Dar es Salaam, Feb. 21 -- MBEYA: IN Mbeya Region, cotton farming has been banned among the Southern Highlands due to the threat of the highly destructive red bollworm.

Since the bollworm scare was discovered in the 1940s, there was no new attempt to grow the crop in the regions of Southern Tanzania and the ban has remained intact for over 8 decades.

Its intriguing to see no cotton farms in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania where major cash and food crops are grown. Cotton has been strictly banned in these regions for over 80 years now.

A tiny, but highly destructive pest called the red bollworm that wrecks the havoc. Their presence threatens not only local agriculture but also the entire cotton industry in Tanzania.

For years, the re...