United Peasants of Tanzania (UPT)
Tanzania: Peasants devise new rural economic development strategies
Key sectors earmarked for realising quick results in the poverty alleviation war include agriculture and poultry farming activities.
A local NGO called United Peasants of Tanzania (UPT) based in MTWARA has bestowed itself the responsibility of spear heading the rural transformation task.
Armed with participatory approaches methodology, UPT operates its activities by deeply involving grass roots who are poverty stricken people and sensitize them to adapt the methodology in project implementation as a catalyst for change on the paths to communities development.
Hence, 58 farmer groups with 423 members all engaged in farming of improved cassava, rice, vegetables, cashew nuts and animal keeping have been formed in various villages aimed at promoting sustainable and environmentally friendly agriculture as well animal keeping.
With a total land area of 16,720 acres suitable for farming in the region, official statistics show that 90 per cent of the farming practices area traditional in nature with scanty or non application of modern agricultural technologies.
For instance, available data indicates that farmers are now able to produce 45 tonnes of raw cassava by average from one hectare alone compared to traditional cassava seeds which produce 25 tonnes from same corresponding area.
UPT has distributed to the farmer groups a total of 70 tons of improved high quality cassava seeds nick named “Kiriroba, Rufiji,” this season.
It is now a region of plenty with lots of cassava chips, lots of rice, lots of vegetables and above all lots of roasted kitchen meat, a random survey carried out recently by this reporter in the municipality has revealed.
Several local herbs have been proved by the NGO to be suitable for controlling pests in the agriculture sector in the region with farmers reportedly applying the pesticide with successes. The pesticide does not kill but simply scares away the pests with the result that they leave the crops unattacked.
Mwajuma who is part of a group of 16 fellow vegetable growers says that she was now in the threshold of defeating poverty as she earns an average income of 400,000/= within a few weeks by selling vegetables to the domestic market.
“Vegetable gardening and chicken keeping seem to be paying handsomely in a very short period of time compared to cashew nut farming which is very strenuous, costly and cumbersome pricing mechanisms tied on the outdated and unpopular warehouse receipting system,” she lamented.
The NGO has initiated the establishment and development of small processing industries for cassava flower and cashew nuts to attain good market prices.
As of late however, there are about 19 small industries in the region all engaging in cashew nut and cassava processing employing a labour force of 500 workers.
And according to Makaburi public empowerment on modern agri farming is actively supported by SwisAid international notably in vegetable and rice production projects.
UPT was established jointly in 2000 by stakeholders including small farmers and livestock keepers aimed at combating income poverty and food insecurity in the households.
Source: ippmedia.com