Tomatoes against Poverty
Education has the power to transform lives and LTT’s Livelihoods Programme aims to do that for farmers and entrepreneurs in the community. At the heart of our programmes is the understanding that the more wealth a household has, the more they will spend on the education of their children. This is true the world over. It is also our understanding that when parents value new knowledge, they are more likely to also value education for their children.
In close collaboration with the Babati Town Council and local Ward Executive Officers, we chose to run the project in the community of Bonga, 14km south of Babati. The project is an 18 month project which provides training and mentoring to farmers over their first two seasons.
Having not worked in this community before, we sought guidance and support from the Babati Town Agricultural Officer, the local Ward Agricultural Officer and the Village Executive Officers, who helped us identify a suitable farmer with whom we could establish a demonstration plot.
We have learnt to recognise that the process of change is a slow one, made slower by the risk averse profiles of the poorest in the community who simply cannot afford to take risks with their only source of income. It is for this reason that we establish a demonstration plot on land similar to their own. If they see us succeeding and know we are offering mentorship to support them, they are more likely to take the risk.
We therefore worked with a local farmer to establish a demonstration plot, where we showed techniques associated with best practice and held regular “Open House” days where we invited the community to come and see what we were doing and we explained the how’s and why’s of our work. We signed up interested parties to gain training when they were ready to start.
Of those who signed up some had never grown tomatoes before, but the majority had some experience but were not as successful as they wanted to be.
We have to date train 135 farmers. The training was done both in the classroom of the local school and in the field.
We work with the farmers to prepare their land, this is all done by hand, turning the soil and creating ridges and gullies with suitable distances between each ridge. The farmers are taught about the different seed varieties and suitable seeds are planted in trays and later transferred to the fields. They are planted in the ridges where the soil is less compact and unlikely to be flooded. The farmers are informed about the best spacing between plants to ensure they have space to flourish when mature.
We encourage farmers to use drip irrigation systems to manage the watering of the plants, we recognise not all can afford this outlay on day one, but perhaps after their first season, they will be able to invest. Drip irrigation saves on water and on time.
As the plants grow we train farmers to position strong stakes into the ground and connect each with wire, from which sting can be attached to support the plants. Some farmers used to have one stake per plant, but we explain how that does not encourage the plant to spread out. Our advice is 1 stake for 2.5 plants.
The mentoring services provided by our CASO, (Community Agricultural Support Officer) is both in person, in their fields, and on the phone, so that any concerns can be promptly dealt with, and regular inspections help to spot any pest issues and how they an be prevented, some using organic controls and sadly some with chemical sprays.
We recognise the value of mentoring in the fields because with the best will in the world, much of the classroom knowledge will be forgotten or its importance not always understood at the time, so being there next to the farmers providing the knowledge at the times they need it ensure better comprehension and retention.
Training + Mentoring = Success
Recognising that farmers are going to be producing more tomatoes and that this glut could easily lead to a fall in the price of tomatoes in the local market, we have made connections with markets in other towns and cities, which we have shared with the farmers so that they can shop around and find the best prices at the time of harvest. This supply chain also provides a collection service from the field so all the farmer has to do is harvest and be ready to bag them up.
I have grown tomatoes before and thought I knew all I needed to know, but I learned all about different seed varieties, I have used Gold F1 seeds, and how to mange the pests. I knew about the ridges but had not used drip before. On my acre I am used to producing 400 crates, but this year I am expecting 700 crates, and because of when I planted, I am getting the high prices - Tsh 50,000 per crate when normally it is between Tsh 20-30,000. I hope to make Tsh 35,000,000 (approx., £11,000) from this season, and because I have water, I can plant 2 seasons a year. I have invested Tsh 5,000,000 into the farm this season, but most of that is capital costs, next season my costs will be Tsh 1,500,000. I also pay Tsh 1,500,000 for labour to help me to harvest, that is 3-4 people for 4-6 weeks. I am very happy with the knowledge. My son is doing the same as me and we will save our profits and invest in something big in a few years time.” - Bashiru
I used to grow tomatoes using the local methods, using the seeds from last years tomatoes, but these new seeds are much more productive. I have better spacing now too. A big thing I learnt was that it is worth putting the effort into preparing the land first, it makes it easier later to weed, prune and harvest. The old methods would give me 40-50 crates, but now I expect 140 crates.” - Issac
Farmers are telling us that one acre of land can, in a good year, provide 15 sacks of Mmaize which is valued at Tsh 450,000, but a quarter of an acre can provide Tsh 4,000,000 from tomatoes. They say the work is harder work, but the rewards are there.
This data refers to the first cohort of farmers that went through the programme.
Average baseline profit of Tsh 1,253,846 for one season.
Average profit after training of Tsh 4,943,333 for one season.
This is an increase in profit of 294%