THE Tanzania-Japan Agricultural and Livestock Promotion (TANSHEP) project is shifting farmers’ mindsets from the traditional ‘grow and sell’ model to a more business-focused ‘grow to sell’ approach, promoting farming as a profitable enterprise.
TANSHEP focuses on advancing market-oriented horticulture development through the application of the Smallholder Horticulture Empowerment and Promotion (SHEP) approach, which emphasises market-oriented agriculture.
The project encourages horticultural producers to first conduct market surveys and collaborate with relevant stakeholders, including buyers, input suppliers and intermediaries, so they can produce the products demanded by markets and realise increased income.
The Ministry of Agriculture’s Deputy Permanent Secretary, Dr Suleiman Serera, said the project has achieved tremendous success, significantly impacting farmers, with incomes increasing by 45 per cent to 59 per cent well above the project’s target of 25 per cent and credited agriculture and extension officers for their role in this success.
“Their commitment to sensitising farmers to become market-oriented in the target areas and scaling up to other farmer groups, is the foundation of the project’s success.
“These officers are the backbone of agricultural initiatives, working tirelessly at the grassroots level to provide farmers with the knowledge, skills and support they need to improve productivity and income,” Dr Serera said on Tuesday.
The project is part of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) technical cooperation for strengthening District Agriculture Development Plans (DADPs) through the use of the SHEP approach.
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The meeting focused on lessons learned and the way forward for the commencement of the second phase of the project, set to begin in April next year.
Under the project, farmers have learned that conducting a market survey before production is a more reliable and profitable approach than simply producing and then selling. Market surveys help farmers understand the specific needs of buyers, including seed variety, size and colour preferences and required volumes.
This has led to a shift in mindset from “grow and sell” to “grow to sell,” with a slogan that emphasises the approach: “Anzia Sokoni Malizia Shambani Kwa Kipato Zaidi” (Start at the market, finish on the farm for higher income).
“SHEP training and technical support have restored our hope and changed our mindset in ways we can’t fully describe,” Mr Miraji Ngoma, Secretary of Arusha’s AgriGenius Farmer Group, said. Mr Suleiman Kipaza, a member of the group, said that they had suffered losses many times when they produced without conducting market surveys.
However, after conducting surveys in nearby markets, such as Kilombero and Arusha, they shifted from farming watermelons to tomatoes, with remarkable results.
The JICA Tanzania Chief Representative, Mr Ara Hitoshi, said that since TANSHEP began in 2019, the project has achieved significant milestones, having trained over 10,000 farmers on the SHEP approach, with some 7,000 farmers practicing it and seeing positive results.
Furthermore, the SHEP approach has been integrated into national policies, such as the National Horticulture Development Strategy and has been incorporated into the curriculum for extension officers at the Ministry of Agriculture Training Institutes (MATIs).
Based on the achievements of the current project, which will be completed next month, the second phase aims to expand the dissemination of the SHEP approach nationwide.
