Growing sesame in Tanzania
Aziza now earns enough to feed her family.
Aziza Hussein Hamisi is a 35-year-old widow who lives in Gijedabum village in northern Tanzania. As a single mother, she has to provide for her children on her own.
Despite very difficult circumstances, Aziza is resourceful and ambitious, and already looks after two acres of land where she grows maize, pigeon peas, sorghum and sunflowers. However, her last three harvests have been disappointing, as she couldn’t access good-quality seeds and wasn’t aware of the farming techniques that would give her crops the best chance of flourishing.
Seeking a solution
Aziza took this frustrating situation into her own hands and joined the Mwongozo Group, set up by Farm Africa. She wanted to diversify her income, and make sure she had enough money to send all of her children to school.
The group welcomed her entrepreneurial attitude, and together with many other famers across the country, she has been learning new techniques to help her grow and harvest more sesame. After planting her seeds in December last year, she will be expecting to harvest her first sesame right about now, and is already planning what to do with the profit she’ll make at the market.
Aziza has worked hard to develop her farming skills, earn more money and, in turn, transform her family’s lives. In the near future she will be renting more land, and taking on her new role as a businesswoman, rather than a subsistence farmer.
