Swissaid project links 1800 peasants to consumers
THE Swissaid’s Consumption of Resilient Orphan Crops & Products for Healthier Diets (CROPS4HD) project has managed to link 1800 peasants to consumers through peasant organisations.
The project, which started in July 2021, has also reached 7200 consumers by direct marketing and 100,000 others through national and social media.
This was noted by organic agriculture project officer from the Swissaid, Ms Veronica Massawe, when making a presentation at the meeting organised by Tanzania Alliance for Biodiversity (TABIO) in collaboration with Swissaid and with support from the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA).
The workshop aimed at contributing to strengthening the struggles for farmers’ rights on seed and the road map for Tanzanian seed working groups towards seed sovereignty.
The workshop sought to share experiences on seed regulations at continental level (AU and AFSA) and evaluate the partnership and define the next steps.
Ms Massawe said the CROPS4HD project has improved livelihood, food security and nutrition of rural communities, especially women, through sustainable use and conservation of farmers’ varieties/landraces, neglected and underutilized species (NUS), as well as promoting agro ecological approaches and improving capacities for climate change adaptation.
In Tanzania, the project region for the supply activities is in the southern part of Tanzania with a focus on Lindi and Mtwara regions.
The main source of income for Lindi and Mtwara residents is from agriculture (cashew and sesame), mostly small-scale.
Giving the updates of the project implementation, she said it has continued collaborating with the government, with the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with two districts in Lindi Region and four districts in Mtwara Region.
Through the project, over 20 extension officers have been 20 on agroecology, actively engaged in training and backstopping.
AFSA establishes links to eastern African policy and farmers’ movements, and case studies from Tanzania will serve as examples to advocate for policy changes in the sub-region.
