Tanzania
is a long way from California - geographically, culturally,
climatically and agriculturally. This is impossible to forget as a
Global Service Corps (GSC) volunteer in Tanzania. Especially when your
morning commute suddenly is transformed from an apathetic twist of a
car key to the determined twist of your shoulder as you struggle to
hang on to the side of a packed daladala speeding up the Moshi-Nairobi Road.
GSC launched its Sustainable Agriculture Program in Arusha,
Tanzania on September 24, 2001 with the assistance of Matthew Elkin and
Joe Lambro, two dedicated volunteers from Lancaster, Penn. and San
Francisco, respectively. Matthew and Joe have experienced first-hand
how to launch an international grassroots development project. Every
accomplishment thus far - including reports written, compost piles
built and relationships forged - is a result of their personal hard
work and effort.
Matthew and Joe spent the first few weeks learning about the needs
of farmers in this region of northern Tanzania. It is critical that
agricultural and environmental education efforts by groups such as GSC
involve the input and participation of local farmers.
There is only one method of achieving this: Get out and go to
where the farmers are! In Africa this requires an ability to navigate
dusty bus stands at ridiculous hours of the morning (not to mention an
ability to sleep soundly while sitting upright on a bus with chickens
and goats as fellow passengers).
In their first week, GSC’s volunteers traveled to the Mbulu region
of northern Tanzania to explore local farming methods with the help of
the Multi-Environmental Society of Tanzania, a local organization that
provided us with expert assistance and support.
We traveled first to Karatu, a village overlooking the Rift
Valley. Agriculture here is rapidly becoming mechanized and
chemical-intensive, as farmers seek to improve yields. The impacts of
mechanized agriculture are slowly becoming apparent as the region’s
fertile soil erodes and washes away, choking small rivers downstream.
Further into the countryside, we reached the Mbulu District,
heartland of the Iraqw people in the Mamaisara hills. In this remote
and extremely fertile region, there is little talk of intensive
agriculture. Here the community places a heavy reliance on subsistence
farming to feed their families with only a small profit coming from
produce sales.
Through interviews with farmers and women’s groups, and by
attending village committee meetings, we gained valuable insights into
regional farming practices as well as the problems that face local
farming communities. The main issue was a concern over the increased
reliance on pesticides and chemical fertilizers and a disappointment
that they don’t work effectively over the long-term. Also, an increased
reliance on imported hybrid seeds was making farming more expensive
than many of our acquaintances were comfortable with.
As Tanzania’s population continues to grow, so do the aspirations
of its people for better standards of living. Although Tanzania is in
the process of mechanizing its agricultural practices, much of the
local population still relies on subsistence farming to feed their
families.
The use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers has increased
exponentially in Tanzania in the past decade as the pests develop
resistance to the chemicals. Tanzania is slipping into a frightening
cycle of adding chemicals on top of chemicals just to stay one step
ahead of the damage the chemicals themselves are causing.
This environmentally destructive method of farming is so capital
intensive that it’s simply not a viable option for resource-poor
farmers. Organic sustainable agriculture, with a focus on small-scale
farms and a concern for local environmental sustainability, is one
possible alternative to the current unsustainable methods. Sustainable
agriculture - with less reliance on costly chemicals, pesticides and
fertilizers - holds the key to the future of Tanzanian development.
GSC’s Sustainable Agriculture Program educates farmers about the
biointensive method of organic farming. Biointensive farming involves
deep, hand-dug garden beds that produce yields two to six times higher
than mechanized agriculture, while using only small amounts of water,
organic compost, energy and space. While the initial work is greater
than for a traditional plot, once established, the work and input is
reduced significantly over the long run.
GSC Tanzania has made excellent contacts and has begun effective
collaborations with local organizations. Our two primary partners in
the region are Heifer Project International of Tanzania and the Tengeru
Agricultural College and Livestock Research Institute, located just
outside Arusha. Both of these organizations have offered endless
insight and support.
GSC is currently creating a biointensive plot at Tengeru to
demonstrate biointensive organic farming technologies to local farmers
and future GSC volunteers. Joe and Matthew have introduced 70 Tengeru
farmers to the benefits of composting and organic farming. These
farmers, having constructed compost piles in their classes, are now
anxious to replicate them on their own plots at home.
Once the demonstration plot has been firmly established, it will
continue to be used as a teaching site. In addition to training new
farmers, GSC will assist in the creation of new biointensive plots in
other communities. Since the launch of the project, farmers and
community leaders have been approaching GSC with requests for
assistance and training in learning to farm organically.
The biggest challenge we have faced is maintaining a focus on achieving specific goals amid surprising demand.
A future goal of GSC’s Sustainable Agriculture program will be to
integrate it into GSC’s already established HIV/AIDS Education Program,
also based in Arusha. With approximately 20 percent of Tanzanians
infected with HIV, the magnitude of this problem is difficult to
overlook.
Because the drugs used to treat HIV/AIDS are inaccessible to most
Tanzanians due to high cost and limited access to healthcare, the most
realistic, effective and affordable treatment for HIV/AIDS is a
nutrient-rich diet to maintain immune system health. GSC will be
promoting this idea through its agriculture program, helping to educate
HIV/AIDS victims about the importance of proper immune system health
and providing access to immune-boosting organic foods.
Our work in Tanzania is well on its way to replicating the
successes of previous GSC projects, giving new tools to farmers while
simultaneously addressing the crisis of HIV/AIDS in East Africa.
Molly Pulsifer was GSC’s Tanzania in-country program coordinator June-December, 2001
GSC sustainable agriculture programs of one to six months are
scheduled for March, June, September and November. GSC also sponsors
HIV/AIDS education programs in Tanzania. Contact GSC [300 Broadway, San Francisco, CA 94133, (415) 788-3666, www.globalservicecorps.org, gsc@earthisland.org].
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