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There is a Kiswahili saying that says “Kidole Kimoja Hakivunji Chawa” which translates to “One finger cannot kill a louse”. This is precisely the motivation behind (Muungano wa Vikundi vya Kilimo cha Horticulture (MUVIKIHO) which literally means a Union of Horticultural Producer Groups.

In order to tap into this potential market VECO East Africa supported farmers in participating and celebrating the International Year of Pulses (IYP), which was a two days Agribusiness Expo organized by the East Africa Grain Council (EAGC) on 24th and 25th June at Selian Agricultural Research Institute (SARI) in Arusha, Tanzania. The event primary focused at showcasing current innovations in the pulses value chains in order to realize more value and tap into new markets.

Things that don’t change don’t grow and develop. You must change and rebrand yourself to fit in the new circumstances because the world is changing,” Hon. Christopher Kibazanga said. Rikolto, an Esperanto word for ‘harvest,’ had earlier been unveiled as the brand identity for the global Vredeseilanden/VECO brand. Quite often, different speakers found themselves intermixing the former and the new brands in their speeches, quickly acknowledging that a nomenclature transition was still happening.

For the last two years, Rikolto has been implementing a big project in Uganda, called Food Trade. The project linked smallholder staple food surpluses to regional markets. At the end of the project we noticed that farmers received 12% better prices for their commodities relative to the prevailing market prices.

Transforming food systems was the key theme at Mount Meru Hotel, Arusha, on 7 December 2017, where the new Rikolto brand was launched. Rikolto is the Esperanto word for ‘harvest’ and the Rikolto team committed to enable farmers to experience good harvests and to ensure great new ideas and solutions are harvested in order to improve food systems.

Colleague Jasmine Mushi, Agribusiness Advisor, shares the story of MUVIKHO, a Tanzanian cooperative of fruit and vegetable farmers which has grown from nothing to over 700 farmers in 4 years time, and now generates sales of over US$ 210,000 each year.

Michael Munah, Agribusiness advisor for VECO, takes you along on a field visit trip to Simanjiro area in Tanzania. Read how his work gradually contributes towards more food security in the area.

Photo editorial of our Rice Project in Lower-Moshi, Tanzania.