AGRA

Iringa: Alliance for Green Revolution (AGRA) has commended Tanzania for taking a step forward in the development of agriculture sector which places it ahead of some of its peers across the continent. To move further up, AGRA President Dr Agnes Kalibata said it is paramount for stakeholders to build stronger and more developmental partnerships with small scale farmers across the country in addressing emerging opportunities and challenges. Dr Kalibata said this when an international agriculture stakeholders delegation visited the Iringa regional offices, Tanzania on July 26, 2019. The stakeholders were from Burkina Faso, Mali, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Kenya. The president of the partnership-driven institution and smallholder farmer-centered institution posed that transitioning agriculture to be more productive calls for wide dynamic partnerships, that create great access to local, regional and international markets and ensures smallholder farmers are able to lead a sustainable quality life and improve their fortunes. “There are systems that have worked in Iringa that we need to pick up. Other partners, including local governments as well as the larger private sector, should replicate what is working for the benefit of smallholder farmers,” she noted.

Dr Kalibata noted that for the green revolution to move forward African governments at the national and local levels must step up relations with stakeholders in the sector with interests of the smallholder farmer at the center stage. The international delegation held a conference at the regional offices, where there was a sharing of ideas and experiences and later on visited farms and agribusinesses that are exemplary in the region. AGRA in Tanzania has been supporting the government’s efforts for sustainable agriculture through a consortium model. This is a platform that brings together all partners involved in the agricultural value chain from implementing partners, local government, stakeholders, all the way down to farmers, which brings transparency in linkages to different services and products. She noted the national government plays a big role in enhancing the success and sustainability of such projects while the local governments help to reduce duplication of the same projects by other stakeholders. “Our work is to facilitate but let the local government take lead and adapt it so that there can be sustainability even when the project ends. They have the mandate and ability to reach for much more than we can,” she noted. While welcoming the delegates, acting Iringa Regional Administrative Sectary, Mr Wilfred Myuyu noted that Ihemi-Ludewa Consortium with support from AGRA was doing well in supporting the agriculture sector for the benefit of smallholder farmers. “Despite persistent challenges facing the agricultural sector. I’m proud to inform you that the AGRA Ihemi-Ludewa project has contributed a lot in addressing most challenges related to productivity, post-harvest management and access to inputs and output markets, not only to Iringa but all the way to Njombe and Ruvuma regions,” he said. He said in the current 2018/19 marketing year, they estimate to produce 1,346,393 tonnes of maize,  151,235 tonnes of beans and 104,867 tonnes of paddy, to name a few. Prof Nuhu Hatibu – AGRA Head for Tanzania, Rwanda, and Uganda said the institution drive in Tanzania was to work closely with the government for industrial development as per nation goals and vision to reach middle-income status. We want to see small-scale farmers produce and continue to produce raw materials for industries,” he said. The delegation, led by Agra President is expected to meet the Minister of Agriculture, Hon Japhet Hasunga in Dodoma on Monday

A section of value chain players want the Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) to automate the registration processes on the grounds that the agro dealers find the current system archaic, bureaucratic and laborious.

They also called for establishment of one stop centre where all issues relating to agro dealers whose primary jobs among other things entails increasing access of agricultural inputs to those who need them with minimum or no hassle at all. 
The one stop centre should have all the information needed for one to become an agro dealer, importer or supplier of agriculture chemicals especially fertilizers.

This, they say will reduce time spent clearing agro chemicals like fertilizers whose delay to reach farmers tend to come with costs.

On behalf of the agro dealers, Mr Habib Amin Tibrichu, a consultant for AFAP recommended that it should be embedded in the new fertilizer policy and regulations.

“In the end, the process will increase efficiency in fertilizer distribution, eliminate corruption tendencies, improve accountability, transparency and even make it easy for the Ministry of Agriculture to monitor and regulate those dealing in authorized fertilizers and related agro chemicals,” said Tibrichu said recently in Kampala.

AFAP is the African Fertilizer and Agribusiness Partnership, an International NGO that looks at Soil Health and promotion of fertilizer distribution mechanisms and policies in Africa.

He explained that through his research, agro dealers accused the ministry of agriculture of long registration processes, cumbersome acquisition of licenses, long processes of issuance of import permits in addition to corruption and bribery during inspections.

“The Ministry should copy examples from institutions like UTB and automate its processes such as the application of certificates of operation, registration, checking which fertilizers have been registered or not so that agro dealers are not found with non-registered agro chemicals during inspection,” he said.

The second public private dialogue on the fertilizer sub sector held in Kampala, organized by AFAP, MAAIF with financial support from the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, also noted that further complication, resulting from uncoordinated and unregulated inspections as several people nowadays tend to masquerade as inspectors from the ministry.

The dialogue was aimed at presenting key recommendations to MAAIF for action and come up with specific actions to address concerns raised by agro dealers to improve the quality of agro inputs and its trade.

Wilfred Thembo-Mwesigwa, the AFAP Policy Consultant for Uganda explained that the new fertilizer policy and regulations were formulated and made available for use last year to help streamline the business of agro chemicals especially fertilizer business in Uganda.

But due to absence of a regulatory framework in the fertilizer market, fertilizer trade and use remained underdeveloped, wondering how the government hopes to achieve its mission of transforming the country into a middle income country by 2040.

On average, farmers in Uganda apply only 1kg of fertilizers per hectare. As a result, the commissioner crop inspection, and Certification, Paul Mwambu noted that Uganda losses up to 80 kilogrammes of nutrients per hectare annually.

It emerged in the meeting that at least 50 kilogrammes of fertilizers should be the very minimum applied per hectare.

BEIJING, July 18 (Xinhua) — China’s success in feeding the world’s largest population with its limited farmland is illuminating for African countries’ approach to food security, said attendees to a workshop on China-Africa rice cooperation.

African countries expect innovation based on China’s experience to transform smallholder agriculture into farming as a burgeoning business, said Dr. Kehinde Makinde, country manager for Nigeria of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), at the workshop held in Beijing Wednesday.

Rice is either a staple or alternative food crop in many African countries. However, due to the lack of technology and funding, rice production potential is far from being tapped, leaving many of the countries heavily reliant on import to feed the large population.

Although Mozambique has good natural conditions to grow rice, its domestic output remains limited, said Pedro Dzucula, national director for Agriculture and Silviculture under Mozambique’s Ministry of Agriculture, on the same occasion, adding that the country has imported an average over 365,000 tons of rice annually from Asian rice producers since 2000.

“There is obvious complementarity and potential in China-Africa agricultural cooperation, especially in the rice value chain,” said Zhang Ning, director for the South-South Fund Program of the China International Center for Economic and Technical Exchange (CICETE) under the Ministry of Commerce, also at the workshop.

At the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in 2018, China said it would work with African countries to make plans on agricultural cooperation and assist the continent in achieving general food security by 2030.

Cooperation in the rice industry is key to the China-Africa cooperation, and the development of the rice industry is the foundation of a prosperous and stable Africa, Zhang said.

In a joint initiative reached late June during the first China-Africa Trade Expo in Changsha, Hunan Province, the CICETE, African Union, AGRA and other contributing parties pledged to leverage their comparative advantages to advance China-Africa rice value chain cooperation through bolstering agricultural business, adapting and investing in suitable rice technologies.

The initiative represented a roadmap for future cooperation, Zhang said, adding that an agricultural technology demonstration center started in Mozambique immediately after its release.

Mozambique has a population of 28 million and arable land of 36 million hectares, only around one-tenth of which is cultivated.

Mozambique faces bottlenecks like high-cost machinery, low degree of agro-processing and limited market access of final products, said Dzucula, calling on Chinese businesses, especially those from the private sector, to invest in these sectors.

Noting similar challenges in Nigeria, Matthew Olusegun Owolabi, an official with the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, suggested that Chinese agriculture demonstration centers should play a bigger role in training agricultural machinery mechanics and operators.

The meeting, themed “Tapping into the Potential of China-Africa Rice Cooperation,” was sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Beijing Office, an active advocator for triangular cooperation in advancing development and health agendas in Africa.

It has been a poignant year for AGRA; just 12 years since his rallying cry for a “uniquely African green revolution” led to AGRA’s formation, we lost its founder, Kofi Anan: a blow not just to African agriculture, but to the world. Retiring Chair, Strive Masiyiwa vowed to keep his dream and vision alive and, as he prepares to depart the role he inherited from Kofi Annan, he looks back on a year of impressive results, positive impact and fruitful collaboration.

This year has seen AGRA focus on three key areas: policy and state capacity, to strengthen leadership within the agriculture sector; systems development, to ensure structures are in place to effectively deliver inputs and advice to famers; and partnerships that guarantee value while supporting government priorities. This included AGRA working with regional partners to drive efforts around the continental accountability system. The Africa Agriculture Transformation Scorecard (AATS), as part of the CAADP Biennial Review process, was used to push for evidenced-based policy and development outcomes and the Heads of State dashboard was formally presented at the 2018 Malabo Agriculture Policy and Learning Event as a tool for national level advocacy and communication.

State capability and policy engagement are the best route to getting rid of the red tape that continues to hamper progress at government level. This year AGRA supported governments to develop and launch a number of new initiatives: in Kenya, the Agriculture Sector Transformation and Growth Strategy (ASTGS) to drive sector development over the next decade; in Tanzania, the Agriculture Development Programme (ASDPII) to improve food security and nutrition; and in Ghana, the flagship programme Planting for Food and Jobs to address the declining growth of the country’s agriculture sector. In addition, it carried out in-depth analyses of input subsidies in Mali, Burkina Faso and Kenya to inform future strategy and provided tailored support to Ministries of Agriculture in Kenya, Ghana, Ethiopia and Malawi, while in Ethiopia it supported the government in removing import duties from some agricultural machinery, irrigation equipment and animal feed ingredients.

As part of continuing systems development, AGRA focused on delivering yield-increasing technologies to farmers using consortia: consortia are coalitions of all those operating in a food value chain and deliver results by ensuring inclusive cooperation. By supporting 24 of these consortia in 2018 AGRA delivered services to 8 million farmers through 1,304 SMEs and 1,970 agro-dealers. Other groups helped farmers access better inputs, reach more markets and influence local policy discussions to inform national debate. This is yielding results; in Tanzania where local government pushed to abolish the export ban on cereals and in Burkina Faso where the private sector has been mobilised to market inputs directly to famers.

Partnerships continue to be AGRA’s key route to progress. The past year has seen alliances forged with top agribusinesses, SeedCo and Yara, mechanisation firms such as John Deere, and relationships built with IBM, Rabobank, Nestlé, Africa Improved Foods and Olam, to name just a few. During the year 93 companies and institutions were engaged and 123 partnership opportunities are being pursued, with nearly $10 million raised from the private sector in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania alone, and the Deal Room, a new initiative at 2018’s African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF), matched $2 million in investment to potential investors. As a key founding member of the Partnership for Inclusive Agricultural Transformation in Africa (PIATA), AGRA continues to provide coordinated support to African leaders, while leveraging investments from private institutions. This year the UK Department for International Development (DFID) joined and brings expertise in policy predictability and market systems development. More partnerships were built at AGRF 2018, hosted in Kigali and attended by 2,700 delegates from 79 countries, it was widely praised as the best forum to date by AGRF partners and other participants. All this means AGRA is now the partner of choice for companies looking to scale successful models.

Just two years into its five-year strategy, AGRA has committed $130 million and its interventions have directly reached 2.6 million farmers with a commitment to reach 9 million and another 21 million indirectly. But there is still much to be done; progress as usual is not good enough to make this Africa’s century and the focus must be on finishing the job and delivering the mission. Thanks to AGRA, the institutions and governments it works with now have a significant bank of technologies, knowledge and relationships to help achieve an agricultural transformation in Africa. The emphasis is on impact, progress and partnership, and AGRA is making the grade and a legacy fit to honour the memory of its visionary founder.

Read the full report here 

Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development says trials for area specific fertiliser expected to address nutrient needs in a bid to boost production will start during the 2019/20 growing season.

The trials, expected to run for two years, follow the discovery by the ministry that use of uniform fertilisers nationwide make farmers pay more for nutrients that may not be needed within their areas; hence, the need to change the course.

The ministry is implementing the Strengthening Fertiliser Systems through Promotion of Area Specific Fertiliser Blending in Malawi project alongside The Story Workshop Education Trust (SWET) with financial and technical support from the Alliance from Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).

Speaking during an awareness campaign on the changes at Zombwe Extension Planning Area (EPA) at Ekwendeni in Mzimba, the ministry’s deputy director for land resource survey and evaluation Gilbert Kupunda said they are moving from an old general blanket which, he said, wrongly assumes that all soils in the country have the same deficiencies.

He said the ministry set up a soil mapping steering committee to facilitate the development of area specific fertiliser recommendation nationwide.

Said Kupunda: “We want to devolve the fertiliser that will actually address the needs for that specific area. When you use the bracket fertiliser, you make farmers pay more for nutrients that they don’t need.”

He said farmers have been complaining about the bracket fertilisers, which have increased acidity in the soils, leading to low crop response.

Swet senior production manager Zee Chunga said most farmers complain of low yields; hence, the need to change the course of thinking and doing things in the agriculture sector.

Maize production decreased from 3 464 139 metric tonnes (MT) based on the 2016/17 Third Round Agricultural Production Estimates to 2 697 959MT in the 2017/18 third round estimates.

The affected population will require 138 488 MT of maize relief, according to Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC).

Digitization could change the game for agriculture in Africa. That’s a key message in a report recently released by an international institution that enhances smallholder farming in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.

The center for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) focuses on poverty reduction through modernizing smallholder farming by fostering innovation and knowledge sharing.

Digitization refers to everything from delivering farming advice via text messaging to interactive voice response. It also includes smart phone applications that link farmers to multimedia advisory content, farm inputs, and buyers. And it covers the use of drones and satellite systems to inform farmer activities, such as crops and times to plant; and types and amounts of inputs to use.

Other global organizations have echoed this message. These range from NGOs like Solidaridad Network—a civil society organization that accelerates sustainable and inclusive development—to the World Bank. These organizations believe that digital technologies can create employment for young people in the agricultural sector, promote economic activity, and enhance food security.

For the past two decades, digitization has steadily transformed African farming. In Ghana, for instance, online platforms such as Esoko, Farmerline, and Trotro Tractor have provided farmers with accessible services. These have included voice messages and SMS extension advice. This helps farmers obtain information about how to access markets and extension services..

Elsewhere on the continent, international organizations help provide precision advice to farmers. An example is the CTA’s “Transforming Africa’s agriculture: Eyes in the sky, smart techs on the ground” project that supports the use of drones for agriculture.

The continent’s digital agriculture industry is growing. The number of farmers subscribed to digital services has grown by between 40 percent and 45 percent per year in the last three years.

Annual revenues from digitally supported farming are estimated at about $140 million. Services are provided by a small but growing number of providers—some of which are estimated to generate €90 of revenue per farmer annually, partly through service charges. This trend looks set to continue.

But the success of digitization in agriculture shouldn’t just be evaluated by its economic value. Its benefits must be enjoyed by smallholder farmers and rural populations. Smallholder farmers, most of whom have access to less than two acres of land, produce more than 80% of the food in sub-Saharan Africa.

African smallholder farmers will ultimately determine the continent’s digital farming story. Only through collaborations with them, and among sectors, will the digital transformation become a success in Africa.

Challenges of smallholder farming

Smallholder farmers face daunting political, economic, social, cultural, and institutional barriers. They have limited access to information, markets, capital, land tenure, and even basic inputs like fertilisers and seeds.

Government policies, and the influx of foreign land grabbers in many African countries, only worsen the situation. Ethiopia, Ghana, and South Sudan are among the hot beds for foreign land deals.

Added to these are environmental issues like soil erosion and a changing climate. In recent years, droughts, rising temperatures, and El-Niño events left nearly thirteen million people from Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somalia needing humanitarian assistance.

This makes traditional farming hard for smallholders across the continent, and can undermine their capacity to fully benefit from the digital revolution.

Also, connectivity tends to be limited in rural areas. And, even if farmers can connect, they may not have enough money to access the services.

These concerns limit the production and profits of farmers and undermine rural development. This is where digitization comes in. It has potential to increase access to information and resources to provide solutions.

Elsewhere, digital technologies are already showing promise for rural farmers. The Chinese government partners with private actors like Alibaba to digitize agriculture. From web-portals to Mobile Internet Based Services, rural farmers benefit from access extension advice and capital. This leads to increased productivity and incomes.

Inclusion in digitization

There have been positive strides in ensuring smallholders become involved in digital agriculture. An estimated 33 million people – about 13 percent of all sub-Saharan African smallholders and pastoralists—are already registered for services such as weather updates and market linkages.

Ethiopia’s “80-28” hotline—a farmer advisory service – has about 4 million users, the highest on the continent. Beyond being a free service, its success is partly due to the delivery of services in local languages. Aligning services to local circumstances encourages farmers to subscribe willingly.

Kenya leads the way in digitization in Africa. Collaborations between agriculture and telecommunication has been instrumental in their success so far.

What’s missing

These examples show what is necessary to help smallholders become connected to digital services.

One additional strategy is to blur the boundaries between different sectors. digitization is not just an agricultural issue, or a technological one. It involves many parts of the economy. Hence, digitization must be situated within a broader development and poverty reduction agenda. For instance, education is critical to farmers’ ability to use and benefit from digital technologies.

It is also crucial to place smallholders front and center when designing policies and specific digital products meant to help them. In this way, digital transformation will reflect the users’ needs.

Originally published

The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) joins the family and friends of Bob Collymore, Safaricom CEO, and the people of Kenya in mourning his passing.

Bob, as he was popularly known, understood the meaning of creating wealth at the bottom of the pyramid. Under his leadership, Safaricom pioneered multiple innovations that changed the lives of smallholder farmers by giving them access to finance and digital platforms to enhance market access; both of which are critical gaps in Africa’s agriculture sector.

Speaking at the 2016 African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) in Nairobi, Bob called for a combination of the private sector efficiency and the ability of the public sector to invest in things like infrastructure to achieve the full potential of agriculture. “Partnership will be key in achieving this full potential. And we do not have a choice, we have to achieve the potential of agriculture otherwise we will not be able to feed ourselves,” said Mr. Collymore at the time.

In her tribute to Mr. Collymore, Dr. Agnes Kalibata, AGRA President said: “We are deeply saddened by his passing. This is a big loss not only for Kenya but for the continent and the world. He was a friend of the smallholder farmers whose lives have been transformed by the digital technologies that Safaricom rolled out under his leadership. Our prayers and thoughts are with his wife, children, family, friends, colleagues and the people of Kenya whose lives he touched in many ways.”

“Sometimes it looks unreal. It is like a miracle. Yes, it is a miracle… we never thought in our lifetime, we would be able to have a warehouse as big as this one- yes, and belonging to us- the smallholder farmers!”

It is Mr. Osphard Sinkala, talking, looking at an imposing warehouse, under construction, with (40x12x5) m3 dimensions and ability to store about 450MT of paddy/maize, when completed.

Mr. Sinkala is the chairman of farmers’ organization (FO) known as Sakalilo Amcos, at Sakalilo Village, Sumbawanga District, Rukwa Region. The FO owns the warehouse, which by April 2019 was about 85 percent complete. When ready, it will serve over 2,300 smallholder paddy farmers.

The FO has 116 active members, of which 45 are female.  After the construction of the warehouse, over 500 villagers have applied to join the FO. Their membership will be approved or disapproved in the next general meeting.

At the moment as in the past, villagers with extraordinary good harvests have a huge “storage” problem.

There are times, their houses and home granaries are filled up and they have to store the paddy under mongo trees or makeshift tents, leaving it exposed to waste away, as the pain of farmers.

“Lack of proper storage facilities at times make farmers lose over 50 percent of their produce.  Those storing outside the house sometimes they lose everything,” he notes.

Farmers have been wanting to start using the warehouse, while incomplete and had to be stopped. The prices of paddy at the moment/ April 2019, stands at Tsh 30,000 to Tsh 40,000 per a sack of “7 debe” which can come to about 75kg to 90 Kg.

It’s notable these are illegal measurements in Tanzania, but farmers have no option at the moment.

At the end of the day, the buyers gain unfairly as the farmers struggle to make ends meet. “The warehouse will change all this and ensure farmers get fair prices… then will no longer be in a hurry to sell at throwaway prices,” Mr. Sinkala notes.

The construction of the warehouse started in May 2018, with financial support from Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) through what farmers have code-named “Kilimo Tija” project.

Farmer leaders, local government and central government were all involved in deciding that Sakalilo village, was a suitable site, to put up a center of aggregation in the lower side of Ufipa Plateau. The decision arrived through sieving challenges and opportunities from ward-to-ward and village-to-village in the cluster notes Mr. Japhet Laizer, Associate Program Officer at Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) – SUKA Consortium.

He assures that the construction will be completed soon and farmers will utilize this facility for 2018/19 harvest. The storage facility will enable smallholder farmers to aggregate huge volume of paddy, reducing post-harvest losses, negotiate market terms while reaping better price. “The location is great as Ufipa Plateau has in place irrigation infrastructures for more paddy production, notes Mr. Laizer.

“All the surrounding villages despite having high paddy production, proper storage facilities are very limited. This causes massive post-harvest losses and farmers get lower returns as they have to sell their produce shortly after harvest when prices are very low,” he notes.

According to Mr. Laizer, the implementation of the project was done in the spirit of public-private partnership (P-P-P). Sakalilo Amcos which is owned and managed by smallholder farmers bought a plot of land at a cost of 304 USD, but also contributed sweat capital, collecting stone, sand, laying the foundation which was estimated to cost 3,981 USD and thus making total contribution of 4,285 USD from local communities. where the warehouse has been built.  AGRA support for the project through PiATA TIJA initiatives was 35,000 USD for construction. Famers contributed labor and provision of some materials for construction. The government provided technical support and structural engineering during the exercise.

“After completion, then farmers have plans to bring in processing machines and all this are important so that, they can start getting value for money,” he notes.

Mr. Chrisanti Ilumba, Sakalilo Amcos Marketing Manager, noted that the marketing linkages created by “Kilimo TIJA” project between farmers, and aggregation centers and buyers, was key to uplifting farmers’ living standards and ensure sustainable business relationships between actors in the value chains.

Farmers around the villages have been trained by the project about Good agricultural practices, good post-harvest handling practices, technologies, warehouse management, business skills, contract negotiations and crop aggregation among other things.

Mr. Vianey Rweyendela, AGRA Country Manager, notes that to cut post-harvest losses due to poor or lack of storage facilities for smallholder farmers reliable and accessible warehouses are a must, and where farmers can own and have control, it becomes even much better.

Diverse studies indicate that farmers lose at times up to 40% of their produce after harvest due to poor handling or lack of suitable storage facilities.

Simplified science and technology applications in agriculture are changing smallholder farmers lives for the better in many places across Africa.

They range from ensuring healthy soils, bring to smallholder farmers improved seeds, good husbandry and use of new storage technologies, among others.

According to Dr. George Bigirwa, AGRA Vice President,  such activities along the agriculture value chain are translating previously mundane farms into productive business units, when access to markets and processing are also taken into the book.

Tanzania is one of the nations in the continent with a high rate of new adaptations of new crop varieties, use of fertilizers and other agronomical practices.

According to Mr. Wilson Joel, Regional Agricultural Advisor (RAA) Njombe, this has brought about higher productivity, subsequently, the movement from subsistence farming to commercial farming by smallholder farmers has gained momentum.

The journey to adopting new ways of life in farming practices is sometimes not very smooth despite the apparent benefit, and stringent approval by the government of technologies introduced.

The story of Mama Enesi Ndondole and her husband Mr. Eskia Kaduma, based in Lunguya Village, Mtwango Ward in Njombe Rural, highlights how such struggles are real.

When an opportunity came for free training to enable villagers to improve productivity and increase their incomes, thanks to Kilimo Tija project supported by AGRA, the couple, who have 7 children,  decided to give it a go.

For the lady, there was no turning back, she was convinced if she would farm as per advice by the experts, it would mean increased income and improved living standard for her family.  For over 20 years, they had been farming, without making any substantial inroads in turning their farm activities into a commercial venture. “This was our golden chance.

However, the husband was pessimistic. The “miracle” solutions promised sounded untrue. And after all, he was farming using old age, tested ways of his forefathers. “How can I ditch all the knowledge passed to me by my elders for something new and untested! ”  He decided he was not going to buy any of the tricks of the educated.

There was a huge disagreement at the home. For the sake of peace and sanity, the man took the lead. He divided their family 5-acre farm into two, and gave one side to the wife, to try out her crazy adventure, with new agronomic practices. The wife got 2 acres.

For his good self, the good man would remain with the ways of his fathers. He would plant traditionally as he has known it for years. And at the same time, even if he was produced successful more crops using new varieties, they were not going to be eaten at his home.

“No, I can’t allow an experiment with my family, what if what is produced is not healthy? We can only eat it, after many tests by others to confirm, it not poisonous,” he said. Even after assurance that new maize varieties had been tested and approved by the government, he would hear none of it.

Later on, the husband decided it was actually a waste giving the wife one part of the land to try the new farming methods. The lady of the house had to pay rent to her husband of Tsh 100,000 to be set free to use the land the way she wanted.   He was also mad that at one point, his wife would depend on loans for inputs. “Do you want our house to be sold because of a loan.”

To beat the odds and adopt the new farming technologies, she had to go the extra mile. During the kilimo Tija project training, she joined Isoelo Amcos.

She paid 20 percent to buy new maize variety- Uyole UH615  through Isoelo Amcos. The rest she would repay after harvesting. Samwise, thanks to AGRA connection, a fertilizer company, gave her the input on credit (50%). She was very keen on practicing the best husbandry practices so as to get the best output as trained.    Mama Enesi Ndondole stands proud as she displays her well-grown maize. Its late April 2019. Her portion of land, is all green, with healthy maize. Come June 2019, she expects to harvest over 70 sacks of maize, each 100 kg.

In contrast, her husband’s maize though in the bigger portion of the land it looks emaciated and has little produce.  The good man of the village expects to harvest 10 to 15 bags, as he has been doing for years.

Her husband has realized her wife made the right choice after checking out with other farmers away from his village.  He has accepted defeat, that his yield is low.

Like many smallholder farming households in Tanzania, the majority have more than one adult decision-maker. Often the decision to adopt new methods or not has to be supported by the male head of the family.  Despite gains in gender equality, patriarchy is still a problem.

Research, which undertaken in Ethiopia, Ghana, and Tanzania shows that adoption of agricultural technologies helps “to increase yields and incomes, save time, improve food and nutritional security, and even empower women.”

Farmers and other players along the agriculture value chain are excited by the zeal shown by the government in pushing for an industrialized Tanzania.

“We need more agriculture-based manufacturing industries purchasing from smallholder farmers, and the existing ones should up their production capacity,” notes Mr. Anwary M. Said.

Mr. Said founded Fantashiru Milling, based in Sumbawanga Municipality in 2005.   When he started off, he had 2 milling machines in a single building with the capacity of producing 375 kg of flour per day.

With time he has modernized the settings, has  6 milling machines on 3 different buildings within the same plant, with the capacity of producing 10MT of flour per day. He has loyal customers in Katavi, Mpanda, and Kigoma.

About 300 organized smallholder farmers from Mhiza, Kwasi and Kaengesa in Sumbawanga District, who have been beneficiaries of Kilimo TIJA programme, sell their maize to him.

“The good thing about organized farmers, they bring to us quality maize and we offer them a better price,” says Mr. Said. He has started building a second modern warehouse which will provide enough space for storing his produce. His current warehouse, AGRA at one time assisted him to concrete the floor and compound thus reducing offloading charges by 50 percent. Previously trucks would pack outside making him pay the double price in loading/offloading of produce. Through AGRA TIJA’s help in renovating his compound, he has been able to cut his cost by half, saving more than ten million TZS in a season.  His company has been selling maize flour to business people coming from Congo and Zambia.

Another processor based in Sumbawanga is Mr. Asayile Paulo Msaku famously known as Mr. London. His company goes by the name London Agro Factory.

He says that maize farming, so long as processors like himself are able to produce quality flour and other byproducts, has a bright future.  The market for maize flour in and out of Tanzania is huge and keeps on growing.

He purchases maize directly from about 1500 organized farmers. The Farmers Organisations he is dealing with are beneficiaries of Kilimo Tija Programme.

His journey in maize processing started in 2003. He bought only one milling machine with a capacity of processing 1 MT per day.   It was in 2012, that he formalized the business by registering London Agro Factory Ltd. So far he has 3 processing machines with a capacity of 8 MT per day.

He supplies flour to businesspeople in DRC Congo, Mozambique and eyeing South Sudan.  February 25th, 2019, the company signed a contract to supply 100,000 MT of maize flour to DR Congo. He says this is just the beginning, more is to come.

Ms. Rita Sekilovele notes the future is bright for organized farmers practicing proper agronomy. She owns and manages  Super Seki Investment Co based in Iringa, a milling outfit that buys maize from farmers in Iringa Region, and processes the same for sale as flour (fortified) and related by-products. Thanks to linkages brought about by Kilimo Tija Programme she was able to acquire a loan of Tsh 500,000,000 from NMB Bank to expand the business. She is happy she is able to settle the monthly premiums and projects to fully repay the amount within 3 years.  She sells her processed products to businesspeople in Mtwara, Ifakara, Mlandizi, Dodoma among other areas. She is able to sell about 30TN per week to each of the mentioned areas. She also supplies flour to a number of schools within Iringa.

For Nelson Isaac- he decided to take a road that is less traveled in Tanzania.  While many business people like to deal with maize, he chose to become a rice processor.  At first, he used to buy paddy during high season and sell in low season. He then bought two small paddy processing machines. Since then, there has been no turning back. The young entrepreneur, just 32 years old buys paddy and sells rice.  His current processing capacity is 500MT. He purchases paddy directly from FOs working with Kilimo Tija programme such as Tujiinue SACCOS, Vuma AMCOs, Tushikamane AMCOS, Muze Amcos, Nzovwe Amcos, Mbulu Saccos, Sakalilo Amcos, Sakalilo Umwagiliaji, Azimio Amcos, and Nyombe Amcos.

In total, Nelson provides a market for 1300 farmers from different FOs. For the coming harvest, the company has a contract to buy  200MT of paddy with Sakalilo Amcos. He sells his rice to business people at Tunduma International market, Zambia and Kasumbaresa (D.R.C )

The named processors, each in his or her way are among the business people who see industrialization in the face of agriculture development.

According to Mr. Vianey Rweyendela, AGRA Country Manager, the fastest road to industrialization in Tanzania with an economic impact on the majority populace, is through agro-processing and related ventures.

Thus AGRA’s support to kilimo in Tanzania is complementing government’s efforts in the drive to make the nation reach middle-income economy by 2025 based on industrialization.

There are notable processing firms which have been working closely with AGRA supported Kilimo Tija programme across Tanzania.

“You cannot talk of agribusiness and leave out manufacturing in Tanzania’s setting,” Mr. Vianey.

Dr. Donald Mmari, REPOA  Executive Director is emphatic that “Tanzanian economy is agrarian.”  He says that by improving agriculture production and raising productivity,  it will automatically attract different forward and backward linkages. One of the most important linkages is agro-based manufacturing.