Water is the source of all life, we cannot live without it. In Tanzania, this source of life is for 90% consumed by agriculture to grow the food on our plates. But water is more and more under threat; it is becoming a scarce resource. Climate change made brought many natural hazards with it, such as unpredictable rains, floods, and droughts. Besides that, many water resources are polluted and the water is as a consequence not safe for use. Farmers in northern Tanzania are now changing their farming practices to make the community at large more resilient to climate change and covid-19.
Funded by the Natural Resources Stewardship Programme in Tanzania, Rikolto is supporting these farmers in changing their practices in the framework of a programme to improve the resilience of farming communities to natural hazards in the Usa River sub-catchment in northern Tanzania. Water and food security in both quantity and quality is a priority concern amidst a global pandemic. As part of this project, Rikolto will train 1026 smallholder farmers within the Usa and Weruweru furrows on good agricultural practices, such as pesticide and fertilizer use.
This project to enhance the resilience of farming communities to natural hazards will run from January 2022 – April 2022. It will focus on 1,026 farmers in DOMIKWA furrow (Usa River). The intervention will take place in 3 irrigation sub-canals within DOMIKWA furrow, namely Migadini, Kwaugoro and Taka.
Farmers in the Usa and Weruweru furrows and the wider region face the following challenges:
To tackle these challenges, Rikolto’s interventions will focus on two main areas:
By the end of April 2022, we expect to have trained 1,026 farmers on good agricultural practices.
In the long term, building the capacity of farmers on good agricultural practices will decrease health risks facing domestic water users of the furrows as well as improve food safety of the food grown. This will have a positive impact on the quality of the produce found on the local markets and hence on the health of consumers.
This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the Natural Resources Stewardship Programme. The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of Rikolto and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of NatuReS.
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