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Growing, selling and thriving in Tanzania

Photo: Farm Africa/ Jon Spaull Photo: Farm Africa/ Jon Spaull

Farming isn’t simply about growing crops. It’s also about business. To turn a farm into a profitable enterprise, it’s important that farmers also know how best to harvest, store and market their produce to get the best price. That’s why Farm Africa’s Food Trade project is helping smallholders in Tanzania and Uganda to grow more, sell more and earn more.

John lives in northern Tanzania and has been a farmer his whole life. Despite his years of experience he used to struggle to earn enough from his land to provide for his three children. Like many farmers in the area, he had little knowledge of the best ways to store his harvested crops, so they often spoiled before he could sell them.

He also didn’t know how to sort and process his crops so he could negotiate a good price – leaving him with little money to feed his family and invest in the next growing season. 

Since taking part in Farm Africa training, John has changed the way he runs his farm. He now stores his harvested crops in waterproof sacks instead of on the ground where they can become contaminated. He also sorts his maize so the best quality cobs can be sold for a higher price, and he uses weighing scales to make sure he gets a fair price for his crops. And now he has access to a purpose-built storehouse, he is combining his harvests with those of other farmers so they can sell in bulk when prices are higher.

These changes are really starting to pay off. “The best thing about the project was the education, especially on links to markets and post-harvest handling."

Thanks to the project, we now grow more food and sell more food. Now the children can have a balanced diet. They can have, greens, beans, rice, fruits and meat: they enjoy it. They go to school happily now and they play more than they did before, they are more active.

What's more, with his extra income, John has been able to pay the fees for his eldest son to attend university. His family now live in a more modern house and this year, he's also been able to rent another farm where he can grow more maize and pigeon peas!

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