The Southern Highlands Agrobusiness Service (SHAS) project is proposed and written by Tanzanian Emmanuel Christopher Mwakabana, 27 yearsold. Emmanuel lives in Makambako in the Njombe region of Tanzania.
Description of the project proposal
The SHAS project is intended to provide extension service to small-scale farmers of the Southern Highlands of Tanzania, particularly the Njombe region. The SHAS-project will directly reach an estimated 1,000 maize farmers in Njombe and indirectly benefit 2,000 farmers within a year.
This project is designed to address the unsustainable livelihoods of 1,000 (650 female and 350 male) maize smallholder farmers despite the existing opportunities in the maize value chain.
The overall objective of the project is to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Njombe. Its strategic objective is to support the targeted farmers to get good and reliable training on the wise and safe use of crop protection products (fungicides, insecticides and herbicides) while having access to measuring bottles to support calibration during spraying.
The project is designed to welcome key stakeholders to ensure desired outcomes and beneficiaries that are benefiting from different angles. The project will strengthen beneficiaries’ understanding of crop protection and bring them closer to other agro-input stakeholders, eventually exposing them to a learning event organized by other stakeholders.
Socio-economic impact of the project
Training and encouraging farmers on the importance of wearing protective gear will increase their awareness, while its adoption will keep them safe and healthy to continue with their agricultural activities.
Providing farmers with measuring flasks will help them to use the correct and recommended rate of pesticides, which will eventually give the results from good efficacy of crop protection used. It will also reduce impacts to the environment and prevent being exposed to either disease or insect resistance from crop protection product(s).
Using genuine pesticides will help farmers to protect, cure and prevent their crops from infestation and damage from disease, insects and weeds and thus keeping their crops healthy and with the potential to produce high and quality yields that match with market quality demand.
No effective, reliable, non-chemical alternatives are available for many pests, and chemical pesticides are the last resort. Therefore, training and encouraging farmers to use genuine pesticides will help tackle problems of getting generic and fake products from the free market.
Unwise use of pesticides may increase the cost of pesticides, toxicity to natural enemies and other non-target organisms, disease and insect resistance to pesticides. This calls for training on wise and safe use of crop protection products.
The SHAS project will have two main outcomes from its implementation: Firstly, targeted farmers will have improved their production as they protect their crops from insects, diseases and weeds using genuine products at the correct rate and dosage, as well as keeping themselves and their environment safe from improper pesticide use.
Secondly, targeted farmers will become trainers to other farmers on the wise and safe use of pesticides, motivating others to adopt their practices.
What motivates me to do this Project?
As the government of Tanzania continues to face financial constraints, it has started to reconsider the issue of public extension service and is currently entertaining the possibility of gradually divesting the public sector of extension. This leaves the private sector and users to take an increasing responsibility.
In a drive to increase smallholder productivity, there is great need that farmers should be trained and motivated to use personal protective gear and genuine pesticides as well as using a measuring bottle to support spray rate calibrations.
The market for agro-inputs in Tanzania has great number of companies, and for both generic and genuine producers most of their crop protection product packages are not equipped with measuring bottles. Therefore many farmers do not have accessed to such equipment, exposing them to the risk of unwise use of pesticides and even fertilizer.
With the current restructuring, more and more of the public services, including agricultural extension, must come from private companies, agricultural projects and NGOs. Diversifying extension sources is the only best way to address the ever-increasing need for extension service from various categories of users.
How to achieve goals
We will having a farmers’ school assembly at a specific village and time where maize farmers will be trained on Personal Protective Gear, wise and safe use of pesticides and motivating farmers to use genuine pesticides.
We will work with active and existing maize farmers’ groups and associations for trainings, conducting field demonstration plots and welcoming other stakeholders like input producers (seeds, pesticides and fertilizer) producing genuine products and input suppliers, especially agro-dealers.
Field demonstrations will act as a means to prove that new practices (use of genuine products) are superior to the ones being used currently. They will convince and motivate extension clientele to try and adopt new practices and set up a long-term teaching-learning situation.
As a Field Expert working in Njombe, I have been involved in many training as trainer, and as an agronomist for field demonstrations and seminars related to agriculture. I have the advantage of a good network with a good number of farmers (potato and maize farmers) and their associations.
Furthermore I have started establishing my own agro-business company that will be working in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania, serving farmers and bringing farmers closer to inputs producers and suppliers while receiving agriculture consultation, extension services and training on cost sharing basis.
For easy mobilization and facilitation of demonstrations, farmers’ school assemblies and trainings, I have planned to use existing and active farmers’ groups and associations.
Actual Measurable Success Factors
The actual measurable success factors include number of farmers trained and benefiting from the project, number of farmers receiving measuring bottles, number of trained TOTs from different farmers groups and associations and increase of production per acre for trained farmers.
Budget
Buying measuring bottles will cost USD $2800.
Cost for 5 field demonstrations is USD $200.
Cost for 10 trainings including farmers’ school assembly will be USD $750 and USD $1000 for 2 TOT trainings.
Blogpost and picture submitted by Emmanuel Mwakabana (Njombe, Tanzania) – vardeima[at]gmail.com
The content, structure and grammar is at the discretion of the author only.
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The GFAiR Blog 
This project, if materialises, will be ideal and timely to the targeted smallholders. Local smallholder farmers in many parts of Tanzania are yet to enjoy their farming efforts due to the unfair environment in the produce value chain. While there is surplus in the maize stock in the southern part of Tanzania for example, there scarcity in the central regions and even in the nearby countries.
Extension services are not also that smoothly accessible to smallholders as they are to large farmers. I hence comend this project!!
Great contribution Sebastian.
We real need to reduce technical capacoty gap btn Tanzania SCF and expert.
There is a dire need to educate farmers.
Thanks.
Good job mr mwakabana you look nice in this sector congratulations for your project god bless you with your fantastic work
Wish will be very good at our country Mwakabana wish the great
at this field
needs expert like you for expansion of agriculture
Verry sure Mr Job.
We neds committed extension officer working closely with farmers.
Wish the best hopefully will help a lot farmers as expert at this field
Nice proposal. Let it be considered please!
congratulation mr.mwakabana to this project i hope it reach your goal,
Nice project if well managed.. more farmers need those trainings, even more than thise you mentioned.. Good work brother
Thanks Masiah.
To make the proposal realistic such number holds the trust.
We can also get greater number that expected.
Good job if it sails through,the smallscale farmers are in dire need of extension services.
Yes Kiteme.
If well accepted and sponsored, I will do it wisely as we have been doing on Irish Potato.
Many farmers will benefit from my expertise.
Best.
good job mwakabana keep it up
Congratulation my fellow Agronomist hopely your finding will raise agricultural production and help farmers to solve the most problems which facing our farmers in Tanzania. God be with you mate Agronomia
This project is very very good because if will be approved,more farmers especially small one will benefit via the extension servises.
All the best Mwakabana
Thank you Mr Mushi.
Due to it’s field practical nature, the project will be easily understood by most farmers and get them to use genuine Crop protection products while dressing protective gears.
Much good @mwakabana,SHF needs the help of extension services as much as required as there are big knowledge gap especially on the use and handling of agrochemicals especially herbicides and insecticide
Wow! This proposal have nothing to but wonderful ways to help farmers grow profitably while having secured roads to such amazing cultivation and agrochemicals application
Mr Aziz.
The issue of pesticide hadling will be considered and farmers will be trained accordingly. Both Farmers and his environment need to be safe from effects of pesticides.
I will keep emphasis on this as well.
Thanks for your additions.
Best.
E. Mwakabana.
Nice thought Mwakabana as most of our farmers, they lack knowledge on the safe use of chemicals with this idea will serve farmers and environment.
It sound helpful to farmers ,nice work
Great thoughts!
You are the guy we was looking for.. Great idea start with small group but very effective that is much better my dear brother. All the best
Good, but if you don’t mind on the goal it’s better if it will be “to contribute towards improving….” But if you start with “improving…. you have the task beyond of what you write.
Thanks a lot Ben.
One this, it will be quite important if you will clarify your comment.
It has something very important to add your in the project.
Best.
Mwakabana.
Well organized work. Surely if implemented will benefit the community intended
The tendency of farmers to conduct herbicide application without wearing protective gear is really an issue, not only in the southern highlands but also in other parts of the country. I have been almost in every part of this country, farmers dont wear protective gears. I hope you will expand your project to cover the whole country in general.
Fantastic proposal Mwakabana, I think it will be helpful to our farmers.
Nice idea, Mwakabana as most of farmers they lack knowledge of chemicals use and safe deposit of chemicals cintainer, I second you with this idea.
good jobs.. i hope its will be considered…. if so most of local agriculture will be helped…. we need people.like u….
good thought brother on that agrarian proposal i think now people from njombe will going to increase their per capital income through you,i wish you all thé best on that and my God be with you!!!
Good thought brother on your agrarian proposal bt i think now its your time to help others on what you have(on agriculture sector) and the god you will pay u,people from njombe hold him!!!
Very good idea Mwakabana. Hopefully you will succeed. Indeed most of the farmers in Tanzania need that knowledge
Congratulations Gentleman
Lots of projects were done and much more are currently on progress in the ground, but very few projects have focused on Personal Protective Gear, Wise and Safe use of Pesticides.
Most of the initiatives which target small scale farmers lack SUSTAINABILITY. I urge you reconsider this factor in order to bring real changes to your project’s benefitiaries.
good luck…
Good job brother..! This project will be good.
Congratulations Sir..
This is a reccomended strategy to improve the health of these small scale farmers as well as protection of the environment. In addition, I would urge you to encourage all these farmers to employ and use good agricultural practices as whole so as to increase production of the resulting crop. All in all competence is the key in all this… Best of luck
Thanks Kagambo.
All GAP will be considered when having both assembly training and field demonstrations.
It’s true that farmers’ success is a result of combination of knowledge and rational practices.
Best.
Emmanuel Mwakabana.
Nice proposal brother since its target to educate small holder farmers on the proper use of agrochemicals to their farms while protectng environment and improve their products. Wish you all the best for your proposal to be considered
Thanks Dickson for your wishes.
Education is the key factor that will help Smallholder farmers improving their yield.
Hi, Emmanuel
I support your idea and wishing you all the best.
Joel
Good job Mwakabana
The use of protective gears is something not taken serious by our farmers mostly by not understanding the side effects of the chemicals your project will solve that issue also farmers tends to spray chemicals (pesticides) without knowing really what are they controlling by your project you will help them realize what they doing and find a solution for them,hope wont end only on your area but will also spread to all other Tanzanian as its a countrywise problem especially to small farmers.
The project is realistic as the number of farmers is possible to be reached,demonstration yap great idea seeingnis believing,location excellent selection ,congratulation during the implementation remember to work close with other organisations and government officials so that when the project phase out others can still continue spreading the knowledge.
Good luck
Yes Harid.
I will also communicate and get linked with Government staffs especially extension officers so that they also keep emphasis on PPE and helping on mobilizing farmers.
Thank you.
For Agricultural revolution in developing countries, technical knowledge is essential. Great proposal bro, if this proposal gets funded hope much will be achieved.
Dear Mwakabana
Congrats for the great idea. I wish you all the best on being successful.
Regards
Riziki Messa
Good Emmanuel,
Real appreciates your works and ambitions to help people, keep it up bro
Without the effective use of pesticides, farmers incur 80% to 100%. This is proposal will be very effective as it has dedicated itself in educating farmers on how to effectively use the pesticides. In so being farmers will be able to achieve high yields thus changing lives. Great proposal bro, deserves an immediate funding as farmers will have a new Hope.
Hi Emmanuel,
I support your proposal , but seems like it’s coverage shall be small based on your budget proposal.
All the best,
Lazaro.
Great idea Mr Makabana your proposal will help those rely on small scale farming to grow bigger and better crops.
wish you all the best
Hi Emmanuel,
I support your proposal but seems like it’s coverage shall be too small based on your proposed budget,
All the best,
Lazaro.
Yes Lazaro.
It is quite possible to reach such targeted number of beneficiaries based on my experience working with many Small Scale Farmers.
I agree with you point.
Hallow Mwakabana!
Your document is concrete, realistic,relevant and very sentive for poverty reduction in our slowly developing country through agriculture innovation,actually the scientific one.
Cheers Mwakabana.
Eng Senyinah J.R
I am sure this proposal will bring great changes to farmers for sustainability of agricultural industry. I wish you all the best Mr. Emmanuel Mwakabana
Sound good Mr Emanuel.Your effort and support needed as well boosting by supporting from donors to establish your project.Congratulation and hopefully the project will move far.I will support you too.
Let it be mwakabana your very creative God bless u in your project
I LIKE YOUR THOUGH
Keep it up mwakabana good project God bless it
Good proposal Mwakabana.
Health and safety training is important to farmers. Wish you all the best.
Good proposal wish you all the best in improving local agriculture as far as poor people are concern!!
To me I support your idea to insist farmers to use the proper PPE as is witnessed among our native farmers they not use these PPE and the main reason is lack of education and budget on these protection equipments. Congratulations your analysis is good and worth implementing.
Let it be mwakabana all the best and God will show you something through that project
Congraturation Mr. This is how we call agronomy… Yor project is more targeted to thr farmers of Njombe as always practise agriculture in their own ways without taking/following the agr-adviviser… So iko vzr and big up.
Good work and great idea Mr.Mwakabana, be blessed to take it to the next level
Good job mr mwakabana you look nice in this sector congratulations for your project god bless you with your fantastic work.
Hi Mwakabana,
Beyond reasonable doubt, your idea ought to be useful for capacity building .
Best regards,
Frank.
Is good idea brother, keep it up
Good Job Mr Mwakabana, Keep it up
It sounds good….Synthesizing Solid ideas into reality is what will make us move, all the best Brother.
Great idea my mate and keep it up i wish all the best to accomplish the goals
Great idea my mate and keep it up i wish all the best to accomplish the goalz
Good Job my bro..