Regions Covered:
In regions of Songwe (Mbozi, Momba, and Songwe districts) and Rukwa (Kalambo, Nkasi, Sumbawanga DC, and Sumbawanga MC).
Target Beneficiaries:
12,000 Smallholder farmers (4,000 Women, Youth 3,000 – including 1,200 Female youth)
Market Facilitator:
SNV
Implementing Partners:
IKUWO General Enterprises Co. Ltd, TAPBDS, TMA, TARI Uyole, TOSCI, AMCOS, Cooperatives Office, Agri Grow Tanzania Ltd, Ndingala Radio FM, TCCIA-Rukwa, QDS producers
Project Goal:
Strengthening Inclusive Business in the Common Beans Value Chain in Rukwa and Songwe regions
Systemic Constraint:
- Limited availability and accessibility of improved Common bean varieties
- Low production and productivity of common bean
- Lack of strong market linkages between buyers and farmers.
- Farmers fetch low prices for common bean grains since they do not diversify bean grains into valuable products.
Intervention:
- Profile 12,000 smallholder farmers (4,000 Women, Youth 3,000 including 1,200 [40%] Female Youth) and 40 qualified declared seeds (QDS) producers’ mobilization in Rukwa and Songwe regions.
- QDS production by 40 producers on 80 acres producing 56MT.
- Develop an effective supply chain for QDS and certified seeds.
- Promote the use of improved common bean seeds and Climate-smart technologies.
Key Activities:
- Recruitment: Mobilization and registration of 12,000 SHFS (awareness creation of the project). Also Identify 40 SHFs to produce QDS.
- Seeds: Procuring foundation seeds (2,500Kg) for 40 QDS producers’ production.
- Monitoring: Conduct facilitation and coordination visits: track identification and registration of SHFs, and distribution of foundation seeds to QDS producers. Also, conduct facilitation and coordination visits: How efficiently RAS was delivered to SHFs.
- Contractual agreements: Engaging and contracting common beans QDS producers and certified seed producers.
- Quality control: Coordinating, mapping and completing all compliance processes for seeds production in 40 plots. Also conduct facilitation and coordination visits: Monitor production, certification and packing of QDS.
- Post-harvest handling: Support harvesting, cleaning and certification processes of farmers’ produce.
- Buyer signs a supply contract with SHFs (producer groups and AMCOS) for common beans prior. the season.
- Business linkages: Forging collaboration agreements with climate-smart inputs, services and technology providers and SHFs
- Specialized agri services: Facilitating soil sampling service providers to collect 400 soil samples from selected SHFs and provide tailored fertilizer advice to 3,000 (33% women, 25% Youth (40% female youth) SHFs.
- Awareness: Mobilize and sensitize 12,000 farmers and their farmer business organizations to enter a relationship with the buyer (linked to output 1) during the buyback and to ensure farmers do not side sale.
- Business knowledge promotion: Build the capacity of SHF on quality grain and how to respond according to the market demands, establish 40 formal contracts with buyers during the marketing/buyback period.
- Seeds: Train 500 women and youth in bean seeds production, value addition of bean grain, and marketing in higher value output markets.