"With the best method of picking cloves, we can maintain its quality and standard," Dr Shein said in Pemba island where he officiated at a clove farming exhibition and ceremony to launch the Zanzibar Cloves Fund (ZCF).
At the exhibition, Dr Shein witnessed different stages of cloves growth and processing, which includes identification of preferable soil for nursery for better seedlings, planting, harvesting and better drying method.
He said it was high time local experts came up with the best picking method with a view to maintaining the quality of cloves, including harvesting, because traditional methods of picking the produce were proving cumbersome for young people.
"It is a fact that many people cannot even weave or entwine small baskets from coconut leaves. The practice has been falling into disuse, so it is important to find alternative ways which may be more convenient to the pickers," Dr Shein advised.
However, Mr Badru Kombo Mwamvura from the Department of Forestry and Non-renewable Resources said for quality cloves, the use of baskets made of fresh coconut leaves was still the best method, because the moisture contained in the basket protected the fresh cloves longer from withering fast.
He said the sorting of cloves was better when the produce was still fresh than when it had withered, adding that it was advisable to use other bags such as sacks, to store fresh cloves.
Zanzibar State Trading Corporation (ZSTC) Managing Director, Ms Mwanahija Almasi Ali, said at the event that the quality of cloves from Zanzibar still ranked high in the world market, and "Global Trade Leaders Club of Spain has awarded us a certificate in recognition of the good work in handling cloves."
She said the newly launched clove fund was intended to support farmers by providing them with loans, facilities, and education/skills on how to maintain quality cloves.
/Daily News.
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