profitable agriculture

Most people in Tanzania are subsistence farmers. They grow just (not quite) enough food to feed their families. Many of them live in poverty. As a result, farming is not viewed as a profitable opportunity. Tanzania's youth don't necessarily aspire to be farmers. It's only a means to survival.

But what if farming could lead to abundance? If a career in agriculture could be profitable?

Agriculture can be an essential driver of economic development and an area of great opportunity for Africa's youth. However, most young people in the region do not see agriculture as a profitable opportunity. Photo by: The MasterCard Foundation on Devex

Increasing productivity and improving crop yields is essential for changing perspectives on agriculture and effective community development in Tanzania. By implementing conservation agriculture practices farmers can build the productivity of their soils through composting and mulching. By building up and taking care of the soil on their farms, the soil will become more fertile, maintain soil moisture, and protect the soil from the effects of the hot African sun and the torrential rains. Many farmers can't afford expensive chemical fertilizers but these fertilizers only feed their crops and do nothing for the soil. Improving the farmer's soil provides long-term sustainable productivity with minimal inputs. In addition, farmers can incorporate certain species of beneficial trees into their gardens through agroforestry and Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) to draw soil nutrients to the surface where they're accessible to crops, fixing nitrogen in the soil, and providing mulch, in addition to reducing soil erosion, providing a source of forage and fuel wood, etc.

These are just some of the practices that we might promote to help farmers in Tanzania realize abundance on their farms. You can be part of the transformation. Would you consider supporting our work among Tanzania's farmers?

read more...
devex: envisioning agriculture as a business for youth in Africa

Africa's beauty is rivaled only by her destitution, her richness in natural resources comparable only to the suffering of her people. Farming God's Way empowers farmers to break free from the bondage of poverty and make use of the natural resources that surrounds them. By empowering farmers to trnsform their farms into economiclly viable ventures, it moves farmers from sufficiency to abundance, from subsistence to surplus.