OUR MISSION
Our mission is to enrich farmers by offering them the best value for money on seeds. We guarantee high yields and affordable prices. Our banana plants are derived from modern biotechnology that ensures resilience and high yields. Our state-of-the-art laboratory is on par with the best in the world, as are our seeds. There is no one in Tanzania offering our level of quality.
Furthermore, we offer training services, either in person, or remotely via WhatsApp, to ensure our farmers succeed in raising their seedlings from delicate plants into hulking banana trees with massive banana bunches. With our seedlings and proper handling, anyone with land can become a successful farmer.
Tissue culture is a highly scientific practice of controlling the light, temperature and nutrients of completely natural seeds. Tissue culture is a process during which copies of a plant’s growing point (meristem) are produced on a sterile culture medium. The shoots are regularly subdivided and kept under sterile controlled conditions. This means that we do not change the origins of the plant, thus: tissue culture is not genetic modification (non-GMO). With our various protocols, we are able to propagate many species.
The development of Maua Mazuri seedlings begins with our selection of the best banana meristems from qualified suppliers like IITA at the Nelson Mandela Institute in Arusha, or the Leuven University in Belgium, the world’s largest banana gene bank. We let our small healthy plantlets be propagated at the newly built laboratory. After ± 6 months the plantlets are ready to leave the laboratory for hardening. Upon request we bring rooted and weaned plantlets to our nursery at Mbosho, where they will be semi-hardened in our greenhouse and get used to natural living conditions. Then, when they are hardened, we control them one last time and prepare them for shipping to your farm in the best conditions.
The whole process takes around 9-10 months. So, although it is a shorter time than conventional methods, if you want to order your own variety of banana seedlings in larger numbers, you need to take into account the lead time.
The Laboratory
We offer high quality seedlings from our state-of-the-art laboratory in Moshi, Kilimanjaro.
We established a brand new 400m² facility, where our highly skilled operators propagate banana plantlets under strict scientific conditions of hygiene, temperature, humidity and light. We have a production capacity of 2 million plants per year and regardless of weather conditions, we can produce and deliver plants on agreed timelines.
Tissue culture is an advanced method for generating new planting material based on original “best in class” meristems, a technique proven in many countries around the world, leading to the virus and disease-free banana seedlings, our priority.
This non-GMO technique is an effective and efficient technique to shorten the propagation time, as a result of which huge numbers of quality plants can be produced in a relatively short time. Furthermore, the uniformity and predictability of tissue pculture banana harvests lay the groundwork for Tanzania to turn into a worldwide exporter of bananas.
The Nurseries
Picture a wonderful farm on the slopes of the Kilimanjaro, at Mbosho, where dedicated and trained people from nearby villages help us in the final stage of our process. They raise, grow, graft, transplant, harden off, package and care for small seedlings.
Our nursery at Mbosho is a very specialized tree & plant nursery, where a wide variety of high-quality plantlets and seedlings are grown and hardened for commercial purposes.
We can service vast numbers to NGOs, cooperatives of small farmers, new farmers and commercial growers alike. We greatly benefit from experience and the preferred partnership with the leading Dutch seed company, Rijk Zwaan.
Today, the facilities have increased extensively and we can offer a wide variety of small plantlets from papaya to vegetables, fruit trees like banana, mango, avocado or passion seedlings. And soon, we will have national coverage to be even more close to you and your farm. We are in the process of establishing nurseries and delivery points in Mulea, Bukoba, Mbeya, Mivumoni and Karagwe
Your Investment is in good hands
Purchasing our tissue culture plantlets and seedlings is a good investment; as they are disease-free bananas, harvest 25% faster and yield with 50% more bananas per bunch. Thus, per acre, our farmers earn more money. In proper conditions, it is possible to 5X an investment over 30 months. We offer the inputs and guidance needed for you to make your farm work for you.
There are so many good reasons to buy tissue culture raised banana plants from us:
01. We select the best and strongest banana meristem.
02. Our plantlets remain true to the type of the mother plant and don’t vary.
03. The well-developed root system absorbs nutrients better.
04. We propagate proven infection-free planting material (pest free, disease free and virus free).
05. We guarantee uniform growth of all the plants.
06. Farmers succeed in achieving earlier harvesting periods.
07. Because of shorter crop duration, 2 ratoons are possible (reducing cost and increasing profits).
08. 98% of plants bear bunches.
09. We provide agricultural advice from our expert banana farmers.
10. We leverage our networks to help assist with the sale of your harvests as well.
Traditional (suckers) |
Tissue Culture plants |
| Mixed varieties | True to type |
| High probability of infection | Disease free |
| Availability: in season | Availability: anytime, any quantity |
| 1st month: slow growth of leaves | 1st month: fast growth of roots |
| 3rd month: 16 leaves, new leaves 25% bigger | 3rd month: 18 leaves, new leaves 45% bigger |
| Flower emergence: 8-9 months | Flower emergence: 6-7 months |
| Harvest: 12th month | Harvest: 10th month |
| Number of harvest: 5-7 times (harvesting period 3 months) | Number of harvest: 2-3 times (harvesting within a month) |
| Last harvest: 16-17th month | Last harvest: 11th month |
| Bunch: 20 Kg. Finger 150 gram | Bunch: 30-35 Kg. Finger 150 gram (depending on variety) |
| Yield per acre: 1210 x 100 x 77 = 932 bunches | Yield per acre: 1210 x 100 x 98 = 1,185 bunches |
| Total yield per acre: 932 bunches x 20 Kgs. = 23,500 Kgs. | Total yield per acre: 1,185 bunches x 35 Kgs. = 41,475 Kgs. |
| Net Profit: average to less | Net Profit: VERY HIGH |
We help Tanzanian farmers
Tissue Culture is very much needed in Tanzania. That’s the reason why we are endorsed by so many official institutes. In Tanzania, banana consumption is among the highest in the world. They provide 10% of the calorie intake of more than 70 million people. But the banana situation is pressing; in coming 3 years, virus and wilt will cross borders and devastate banana estates and smallholder farms all over the country. Diseases spread more quickly, now that Africa is opening up.
We believe that there is a tremendous opportunity for Tanzania to lead the world in banana production and export. We have invested in the best seed development for farmers in the world’s most ideal banana planting conditions. We know farming is a dynamic process, which is why we provide remote support to our farmers from expert agronomists. We also offer special soil and plant analysis services and a hygiene & disease control program. Sometimes it is best to learn in person, which is why we also offer trainings on how to improve your farming methods based on Good Agriculture Practices (GAP) – you are welcome to visit our nursery and demo farm to see for yourself our amazing results with tissue culture seedlings.