(3 minutes read)
Farmers from several regions of Tanzania admit that their incomes have increased significantly in the past couple of years. This is mainly due to the Sh5 billion investment in the agriculture sector by the Agricultural Markets Development Trust (AMDT). The funds were used for building the capacity of farmers, to enable them to understand issues of climate-smart agriculture, good agricultural practices, business skills, and preventing post-harvest losses.
Farmers from several regions of Tanzania admit that their incomes have increased significantly in the past couple of years. This is mainly due to the Sh5 billion investment in the agriculture sector by the Agricultural Markets Development Trust (AMDT). The funds were used for building the capacity of farmers, to enable them to understand issues of climate-smart agriculture, good agricultural practices, business skills, and preventing post-harvest losses.
The project has been implemented in 11 regions including Manyara, Singida, Dodoma, Lindi, Mtwara, Songwe, Ruvuma, Njombe, and Rukwa by AMDT.AMDT was established in 2014 by Denmark, Ireland, Sweden, and Switzerland in collaboration with the Tanzanian government. It is a long-term sector facility with the mandate of developing agricultural market systems to increase incomes and employment opportunities for poor women, men, and young people. This is done through a strong pro-poor focus, applying the Making Markets Work for the Poor (M4P) approach.
A resident of the Njombe Region shares her 10-year experience in sunflower farming, which gave her meager subsistence. Several years later, she became one of the AMDT beneficiaries through the training aimed at empowering farmers. Before the training, she used to produce 24 litres of sunflower oil from 100 kilograms of local seeds. However, after training, sunflower oil production significantly increased to 40 litres using QDP seeds, which transformed her economy.
AMDT chief executive officer Charles Ogutu outlined the funding’s key focus areas as enhancing the investment to facilitate farmers’ access to improved seeds. Other focus areas are addressing the financing challenge in crop production, providing business development services, and improving agriculture practices, including postharvest management. He underscores the importance of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) as a way of consolidating efficacy and deliverability in the country’s agricultural transformation.
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The current global socio-economic context clearly aligns developing and emerging economies as the future pillars for world food security and growth. Without transforming the country’s agricultural economy, one sector at a time, Tanzania will miss out on important opportunities for the nation’s development.
