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Michael Mgongolwa, a resident of Ndolela village in rural Iringa, dreamed of transitioning from a subsistence farmer to a  businessman, but wasn’t aware of any entrepreneurship opportunities in his community. Fortunately, he was introduced to the Feed the Future Tanzania Advancing Youth activity and enrolled in entrepreneurship training. He was able to develop a market survey plan to help him identify business opportunities he could engage in. “With readily available electricity in the area, I realized that many construction projects were taking place. This informed my decision to establish an electrical hardware store that would provide merchandise used in construction. I have built a good network with construction builders in the area who order materials in bulk from my store” says Michael.

In Tanzania, conflicts between pastoralists and crop farmers frequently occur, although most go unreported. Land-related conflicts often lead to unsustainable exploitation of natural resources, destruction of farms, crops, and houses, theft of livestock, and even loss of life. One of the worst conflicts between pastoralists and farmers occurred in December 2000 in Morogoro Region when 38 people were killed. Women and children often suffer most when conflicts occur. Tanzania’s ability to attain sustainable development goals like poverty reduction, gender equality, and climate action are compromised when conflicts develop over land resources. Furthermore, in communities with land conflicts, households dependent on subsistence agriculture are pushed towards more unsustainable activities such as charcoal production and short-cycle crop practices which can degrade soil and water resources. Worsening stresses brought on by floods, droughts, and population growth further reduces the resilience of communities and households.