Kilimo Endelevu Arusha: Actions in 2023!
Paysage de la région d'Arusha en Tanzanie

Kilimo Endelevu Arusha: Actions in 2023!

In 2023, the Kilimo Endelevu Arusha project enabled action to be taken on the various links in the region’s food system.

Sustainable management of productive resources

Firstly, the partners worked on the sustainable management of productive resources through the dissemination of soil management practices to halt erosion and improve soil water conservation. Technical referents were chosen from among the farmer groups to receive training and equipment (levels, ropes, etc.). They are then responsible for identifying and helping other group members who wish to carry out erosion control measures on their plots. Several reforestation campaigns have also been carried out in schools and around large erosion ditches to stabilize the land.

In the 10 intervention villages, groups of farmers received training in new cultivation techniques (sowing in stacks, crop associations, etc.) on demonstration plots made available to each group by the farmers or village chiefs.

The project also supported farmers in diversifying their production, by integrating market gardening, arboriculture and livestock breeding. To promote the breeding of chickens, pigs and small ruminants, buildings have been set up on the premises of volunteer farmers. These are demonstration areas for the benefit of all group members.

These agro-ecological intensification support activities have been developed on the basis of baskets of options chosen by farmers in each village, according to the challenges they face.

Farmers were trained in improved storage techniques for maize and beans. The use of watertight containers and bags prevents the development of harmful insects and does not require the application of pesticides. Storage tests have been set up to enable farmers to compare the performance of these techniques.

Activities to support the marketing of produce (fruit and vegetables) have been initiated with farmers through the implementation of participatory guarantee systems, which enable local produce to be certified on the basis of the active participation of stakeholders in a network of trust and knowledge-sharing. In this way, the project partners aim to shorten marketing channels, bringing farmers closer to promising outlets. The farmers were put in contact with fruit and vegetable sellers from various outlets in the city of Arusha. They also took part in a farmers’ market in Arusha.

Awareness campaigns

In 2023, actions to raise awareness of healthy eating were also deployed: with restaurateurs and fruit and vegetable vendors, through local media, or by directly targeting end consumers. A poster campaign was carried out with Terre Nourricière, to encourage respect for hygienic practices when handling foodstuffs.

The territorial dimension of the project involves mobilizing all local players – and local authorities in particular – to support a sustainable food system. As the concept of territorial development was new to the project partners in Tanzania, CARI drew on its previous work to organize a training course, at the end of which the partners drew up a roadmap and launched a pilot project to facilitate multi-stakeholder consultation on a sustainable food system in the village of Losikito.

Finally, the activities carried out in 2023 made it possible to begin exploring several possibilities for collaboration with the authorities of the region and the city of Arusha, on issues linked to food systems. In October, a mission by Renaud Piquemal (an expert in waste management) enabled us to take stock of the situation in the city of Arusha. The mission showed that waste collection and disposal is well organized throughout the city. The Arusha town council is sensitive to the issue of sorting and recycling, but there are only a few private initiatives in this direction. Organic matter, which makes up almost 80% of solid waste, represents both a major challenge for waste management and an under-exploited resource for the agricultural sector.

Mr. Piquemal’s mission concluded that there was a need for a more detailed analysis of organic matter requirements in rural areas around Arusha. A pilot initiative to collect and transform organic waste into soil improvers could test whether the products obtained can meet farmers’ demands in terms of quality, quantity and cost.

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