DAR ES SALAAM, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Thursday ordered authorities in the northwestern region of Kagera to set aside between 70,000 and 100,000 hectares of land for massive cultivation of sunflower and palm oil to end the shortage of edible oil facing the country.

President Hassan made the order when she addressed workers of Kagera sugar factory in Misenyi district in Kagera region.

"Tanzania has been depending on imported edible oil and the country experienced an acute shortage of the commodity during the COVID-19 pandemic when countries producing edible oil closed its borders," she said.

The president said in order to end the shortage of edible oil in the country, there must be plans to engage in massive cultivation of sunflower and palm oil.

She said the Kagera region has huge tracts of arable land but the land was dormant making the region lag behind in its economic performance.

President Hassan said the government has set aside 20 billion Tanzanian shillings (about 8.6 million U.S. dollars) for the development of sunflower and palm oil farms.

Tanzania's annual consumption of edible oil is 650,000 tons but the local production capacity is 290,000 tons annually, according to official statistics. Enditem

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