ITC and WFP partner to fund smallholder farmers in Tanzania

 Smallholder farmers produce most of the world’s food, but they form the majority of people living in poverty and often have food security challenges themselves   The initiatives with KCB Bank Rwanda Limited and CRDB Bank PLC in Tanzania are part of the Farm to Market Alliance, a multi-stakeholder platform established in 2016, of which IFC and WFP are global members, to create agriculture value chains that secure sizeable local and international demand for produce.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 19th July 2017

Tanzania: Plans Complete for First Agricultural Park in Tanzania

 PLANS are underway to set up the country's first Agricultural Park at Kimamba in Kilosa District that will provide farmers with land and irrigation infrastructure in the area to improve productivity for food security and economic growth.   The Agricultural Park is an area set aside largely for agricultural activities to encourage continuation of such operations, in which farmers can rent farms for a long term tenure at reasonable cost.   The lessees are engaged in.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 19th July 2017

Tanzania: Seaweed Trade Booms Amid Concern About Falling Prices

 Seaweed farming is gathering momentum in Mtwara, thanks to its comparative economic advantages. However, not all farmers have benefited from the booming business for various reasons.   In a recent visit by the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) Tanzania, a villager of Imekua, Ms Asha Bakari, 35, told The Citizen that she grew up cultivating this crop with her family and to a considerable extent it enabled their family to earn a living and maintain themselves.   WWF.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 19th July 2017

Tanzania: Institute in Fresh Push for Cassava

 Kilosa. Experts from the Agricultural Research Institute (ARI)-Ilonga have advised leaders at all levels to encourage farmers to cultivate cassava, which is a drought resistant crop with a reliable market.   Speaking during an exhibition of various crops researched at ARI in Kilosa, the Eastern Zone director of research and development in the ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Dr Geoffrey Mkamilo, said it was the duty of leaders, including district.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 19th July 2017

World Food Prize Winner Says African Agriculture Is the Key to World Food Security

 The son of a Nigerian farm laborer who rose out of poverty to earn graduate degrees in agricultural economics and spent his career improving the availability of seed, fertilizer and financing for African farmers is the winner of this year’s World Food Prize announced Monday.   Akinwumi Adesina, president of African Development Bank, says the future of global food security relies on making farming in Africa a profitable business and developing local food processing.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 19th July 2017

A farmer's journey from subsistence to success

 In the small village of Ruponda in southern Tanzania’s Lindi Region, Joyce Mtauka has become something of a legend.   As a “trainer of trainers” for the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF), the Anglican Church of Canada’s relief and development agency, her work to educate farmers on better agricultural practices has made her an important local figure. As a farmer who has been able to transition from subsistence farming to.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 19th July 2017

Maize shortage to end in one month, expect surplus — Bett

 Agriculture CS Willy Bett yesterday assured Kenyans that the maize shortage in the local market will be a thing of the past by the end of August.   Bett said there will be a surplus of maize following imports from the East African Community — mainly Tanzania and Uganda.   “We’ve consistently imported maize from global market segments to contain the acute shortage of the commodity, following the effects of prolonged drought. Equally, farmers from.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 19th July 2017

ACGG to boost food security via rural farming

 The African Chicken Genetic Gain (ACGG) has said it is set to enhance food security through rural farming.   The Project Leader, ACGG, Prof. Funso Sonaiya, said this would be achieved through the transformation of smallholder chicken production into commercially viable enterprise with private sector engagement that could empower rural women, increase income and nutrition of their families.   He said this would be achieved through a transformational, comprehensive.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 19th July 2017

Tanzania: Love Letters to Tanzania - Beans or Beef for Dinner Tonight?

 Hearing young people thoughtfully articulate their visions for a better future is a wonderfully uplifting aspect of teaching. Recently, I had the pleasure of assessing students' persuasive speaking skills as they presented on a range of environmental issues.   When a student began to speak in favour of vegetarianism, her words fell on fertile ground and ruined my dinner plans - partially because she is a gifted orator, and partially because my self-image as an.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 19th July 2017

IITA reaffirms its commitment to transforming Africa’s agriculture as it marks its 50th Anniversary

 The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) has vowed to redouble its efforts to transform Africa’s agriculture. This was expressed by IITA Director for Eastern Africa Dr Victor Manyong at a ceremony organized at the Institute’s Eastern Africa hub offices in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, recently to mark its 50th anniversary.   Dr Manyong assured guests at the event who included partners, beneficiaries, and staff from the three East African countries.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 19th July 2017

Tanzania to exterminate quelea birds to save rice

  Tanzania plans to conduct an aerial bird control operation at Ndung'u Irrigation Scheme in the country's northern district of Same in an effort to wipe out quelea birds in the area.   Rosemary Sitaki, Same District Commissioner, said that the aircraft has been leased from the Desert Locust Control Organization for East Africa (DLCO-EA).   The aircraft will be used to spray the birds' roosters and feeding grounds with an avicide.   The official said that so.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 19th July 2017

Tanzanian start-up turns urban waste into 'plastic lumber'

 A young Tanzanian entrepreneur is turning the country’s mounting plastic waste into "lumber" to help meet demand for housing in its growing cities, in an effort to reduce depletion of forests.   Christian Mwijage decided he could tackle those problems in one go - by turning discarded plastic bottles into building materials that can be used instead of wood.   His year-old company, EcoAct Tanzania, has transformed nearly 1 million kilograms (3.27 mln.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 19th July 2017