Muheza has been famous for oranges, producing over 90 per cent of the bulk of the 390,000 tonnes of citrus fruits being produced in Tanzania. Oranges have been the pride of the district.
The Tanga Region is estimated to have 900,000 orange trees with 80 per cent being found in Muheza.
Orange production has been increasing in Muheza to 72,000 tonnes enabling farmers to bag between 2-3bn/- every year.
That income cannot, however, be reached in whole due to several reasons, including pests and plant diseases and the Bactrocera invadens an alien invasive fruit fly, a species of tephritid fruit fly that is endemic to Sri Lanka and invaded Africa, thus the name 'invadens'.
It was first detected in Kenya in 2003 and the same year in Tanzania is causing a more dangerous threat to the crop. This pest that has rapidly spread across sub-Saharan Africa and is currently reported from at least 24 countries could cause Tanzania to be quarantined from exporting fruits which would be disastrous to farmers in their zeal to wipe poverty.
The region has in recent years, through the Rural Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (RMSMES) a Value Chain project commonly known as Muunganisho wa Ujasiriamali Vijijini (MUVI), being implemented by Match Maker Associates on behalf of the Small Industries Development Organisation (SIDO) established a regional to initiative control the invasive fly which, according to experts is spreading across the area threatening not only oranges but a wide range of fruits, including wild fruits, and vegetables in the whole region.
