Agriculture
The vast majority (74%) of the population of Tanzania live in the rural areas and of them the clear majority are small holder subsistence farmers whose poverty relates shortage of common items such as food, shelter, clothing, safe drinking water. They have not been exposed to farming techniques that can improve their yields and their methods of farming have not changed significantly over the last 50 years. The lack a formal education in the past has been addressed under the free primary education for all policy and now most households strive for their children to gain an education so that their lives can be improved.
The problems that the Livingstone Tanzania Trust has come across tend to relate to knowledge and skills, poor health, education and lack of access to loans.
If the farmers can develop improved their farming skills and knowledge then they will be able to generate a surplus, which they can sell and generate an increased household income and can address the issues they face for themselves.
The Livingstone Tanzania Trust’s strategy to assist the farms is to:-
- Establish a residential demonstration and training farm where farmers from near and far can come and learn what we are doing and take away the lessons from it and apply to their farms.
- Develop with the students at local schools a demonstration farm where crops, fruit and vegetables can be grown and added to the school meals to improve diet. This will include keyhole and sack gardens
- To work with the community to develop a greater understanding of the importance of a varied diet of fruit and vegetables to address ongoing health concerns.
By showing the community what can be achieved we aim to motivate, and support farmers as they make adjustments to their farms and to their attitudes. The community have all the resources they need to improve their lives and with a small amount of assistance we can bring about sustainable changes and maintain the dignity of the farmer.
To date we have established a number of Tilapia Fish farms , despite the community not believing it was possible, We have worked with the Sawe Community group to establish a small pig business which is starting to show results
We have been working with recycled cement grow bags and this project is being refined.
We are building a series of keystone gardens in the summer 2011 at schools and in the community
