DAR ES SALAAM, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Tanzania's Zanzibar authorities said on Monday they have invested over 230 million Tanzanian shillings (around 0.1 million dollars) in the construction of a terrace to obstruct salty seawater from flowing into Mjananza agricultural valley on Pemba Island.
Saada Mkuya Salum, the Minister of State in the First Vice-President's Office, told the House of Representatives that the project will be financed under the National Environment Management Council's (NEMC) Climate Change Fund.
She made the remarks when she responded to a Representative for Pandani constituency, Omar Fakih Hamad, who wanted to know efforts the government was taking to protect farmers against invasive salty seawater from the Indian Ocean along the eastern Pemba coastal belt.
Salum said the project is scheduled to start this month, adding that the successful execution of the project will enable Mjananza farmers to continue with their farming activities smoothly.
Salum said Zanzibar, like many other parts of the world, has been adversely affected by climate change, which led to disasters like tsunami, hurricanes, floods, droughts and excessive rains.
She said the government is taking various measures to mitigate the effects of climate change, citing mangrove planting and construction of terraces along the coast as some of the initiatives. ■