AS effects of climate change continue to derail performance of the agriculture sector within the country, the need to impart the farmers with useful agronomic practices becomes inescapable.
Research depicts that, if not timely contained, climate changes will have significant impacts on Tanzania's rain-fed agriculture and will increase poverty and food insecurity, among others.
To that end, the Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI)-Makutupora Centre, had decided to partner with key local and international likeminded agro stakeholders to capacitate the farmers in Kongwa Districts in Dodoma on better agronomic practices, being with an eye to help them cheat challenges of climate change.
The stakeholders include LEAD Foundation, the International Crops Research Institute of the Semi- Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) with useful financial support from the Biovision Foundation for Ecological Development of Switzerland.
For years the farmers within Kongwa Districts have been battling against negative effects of soil erosion, the environmental challenges which triggered soil infertility, loss of soil moisture and seed wastage, propelling to poor yield.
Dubbed 'Enabling a resilient and prosperous community through participatory Agro- ecological practices in Semi- Arid region of Central zone' the threeyear initiative has directly already benefited at least 450 farmers from eight villages within the districts.
The TARI Makutupora Centre Coordinator for Research and Innovation, Mr Elirehema Swai, explained that among the key agro-practices being imparted towards the farmers through the project include intercropping of cereals crops and legume. He said the farmers have been well trained on how best to plant maize and pigeon peas and sorghum with pigeon peas.
"Other technologies are rainwater harvesting through the use of tied ridging, control of soil erosion using special 'Fanya Juu, Fanya Chini' terraces, shelter belts as well as Farmers Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR)," said Mr Swai.
Elaborates the Fanya Juu, Fanya Chini terraces means put soil on the upper side and lower side of the slope, added: "This prevent rainwater from outside the farm to flow into the farm hence preventing soil erosion by protecting the fertile soil in the farm from flowing away," According to him the project also provides the farmers with drought tolerant varieties, notably, T-105 for maize from Kibaha centre and Macia for sorghum from Hombolo.
Mr Swai said the project is a continuation of the previous project being implemented by TARI in Kongwa district funded by feed the future. The coordinator said the project will be sustainable as TARI has empowered farm owners who continue to train their fellow farmers.
"There are not enough agricultural officers to provide education to all districts/villages that is why TARI has come up with a new approach to empowering farmers themselves so that we can find teachers among them who will be providing agro ecological education in the country," Mr Swai said.
"On this we are using a lead farmer system that is provided with new technology resources". Swai said if farmers follow the advice the challenge of firewood and erosion will be over and they will get a good and many harvest.
Furthermore, as part of training packages of the initiative, the farmers were trained on agro- forestry technology, including planting of the environmentally friendly Gliricidia Sepium trees together with pigeon peas and maize.
Mr Swai said there are champion farmers who are now playing a major role in training other farmers. He expressed that they have already train a number of farmers in all eight Dodoma districts and Singida region, especially in Ikungi and Itigi districts.
With a year since its inception, the beneficiary farmers have expressed a number of prosperities, saying the robust project has managed to transform their economic life through enabling them to increase crop yields. Moshi Mayile, a champion farmer, acknowledged TARI Makutupora, Lead Foundation and ICRISAT for introducing an agro-ecology which helped them to increase cultivation thrice.
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"Before introducing of this project we used to face some challenges, including use of poor seeds varieties, cultivate locally hence realize poor productivity.
"But after being trained, we're now managed to harvest bumper crops, and beyond that, we have even managed to venture into commercial cultivation," said Mr Mayile.
He said through cultivating pigeon peas, they're now able to fetch lucrative profits as the economic cash crop attracts profitable prices, currently 3,000 per kilogramme. On his part, the other beneficiary farmers, Mr Elias Mgomba, expressed that the project has capacitated them to venture into a project to produce and market seedlings of Gliricidia Sepium trees.
"Apart from restoring soil fertility in farms, the Gliricidia Sepium trees also provide us with firewood and animal feed, which is another advantage to us," he said.
