MOROGORO: Sixteen organizations from various countries around the world recently converged in Morogoro to learn how to implement ecological farming in their countries, especially to improve crop production efficiency using environmentally friendly organic farming methods.
The organizations, representing 16 institutions from Europe and Africa, came to Morogoro to learn about ecological farming and best practices in poultry and fish farming.
Commenting, Jan Hoinkis, a representative of Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences (HKA) from Germany, stated that they came to Tanzania to observe how ecological farming is being practiced.
In particular, Hoinkis mentioned that the Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania (SAT) has been at the forefront in promoting and advancing ecological farming. After visiting SAT’s Training Center, they learned many important aspects related to farming and livestock management.
Without going further into details, he said that the European Union funded the establishment of a laboratory in Tanzania, managed by SAT under the PrAEctiCe project.
After visiting the laboratory, they concluded that it would play a key role in encouraging ecological farming among Tanzanians.
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“This laboratory will serve as a catalyst for developing effective methods to help farmers and fish farmers increase productivity. This is a great achievement for us, as we have seen how someone can raise fish using feed made from chicken manure,” said Hoinkis.
He further noted that the water used in fish farming can also be used as fertilizer for crops, thus enabling poultry and fish farmers to practice ecological farming, which is environmentally friendly.
“We believe this is a safe and easy method for farmers, and we are happy to continue collaborating with our partners at SAT to help Tanzanians shift from harmful farming practices to organic/ecological farming,” Hoinkis said.
Equally, he pointed out that the world is currently facing the challenges of climate change, and one of the causes of this issue is environmental degradation. Organic or ecological farming can help mitigate these effects because it does not harm the environment and avoids the use of industrial chemicals.
On her part, Janet Maro, the Director of the Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania (SAT), said that this technology primarily focuses on resource efficiency, where manure from chickens is used to make fish feed.
Janet further explained that fish waste can be used on crops, enhancing growth. She also mentioned another technology that uses mulching to conserve water in the soil, which reduces water usage during irrigation, thereby lowering production costs for farmers.
Crispin Sanga added that the PrAEctiCe project is progressing well, and they have seen how it is possible to integrate organic farming with poultry, fish farming, and horticulture. He emphasized that such projects will help Tanzania and Africa as a whole tackle the challenges posed by climate change.
