In recent decades, pastoralist and farmer conflicts in many parts of Tanzania spread violence, loss of property, and massive displacement of people. These conflicts are nurtured by shrinking grazing lands due to pressures from the growing human population, which is accompanied by the need for land for arable crop farming. The government’s response is perceived by many involved people as insufficient and has even caused segregation instead of bringing the two parties together. However, conflicts have the potential to be the underlying power of stimulating innovation. This is the starting point where agroecology can evolve its strengths in various ways. The thinking in cycles, getting out plentiful existing renewable resources, builds on collaboration rather than segregation .
The project’s development goal is to enhance the livelihoods of farmers and pastoralists through sustainable agroecological practices to develop solutions where both parties can create local circular economies in Tanzania.
Arguments for implementing Farmers & Pastoralists Collaborations (FPC)
- Agroecology is essential to sustain food production in Africa, but the best cases with vital market components are rare.
- Through thinking and acting in cycles, pastoralists and farmers can benefit from each other.
- Agroecological practices can positively impact the value chain by combining local strengths and focusing on national market opportunities.
- Morogoro is a conflict zone where pastoralists and farmers clash regarding land use.
- It is a social entrepreneurial project with a strong model character to solve an existing social problem where people died in clashes between pastoralists and farmers.
The Farmers and Pastoralists Collaboration project has been implemented for about six years in two phases, with several milestones and apparent successes.
FPC I (2017-2019) successfully established collaborations between Farmers and Pastoralists in Mvomero. It emphasized facilitating rainfed agriculture, horticulture, pasture management, livestock management, and agroforestry. Furthermore, it developed and strengthened the milk value chain and improved the value chain for maize, sunflower, and vegetables aiming to build a circular economy where farmers and pastoralists generate mutual benefits.
Over 192 farmers and 31 pastoralists received training in the organic cultivation of seasonal crops. Besides that, another 131 pastoralists were mobilized and trained on sustainable livestock keeping. From January to the end of February 2018, over 178 farmers in eight different groups were mobilized. In 2019 SAT mobilized 250 farmers and 40 pastoralists.
In addition to training, farmers and pastoralists benefited from the machinery ring component, which provides services such as plowing with SAT tractors, maize shelling machines, and transporting crops and manure to and from the farm with trailers. Farmers’ crops are taken to the nearby SAT Farmer Training Center (FTC). Here, products such as sunflower, sorghum, and maize are processed and marketed at a reasonable price. The residues from food processing, such as sunflower seed cake, can now be used as animal feed and offered to livestock farmers. In return for the animal feed, farmers have access to manure. The circular, mutually beneficial economy has taken root. The exchange of manure for livestock feed strengthened the advantages for all parties. Fertilized plots resulted in higher production, which means more available animal feed. Fodder has the potential to increase milk production, which goes hand in hand with newly introduced or crossed breeds
The FPC II project, which runs from January 2020 to December 2022, is designed to cement the FPC I (2017-2019) achievements. The pilot started in the Mvomero district and was scaled out to the Kilosa district in FPC II through a peer-to-peer approach. In other regions, the approach has been more on training through the FTC and follow-up visits to improve the capacity of the peer-to-peer Committees. The capacity expansion has also used the mobile office days (MOD) training approach to reach farmers and pastoralists in Same, Hanang’, Chamwino, Kiteto, and Kilosa districts during FPC I.
Phase II furthermore focuses on enhancing the sustainable livelihood of farmers and pastoralists through agroecological practices. It aims to create mutual benefits through reduced conflicts, increased income, strengthened food security, balanced nutrition, and building climate resilience. These interventions will contribute to five SDGs in Tanzania: SDG 1: No poverty, SDG 2: Zero hunger, SDG 5: Gender equality, SDG 13: Climate action, and SDG 16: Peace and justice.
Moreover, FPC II supports improving the Farmer Training Center in Vianzi to become an agroecological center of excellence. Improvements include infrastructure development and established agroforestry demonstration plots for technological replication to the farmers’ farms. The project is also improving the marketing of organic products, including horticulture crops, grains, and oilseeds. Building on enhancing innovation, FPC II has facilitated participatory action research using the Farmers Centered Research Program (FCRP). Here researchers are supported in participatory action- and solutions-driven research in collaboration with farmers and pastoralists. The results are then adopted by participating farmers, pastoralists, and other stakeholders.
Expected Outcomes FPC Phase II
- Farmers and pastoralists benefit from increased productivity and provide ecosystem services through practicing agroecological methods, and their lessons learned are made accessible to other regions and extension service providers.
- Strengthened circular economy whereby farmers and pastoralists benefit from increased income from high-quality value-added organic products, reliable markets, and improved infrastructure.
- Farmers and pastoralists continuously conduct experiments and research on existing and new challenges. The results are shared with the public, building scientific evidence supporting agroecological agriculture.
Beneficiaries
The direct beneficiaries are the farmers and pastoralists in the pilot villages in Mvomero, Kilosa, and Same, targeting 3,536 (2,055 women and 1,481 men) members focusing on reduced conflicts, increased income, strengthened food security, balanced nutrition, and building climate resilience. Based on the circular economy approach, farmers benefit from better prices through crop value addition and pastoralists from by-products for animal feed. Farmers utilize available manure by exchanging fodder and manure with the pastoralist community, guaranteeing fodder availability and increasing climate resilience. Improved water access for the semi-dry areas also improves resilience, including reduced migration conflicts and secured milk supply for the milk value chain, particularly benefitting the Maasai women through established milk collection points and linkages to the milk processing industry.
Through their associations and cooperatives, including the SSLGs, farmers and pastoralists will enhance access to finance and markets that provide social security. Indirect beneficiaries include 21,540 (12.924 women and 8.616 men) family members of farmers and pastoralists engaged in the project benefitting through increased household income. These also include other community members indirectly receiving knowledge from the trained farmers and pastoralists through the Farmer-to-Farmer and Pastoralist-to-Pastoralist approaches. Established infrastructure such as water, milk collection, and processing facilities also benefit the broader community members.
The FPC project is kindly supported by Biovision Foundation for Ecological Development and LED Liechtenstein Development Service.
