To increase the productivity of rural subsistence farmers in the district of Korogwe, Tanzania.

The Korogwe Project (TKP) facilitates the development of local solutions, organizes and refines project plans to ensure project feasibility, economic sustainability, and community adoptability.

Currently the project operates a 41-acre farm in the rural village of Kwakiliga where farmers explore the benefits of new farming techniques in an environment that limits their downside risk without discouraging their upward incentives.

THE NEED

75% of Tanzanians are small-scale subsistence farmers. This means that they depend on the food they grow to feed their families and provide income. Most have no access to agricultural training, and few possess the financial means to consistently access high-yield seeds and conventional agricultural inputs (fertilizer, pesticides, herbicides). Most farmers are forced to perform back-breaking labor by hand, for they are unable to afford the use of a tractor or mechanized plow. Many farmers, therefore, employ sub-standard methods of cultivation that produce inconsistent, inadequate yields. As a result, 44% of Tanzanians go hungry through some part of the year.

Global climate change compounds these existing agricultural challenges. As the climate changes, East Africa is growing increasingly dry, further limiting potential yields and producing increasingly frequent and serious crop failures. Local yields diminish as fast as the local population grows and global food prices spike.

The need to provide small-scale farmers with the means to increase agricultural production in this increasingly hostile environment is clear. Our project was born the summer of 2009, emerging out of meetings with local farmers, leaders, and officials. In partnership with the Anglican Church, local NGOs, and the local government, we are developing an agricultural training center to facilitate the spread of agricultural expertise among the region’s small-scale farmers.

OUR PHILOSOPHY

The growth of urbanization in Africa has led to a widespread "brain-drain" in the rural areas as young people move into the cities to acquire more advanced jobs. Thus, farming techniques remain antiquated and production low. We believe that to change this situation we must devise a way of making agricultural production "popular" again, and a key way to do that is to ensure that the field is innovating. We want to create an experience of shared innovation, where we are constantly bringing in new techniques and assessing their viability in our communities. In order to do that, we must create a safety net for farmers to 'experiment' with new farming techniques without the fear of going hungry if the new techniques fail.

We also believe in farming techniques that are environmentally and socially sustainable. We encourage the use of organic fertilizers and pesticides where available and effective, as well as erosion control methods and the purposeful use of irrigation supplies. These techniques must be locally accessible, both physically and economically, as well as easily adoptable by and profitable for the community to facilitate a high rate of 'buy-in'.

The Farm: St. John's Organic Agro-Livestock Trust (SJOALT)

We currently are leasing a 41 acre farm in Kwakiliga village from the Anglican Diocese of Tanga to serve as the site for the center. In our current pilots phase, we provide 1 acre plots to families selected by the residents of Kwakiliga village. 1 representative from each family joins a committee that is responsible for financial accountability. They keep each other working hard. We provided each family with high-yield seed and the use of a tractor on their farm plots, as well as a promise to coordinate transport of their goods to a market with a demand for their product. These were given as a loan that the committee will repay collectively. We provide each family with demonstration-based training in sustainable agricultural practices. Our goal is to increase each family’s agricultural productivity 3-fold to ensure food security.