By Deogratias Mmana:
After many years of growing crops for consumption, communities in Matambo village in the area of Senior Chief Chadza realised that farming could also be a business.
This realisation came in 2021 when Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) introduced to them a better way of farming to earn a living.
Jica introduced a market oriented small-holder horticulture empowerment and promotion project (Ma-shep).
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Ma-shep Project is a mind-set change from ‘grow and sell’ to ‘grow to sell’ since farmers produce for a readily available market.
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This approach ensures that farmers are motivated and acquire agricultural and business management skills that are necessary to gain access to and succeed in the competitive market.
Mthawanji Kulani, a mother of seven children in Matambo Village, says since the project was introduced to Matambo irrigation club in 2020, she and her husband have seen improvements in their life. The family has manage to demolish their old grass-thatched house and replaced it with a better house with iron-sheets.
“We were trained to conduct a market research and so we grow our crops with an existing market for the produce. After selling tomatoes and Irish potatoes, I built a better house in 2022. I also bought a goat in 2023 and this year, 2024, we have solar power in our house. My family’s dream is that, by next year, we should be completely self-reliant,” Kulani said when Jica president Akihiko Tanaka visited the club last week.
Kulani is not the only one who has benefited from the Ma-shep project. Lazaro Frederick, another member of the club, says apart from growing crops with an existing market, he has ventured into animal farming and has six pigs.
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“I know where I will sell the pigs. I want to have more pigs to supplement farm produce. Since the project came, our lives are improving. We are farming as a business. We are focused unlike in the past when we just grew crops for consumption,” Frederick says.
Matambo Irrigation Club, which is under Mpemba Extension Planning Area, was established April 2020 with 28 members.
Ma-shep was introduced to the club in 2021.
“Under the project, we learned how to carry out market research, seed research and record keeping. We are able to follow the farming calendar. We intensified our irrigation farming because we were linked to markets,” Joseph explains.
Although Ma-shep came to an end last year, Joseph says the club will continue since it has skills.
Senior Chief Chadza says he is happy to see that his subjects have taken agriculture as a business.
“I am grateful to Jica for imparting knowledge and skills in my people to take farming as a business. I request that Jica should continue linking them to markets,” Chadza says.
Director of Agriculture, Extension Services Pearson Soko says Matambo club is just a representation of 30,000 irrigation clubs in the country who have benefitted from irrigation.
“Most of these farmers were linked to markets,” Soko says.
He adds that the Ministry of Agriculture will continue with the project through the use of other recurrent transaction funds. He says the ministry will also ensure that all programmes in government that link farmers to markets should take the Ma-shep approach.
During his visit to the club last Wednesday, Tanaka said the club impressed him for being visionary.
“I have visited many sites in other countries engaged in this project but this club is the most visionary,” Tanaka said.
He encouraged the members to continue taking agriculture as a business to acquire wealth and happiness.
“There may be challenges but I am convinced that, with you together, we can overcome those challenges. Jica’s vision is to realise your vision. Let’s work together,” he said, urging the Ministry of Agriculture to continue implementing the project since it has come to an end.
Ma-shep was designed to be implemented in all the 28 districts from 2017 to 2023.
The project trained farmers to conduct participatory baseline surveys and market surveys to understand the current status of farmers and help them understand prices, marketable crops and required quality and quantity.
The farmers are also provided with infield training for the crops they have selected.
