance that is used in everything from shampoo to soy milk. With government plans to establish a processing plant on Pemba, farmers will soon be able to move up the value chain and get higher profits for their produce.

Beauty business

Twenty-six-year-old Saumu has been farming seaweed on her underwater plot for two years. After receiving training and equipment through LDFS, she increased her yield to 290 kilos. She uses her earnings to pay for her children’s education and to purchase iron sheeting to build a new home.

Saumu is also part of a collective of young women who produce a rich seaweed skincare oil. While they currently use imported powdered seaweed, they plan to purchase equipment to process Pemba-grown seaweed into powder themselves.

Saumu is a role model for other young women. “We need to take advantage of the opportunities in front of us, like the seaweed farming, which can benefit us and our families.”

For centuries, the islands off the east African coast have been part of a vast oceanic network spanning the Indian Ocean, with sailors following the trade winds all the way to southeast Asia. Today, rural people in the region are sustainably harvesting the ocean’s bounty before it sets out across the world.

Source: allafrica.com

Original Media Source

Share this news

This Year's Most Read News Stories

Tanzania Confirms Outbreak of Marburg Virus Disease

Tanzania Foreign Investment News

Tanzania Confirms Outbreak of Marburg Virus Disease

Dodoma — Tanzania today confirmed an outbreak of Marburg virus disease in the northwestern Kagera region after one case tested positive for the virus following investigations and laboratory analysis of suspected cases of the disease.

President of the Republic of Tanzania, Her Excellency Samia Suluhu Hassan, made the announcement during a press briefing alongside World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in the country’s administrative capital Dodoma.

“Laboratory tests conducted in Kabaile Mobile Laboratory in Kagera and later confirmed in Dar es Salaam identified one patient as being infected with the Marburg virus. Fortunately, the remaining suspected patients tested negative,” the president said. “We have demonstrated in the past our ability to contain a similar outbreak and are determined to do the same this time around.”

A total of 25 suspected cases have been reported as of 20 January 2025, all of whom have tested negative and are currently under close follow-up, the president said. The cases have been reported in Biharamulo and Muleba districts in Kagera.

“We have resolved to reassure the general public in Tanzania and the international community as a whole of our collective determination to address the global health challenges, including the Marburg virus disease,” said H.E President Hassan.

WHO is supporting Tanzanian health authorities to enhance key outbreak control measures including disease surveillance, testing, treatment, infection prevention and control, case management, as well as increasing public awareness among communities to prevent further spread of the virus.

“WHO, working with its partners, is committed to supporting the government of Tanzania to bring the outbreak under control as soon as possible, and to build a healthier, safer, fairer future for all the people of Tanzania,” said Dr Tedros. “Now is a time for collaboration, and commitment, to protecting the health of all people in Tanzania, and the region, from the risks posed by this disease.”

Marburg virus disease is highly virulent and causes haemorrhagic fever. It belongs to the same family as the virus that causes Ebola virus disease. Illness caused by Marburg virus begins abruptly. Patients present with high fever, severe headache and severe malaise. They may develop severe haemorrhagic symptoms within seven days.

“The declaration by the president and the measures being taken by the government are crucial in addressing the threat of this disease at the local and national levels as well as preventing potential cross-border spread,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “Our priority is to support the government to rapidly scale up measures to effectively respond to this outbreak and safeguard the health of the population,”

Tanzania previously reported an outbreak of Marburg in March 2023 – the country’s first – in Kagera region, in which a total of nine cases (eight confirmed and one probable) and six deaths were reported, with a case fatality ratio of 67%.

In the African region, previous outbreaks and sporadic cases have been reported in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, South Africa and Uganda.

Marburg virus is transmitted to people from fruit bats and spreads among humans through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, surfaces and materials. Although several promising candidate medical countermeasures are currently undergoing clinical trials, there is no licensed treatment or vaccine for effective management or prevention of Marburg virus disease. However, early access to treatment and supportive care – rehydration with oral or intravenous fluids – and treatment of specific symptoms, improve survival.

Source: allafrica.com

January 20, 2025