The Faidika Farmer’s group in Kanani Village used to sell their potato harvest individually incurring high costs and feeling weak when negotiating with buyers. Today, they are organized, stronger and skilled. The Kanani Village group is one of the 103 groups who are involved in FFD’s project supporting Njombe Agricultural Development Organization (NADO) in Njombe Region, Tanzania. FFD with the expertise of ProAgria- Oulu supported 2080 potato farmers to increase yields and income in 2018.
The project follows a holistic approach built around increasing potato quality with interventions along the value chain. Farmers’ harvests have increased from 10MT/ha to 19MT/ha.
The recipe?
The combination of improved seeds and training in Good Agricultural Practices. Additionally, post-harvest losses have reduced due to improved storage techniques and storage infrastructures. Proper potato grading, collective marketing and networking strategies provided farmers with higher potato quality, regular buyers, more revenue and lower costs. Income has increased 68% from 1,250,000 TSHs/acre to 1,840,000 TSHs/acre.
“After harvesting, we find a buyer together and collect our potatoes in the centres. Our cost of transportation has reduced because we share costs. Everyone contributes 10,000 TSHs. When we used to sell individually each farmer paid 200,000 TSHs alone. Also, profit has increased because we sell potatoes directly to buyers at a price of 5000TSHs/TIN. We have more profit than when selling to middlemen at a price of 4000 TSHs/ TIN”- explains the chairman
Improving rural livelihoods of small-holders means supporting women. During 2018, women made up 55% of direct beneficiaries and have earned their place as respected group leaders by outperforming groups lead by men.
Nevertheless, the situation is far from optimal. Smallholders lack economic resources, creating a pervasive loop: the inability to make investments keeps farmers in poverty.
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