NGO dedicated in boosting agricultural growth
DODOMA: HEIFER International has reaffirmed its commitment to boosting agricultural growth and empowering Tanzanian farmers.
Celebrating 50 years of operation in the country, the NGO has supported over 1.1 million families, with a particular focus on women-led households.
“Our efforts have empowered over 1.1 million families, with 40 percent of them being women-led, as we celebrate 50 years of partnership with Tanzanian farmers and rural communities,” said Heifer International Tanzania, Country Director, Mark Tsoxo during the recent Farmers Day (Nanenane) in Dodoma.
He reaffirmed the organisation’s support through initiatives like the Pass-On-the-Gift approach that has integrated dairy programmes with various agricultural activities, distributing over 282,050 dairy cows, 57,200 dairy goats and other livestock to rural communities in various regions in the country.
According to him, the benefited regions include the Southern Highlands of Mbeya, Iringa and Njombe, Northern Highlands in Kilimanjaro and Arusha, Coastal areas in Coast Region and Dar es Salaam, Central Zone in Dodoma, Manyara and Singida as well as Lake Zone in Mwanza, Geita, Kagera, Mara and Shinyanga.
He said that over the years, Heifer has enabled the establishment of 52,522 self-help groups, including the Buswema group in Rungwe and the Tumaini Jipya group in Mufindi.
“Working with local communities, the organisation has also supported the formation of116 primary cooperatives such as the MUKOTU Dairy Cooperative, Mufindi Dairy Cooperative, Iringa Dairy Cooperative, UWAKUMPU and six programmes focused on youth,” he said.
ALSO READ: NFRA to purchase 1.7 million tonnes of grain for domestic, export markets
Highlighting recent achievements, he said that organisation has adopted a Market System Development approach, increasing milk flow to the formal market from 55,000 to 129,000 litres per day, attracting 3.6 million US dollars in private sector investment.
The organisation has also established 22 Milk Collection Centres with a total capacity of 72,000 litres per day, accounting for 20 per cent of the country’s collection capacity and launched the Tanzania leg of the AYuTe Africa Challenge, aimed at empowering young agritech entrepreneurs across the continent.
The initiative offers financial awards, expert advisory support and a focus on enhancing agricultural productivity and sustainability.
Similarly, he said that as Heifer International Tanzania looks toward the future, it remains committed to harnessing technology, including mobile-based services and digital platforms, to enhance farming efficiency and market access.
Moreover, he said, about 106,000 sunflower farmers were digitally profiled and became digitally visible to key actors in the ecosystem through the farmer visibility project.
