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A Quatery Newsletter of Kilimo TrustVolume 3, Issue 3 September 2018
Inside This Issue:New Matching Grant Fund (MGF) Sub-Projects Commissioned under CHIPS Project
NjoPo and Viazi ni Pesa Consortia agree to boost collective marketing of potatoes in Njombe region
Potato Farmers in Njombe exploring collective marketing opportunities
Use of GAP proven to increase potato yield to more than 15MT per Ha
Through CHIPS potato farming makes home better
The ResultsCHIPS Newsletter
New Matching Grant Fund (MGF) Sub-Projects Commissioned under CHIPS Project
In January 2018, five new MGF sub-projects were commissioned under CHIPS Project during a one-day inception and learning workshop organized by Kilimo Trust on 29th January 2018 at Nala Centurion Hotel in Dodoma.
The new 5 commissioned sub-projects are:
1. Vikundi Kipato (VIKI) project led by VIBINDO Society to establish three strong business Apexes (Vikundi Kipato) of 4,000 Potato Small Retailers and Vendors (SRVs) in Dar es Salaam, Morogoro and Zanzibar for effective business linkage with farmers and trading of Potatoes and Potato products.
2. Linking Small Potato Value Chain Actors through Collective Efforts (LiSPACE) led by Youth Empowerment Strategies In Developing Opportunities (YES I DO) to enhance 4,500SRVs in Dodoma, Iringa and Singida regions for collective procurement of potato.
3. Southern Highland VC Actors of Round Potato Consortium (SHARPCo) led by Actions for Development Programs (ADP) - Mbozi focusing at improving the business linkage between Value Chain Actors including 4,300 farmers and 600SRVs in Mbozi, Ileje, Mbeya city and Tunduma.
4. Viazi ni pesa project led by Acla Honey Enterprises to improve business linkage with farmers and 1,500 SRVs in Dar es salaam through marketing of quality potato and potato products
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CHIPSNewsletter September 2018
5. Increasing round potatoes production to enhance food security and poverty reduction for 2,000 farmers in Arumeru district project led by Research, Community and Organizational Development Associates (RECODA)
The 5 sub-projects join another 4 that were commissioned in 2017 namely: i) Njombe Potato (NjoPo) Marketing led by NADO, ii) Lusitu Potato Marketing (LuPoMa) led by Lusitu Agribusiness Group, iii) Potato Seed System Activation (PESSA) led by Beula Seeds Company and iv) Potato Marketing Improvement Project (PMIP) through improving access to preferred potato varieties led by Usambara Lishe Trust).
The workshop involved participants from partners leading all nine sub-projects, Tanzania Horticultural Association (TAHA) and Agricultural Research Institute (ARI) Uyole.
In her speech Rachel Ajambo, the team leader of Kilimo Trust Tanzania encouraged participants to team up to work together towards achieving project
MGF sub-project partners at the inception and learning workshop held on 29th January, 2018 in Dodoma
targets in timely manner. The workshop programme involved presentation and discussion by both new MG partners and Round I MG partners, TAHA, ARI-Uyole and Kilimo Trust giving opportunity of understanding one another, assessing CHIPS progress, sharing experience and drawing lessons learnt from CHIPS implementation for one year. In her remarks to participants Catherine Kabungo, the coordinator of CHIPS project team at ARI Uyole congratulated
new partners for MG award and emphasized all parties in all consortia to work together as a team to achieve CHIPS targets.
The CHIPS project is targeting to reach at least 20,000 small holder farmers and 15,000 small scale retailer and vendors of potato and potato products through various interventions including capacity building and business linkages among potatoes value chain actors
Continued from previous page
NjoPo and Viazi ni Pesa Consortia agree to boost collective marketing of potatoes in Njombe regionThe Njombe Agricultural Development Organization (NADO), the lead firm of NjoPo consortium has signed an agreement with Acla Honey – a potato company based in Dar es Salaam and leading Viazi ni Pesa consortium – to facilitate collective potato marketing by smallholder farmers (SHFs). Through this agreement farmers who aggregate and sort potatoes into different grades get a price premium higher prices of not less than 3.5% of prevailing market prices.
After signing the agreement in March 2018 Acla Honey Enterprises purchased 140 MT of graded potatoes from SHFs by Apri 15th 2018. According to Claudia Morand, the MD of Acla Honey Enterprises, the company is planning to purchase an average 13MT of potatoes on weekly basis from farmers engaged under CHIPS project in southern and northern highlands.
From Left to right John Wihallah, NADO chairman; Faraja Maguhu, NADO marketing officer and Claudia Morand, MD of Acla Honey Enterprises sign potato marketing agreement
Farmers in Ng’anda village aggregating and packing potatoes ready for sale to Acla Honey Enterprises
The CHIPS project has also achieved to train 4,483 SHFs in Farmer Business Schools (FBS) which focus on improving farmer capacity to manage potato farming business including collective marketing. By mid of April 2018, 24,689MT of ware potatoes have been traded by engaged farmers through collective marketing. By December 2019, the project targets to build capacity of 20,000 SHFs to implement collective marketing of potatoes.
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CHIPSNewsletter September 2018
Potato Farmers in Njombe exploring collective marketing opportunities
Calories and Household Incomes from Potato Sub-sector (CHIPS) through Njombe Potato (NjoPo) Consortium has successfully facilitated farmers to collectively market their potatoes. NjoPo has reached 2,365 potato farmers who have been trained on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), Good Post Harvest Handling (GPHH) and Farmer Business Schools (FBS); and mobilized to organize themselves into 99 FBOs.
Mshikamano Farmers group: Mshikamano farmers group in Ng’anda village with 20 members (11 male and 9 Female) is among beneficieries of CHIPS interventions.“This project has trained and linked us directly with buyers from Dar Es Salaam for marketing our potatoes at reasonable price without intermediaries, taking experience of price without grading and collective marketing 100kg bag is sold at 29,000TZS while when we grade and sell together the price is 31,000TZS. We appreciate this project for idea of grading, packaging and collective marketing which have helped to reduce transaction costs, negotiate and get better prices” said Melcksedeck Mandele the group chairman.
Farmers have found collective marketing a very useful tool. Under NjoPo consortium, farmers have aggregated and sold a total of 26,674 MT of different market preferred varieties to Food Vendors Groups, Retailers Groups and traders based in Njombe and Dar Es Salaam”, Faraja Maguhu, NjoPo marketing officer quoted.
Faidika Farmers Group: Faidika group in Kanani village started collective marketing of potatoes in March 2018. Members of the group had this to say ‘” we previously sold potato individually whereby we incurred high transaction costs including transportation with low negotiation power. From this project we have been trained on the importance of collective marketing and decided to adopt it. Before harvesting we found a buyer together as a group. We then harvested and aggregated our potatoes in one of the centers and we found that the cost of transportation was reduced because hiring a truck to Njombe market costed us TZS 200,000 in which everyone contributed TZS 10,000. When we used to sell individually each farmer had to incur TZS 200,000 to hire the truck alone. Our profit has increased because we sell directly to the buyer at TZS 5000 per tin of 18Kg. We now earn TZS 1000s more on profit compared to when we sell to middlemen at TZS 4000 per 18kg tin”
CHIPS Project has facilitated the training of 4,109 farmers on Good Agricultural Practices since project inception in 2016. A total of 119 improved technology demonstration and learning sites have been established through which the farmers have received hands-on training and application. Evidence that farmers can achieve a productivity of more than 15MT per ha has been generated. This has challenged farmers of potato that adopting GAPs can result in increments in yield from the current 2MT/ha to 8MT per ha with moderate investments.
Potatoes aggregation by Mshikamano group at Ng’anda village
Farmer field day on GAP training; technology demo plot at Gonelamafuta in Njombe
Practical session on potatoes grading at ARI Uyole during TOT course
Faidika group members sorting potatoes into different grades
Use of GAP proven to increase potato yield to more than 15MT per Ha
Agricultural Research Institute Uyole (ARI-Uyole) is spear heading the training of trainers on GAP for extension officers and lead farmers engaged under CHIPS project.
The training held at ARI-Uyole involving 23 trainers from SHARPCO, NjoPo and Arusha Potato Consortia. The training was conducted in four days (4) training of trainers from (4th-7th December, 2017) by a team of potato experts from Uyole (Dr. Dorah Mende, Catherine Kabungo, Dr. Betty Gondwe, Alatwisila Sakalani, Mr. John Kigwinya and Mr. Jonas Jophrey) and Kilimo Trust Tanzania (Mr. Edwin Shio).
Kilimo Trust Head QuartersPlot 42 Princess Anne Drive, Bugolobi P.O.Box 71782, Kampala UgandaTel: +256 392 264 980/1 , +256 200 926 498 Email: [email protected]
Kilimo Trust TanzaniaPlot 455, Avocado Street, Kawe P.O.BOX 106217, Dar-es-Salaam, TanzaniaTel: +255 22 278 1299 Email: [email protected]
Kilimo Trust KenyaRavine Road, opposite Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) Nakuru DepotOffice: Smallholder Dairy Commercialization Programme - Programme Coordination UnitP.O. Box 12261-20100, Nakuru, KenyaTel: +254 721 748 056 | Email: [email protected]
Kilimo Trust RwandaMagerwa Street, KK 6 Avenue House NHOB 10 -NAEB PremisesP.O Box 5448 Kigali – Rwanda Tel: +250 788 874 901Email: [email protected]
Website: www.kilimotrust.org
ToT trainers after their course
Isaka (left) during potatoes harvesting from his farm
Part of Isaka house installed with electricity from proceeds of potato sales
Through CHIPS potato farming makes home better
Isaka Kalumiana is a potato farmer and father of 5 children in Izuo Village, Mbeya Rural. He is among 1,487 farmers engaged by CHIPS Project through Potatoes Enhancement through Seed System Activation (PESSA) consortium led by Beula Seed Company Limited. Mr. Isaka was trained on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and attended Farmer Business School (FBS) training. After the trainings Isaka adopted GAP skills Including selection of good potato seed, pests and diseases management, harvesting, sorting, grading and storage of ware potatoes. He was impressed with the trainings and agreed to be one of the lead farmers; volunteering his 0.1ha farm as a technology demonstration and learning site. The site was planted with three potato varieties Meru, Tengeru and Sasamua (a local variety).
In another plot of 0.25acres (0.1ha), Isaka decided to adopt all the GAPs using unreleased variety locally called Obama. He kept farm records to help him find out if he got loss or profit.
He had this to say “Previously, I harvested only up to maximum of 5 to 6 bags (of about 100kg) from this piece of land (equivalent to yield of 4.5 MT - 5.9 MT/ha), But after application of GAP as trained the yield doubled in
the same piece of land of 0.25 acres (0.1ha) to 10 bags (equivalent yield of 10MT/ha). From my records I calculated my profit from this 0.25Acre and found my income doubled from TZS 250,000 (equivalent to TZS 2,500,000 per ha) to TZS 500,000 (equivalent to TZS 5,000,000 per ha). I used the money for installing electricity in my house. My plan is to expand these practices to the rest of my farm next seasons”. Thanks to CHIPS project, my family house is better with electricity”.
Use of GAP proven to increase potato yield to more than 15MT per Ha continued
