By Benedicto Hosea | Project Leader
In Zeze, like much of rural Tanzania, people are subsistence farmers depending on their crop of maize and cassava for food, and if the harvest is good to sell and buy essentials like school uniform.
But Climate change has lead to a reduction in rainfall in Zeze. The subsistence farmers find it increasingly difficult to grow enough food to feed their families (let alone surplus to pay for things such as medicine and school uniforms). Climate change also leads to problems such as rainfall timing, drought, increase of crop attacking diseases and insects, increased heat and winds speed, all of which are causing poor agricultural production. To maintain food needs, farmers are expanding the farms and mostly are going to virgin land by encroachment and so causing deforestation.
We are delighted to partner with the amazing PlantVillage to help farmers increase their knowledge and capabilities, as importantly, adapt to the changes that they face – to work together for the agricultural innovation and development in Tanzania.
PlantVillage helps farmers through their triple A model (Algorithmic, Agricultural, and Advice) that they developed, to the yield and profitability. Through providing solutions to farmers by leveraging advances in AI, mobile phones, and more, they help farmers improve their knowledge and crops.
Together, we have created a Dream Team of incredible field officers and extension agents. This Dream Team is the operational agricultural experts unit who works directly in the smallholder farmers’ fields. Their roles are to detect, advice, information dissemination and solution delivers to the farmers on the pests and diseases the crops are having. Primarily detection of the crops infections are run by the dream team using technology that enables the expert to know what an issue and provide immediate answers to the farmers.
Our team members include Ashura, January, Pendo, Thadei, Naomi, Joachim, Juliana, Vicent, Happiness, and Robert – all dedicated and motivated agricultural graduates. If you would like to find out more about the people that make up our Dream Team in Tanzania you can do so here
Removing pests can increase yields by well over 100% and so have a huge impact on farmers and their families.
Earlier this month we hosted a webinar with PlantVillage and you can access the recording here.
Thank you for your generosity
Benedicto
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