Postcard from Tanzania: Sowing the seeds of knowledge

13 June 2013

Photo: Hadija Maulid with stems from her sesame harvest

At Farm Africa we’ve known for a long time that one of the best ways for farmers to learn is by sharing their ideas and innovations – as well as their struggles.

We do this in two ways - either by taking farmers on an exchange visit or by bringing them together to demonstrate their innovations to one another.

This approach is an important part of our sesame marketing project in Babati, Tanzania, where last month we organized a Farmer Field Day in Matufa village. 94 farmers from villages across the area took part.

Best farmer rewards

Hadija Maulid, a sesame farmer, had been identified as the best seed multiplication farmer, who provides foundation seeds to other farmers. She was rewarded with a hand hoe and spraying pump. Her farm was used as a demonstration.

“Hadija is a good example for other sesame farmers in the area to copy. She follows all the agricultural practices from her training, so her farm is ideal for all growers to see” said Farm Africa crops officer Tumaini Elibariki.

Hadija said she has no notes to refer to as she has never been to school: “I don’t know how to read and write. In the training I carefully follow and store the lectures in my brain. That’s why I’ve managed to do what you see here now.”

Expert advice

Manyara Regional Commissioner Erasto Mbwilo spoke at the event and stressed the importance of farmers observing expert advice on sesame farming as a way of addressing food shortages in Babati and the surrounding region.

“I urge farmers to work closely with experts,” he said. “It is better for cultivation to be based on expert advice, so that the energy and time we employ in farming will be fruitful in the end.”

The farmers have learnt the correct time to plant and harvest, while Farm Africa also teaches them post-harvest skills so they can store their crops until the price is right. Sesame farmers have also set up a cooperative so they can sell collectively.

“It’s good for farmers to join the cooperative so that they have a common voice and collective market. It gives you the power to bargain and sell your sesame at good prices through the warehouse receipt system, and do away with the problem of middlemen who are benefiting from farmers’ struggles” said Mr Mbwilo. 

More about our sesame marketing project

More about our work in Tanzania