Thursday, July 28, 2022

The lake zone in Tanzania has the potential to contribute significantly to the national economy through the production of crops, livestock, and dairy; however, smallholder farmers in the region continue to face challenges related to agriculture production. To address these challenges, the Cassava Plantation and Agribusiness Foundation (CAPAFO), a local non-government organization (NGO) based in Mwanza, set out to provide critical support, including financial, market, and agricultural extension services, to smallholders in the region.

CAPAFO introduced farmers to sunflower production, which also aligned with the government’s focus on its production to mitigate a cooking oil shortage, as means of increasing their incomes while waiting for their cassava to mature for harvesting. However, due to the lack of experience with sunflower production in the area where CAPAFO operates, many of the farmers lacked the knowledge and skills to cultivate the new crop successfully. Therefore, CAPAFO requested technical assistance from the USAID-funded Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) Access to Finance Program, implemented by IESC, to train their farmers and agronomists on good sunflower agronomic practices.

The F2F program then mobilized U.S. volunteer expert, Gretchen Hopley, from February and March 2020, to provide training on sunflower good agronomic practices to 173 farmers. Then in January and February 2021, Gretchen conducted a subsequent assignment to support CAPAFO, in partnership with local Tanzania volunteer expert, Peter Heri. This second assignment provided tailored, hands-on sunflower production agronomy training and training of trainers (TOTs) to 334 individuals with an emphasis on the adoption and application of agricultural best practices to improve sunflower production and the quality of sunflower seeds produced.

Following this technical support and implementation of volunteer recommendations from the F2F program, sunflower production has significantly increased for many of CAPAFO’s beneficiaries. One such beneficiary is Father Revocatus, a Catholic church priest and director of the Vema Primary School in Nyampande ward, Sengerama district. After attending the training in early 2021, he returned to the primary school’s nine-acre farm and using the new practices, he led the school to harvest approximately a total of 5,740 kg of sunflower seeds with an average of approximately 490 kg per acre. From this harvest, the school was able to process the seeds and obtain 1,602 liters of cooking oil, which they are now able to use to prepare food for 453 pupils at the school, saving them TZS 7,500,000 (USD $3,250) per month. They have also sold the excess cooking oil, generating an additional TZS 1,700,000 (USD $740) in revenue for the school.

Similarly, Ms. Leocadia Kaliwa, a widow and mother of four whoresides in the Kiloleni village, Sengerema district of the Mwanza region, used what she learned from the training provided to improve her sunflower production. With the adoption of the best
practices, she was able to harvest 980 kg on her one-acre plot, earning her TZS 1,260,000 (USD $550). She used that additional income to build a bigger home for her family.

When expressing her gratitude and sharing the impact of her sunflower production, Leocadia noted that “After seeing my success, my neighbors have been motivated to cultivate sunflower.” F2F plans to continue to assist CAPAFO to develop an appropriate business model to help them increase the availability of improved sunflower farming inputs and assess reliable and sustainable markets for smallholder farmers in the area.

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F2F volunteer expert demonstrating good agronomic practices to farmers.
F2F volunteer expert demonstrating good agronomic practices to farmers.
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