The project title: Empowerment of Organic Small-Scale Farmer Families through Resilient Democratic Rural
Institutions, Market Access, and Advocacy (ESFROMA)
Project introduction
The ESFROMA program is the four-year program (2020-2023) implemented in Tanzania and Uganda. The program is funded by CISU through Organic Denmark (OD). In Tanzania, the program is implemented by the Tanzania Organic Agriculture Movement (TOAM) and UWAMWIMA. TOAM undertakes project activities in 10 villages of Chamwino District in Dodoma region whereas UWAMWIMA executes activities in 10 districts (4 in Pemba and 6 in Unguja)-Zanzibar. TOAM coordinates also the Program in the country. The program uses the farmer family learning group (FFLG) extension approach toward promoting organic agriculture.
The Programme’s overall goal is to decrease food insecurity and poverty through organic farming1 and empowerment of small-scale farmers including women and youth in Tanzania.
The strategic approach of the Program is founded on the development triangle and rests on three priorities in its recognition of the synergy between strategic delivery, organizational capacity, and advocacy (the key objective of the program);
a) Empowering small-scale Farmer families through promoting family-based sustainable organic agricultural production through FFLGs.
b) Strengthening civil society in advocating the rights of organic farmer families and organic agriculture (OA) at the local and national level through networks.
c) Securing market access for produce from organic small-scale farmer families through farmer-owned enterprises such as marketing associations and cooperatives
Key achievements
During this reporting period, the Program has realized remarkable progressive achievements and impacts to the targeted beneficiaries for the years January 2020 to December 2023 including but not limited to the following:
- The increased uptake and use improved sunflower seeds (QDS) in the project areas where 17,798 metric tons were produced and more than 3836 farmers were able to access the seeds.
- Increased access to financial services through VICOBA schemes whereby 51 FFLG with a total of 1103 (265M,838F) members have mobilized a total capital of TZS. 574,649,600 from which TZS 559,603,880 was issued to 1772 (1273 Female, 499 Male) members as a loan.
- A total of 25 FFLGs were facilitated on PGS for quality management among which. 22 FFLGs with 450 (320 females, 130 males) farmers were organically certified with the kilimohai mark under the East African Organic Mark.
- The has successfully established a total of 32 new FFLG with 603 (183 males, 420 female) members making a total of 149 FFLG with 2839 (1925 Female, 914 Males) farmers in Chamwino and Zanzibar. The program experienced a continued adoption of the organic FFLG approach and increased the number of farmers who apply organic farming methods/technologies in the program areas (Chamwino and Zanzibar) including the use of Farm yard manure, crop rotation, intercropping, mulching, botanical extracts, composts, green manure and leaving crops residuals.
- The FFLG approach introduced by the program created an avenue for communities to come together, discuss, and decide family matters together. Gender issues and leadership in the communities have been improved during this phase; for all 149 farmer groups in Chamwino and Zanzibar with a total of 745 leaders, 80% of these leaders equivalent to 596 are women while the remaining balance is represented by men and youth.
- The program managed to train primary school youth on Organic Agriculture and the FFLG approach, through the training of trainers (primary school teachers) who were trained by the program. To make it operational, the program, therefore, facilitated the establishment of OA school clubs used as the platform for extending knowledge to 100 youth in 5 primary schools (20 youth per school) located in the Chamwino district.
- In promoting local advocacy, the program facilitated and supported the process of development of the district environment action plan that with other issues details the Organic agriculture practices as the best mechanisms to combat the climate change challenges and effects facing farmers in the district.
- The program has experienced the improvement of social cohesion and capita strengthening, this has been achieved through the rotational visits introduced by the program as one of the key learning methods and it has strongly contributed to the improved spirit of helping each other and mutual learning for practicing resilient and sustainable food production systems.
About the ESFROMA II
The ESFROMA II is a four-year program that started in 2024 to phase out in 2027. In Tanzania, the program is implemented by two partners namely Tanzania Organic Agriculture Movement in Chamwino District Dodoma and Umoja wa Wakulima wa Mboga mboga na Matunda Zanzibar in Unguja and Pemba Island (Zanzibar).
The Programme overall goal is to decrease food insecurity and poverty through organic farming and empowerment of small-scale farmers including women and youth in Tanzania. The ESFROMA II focus on the three main outcomes:
- Outcome 1: Farmer families organised in FFLGs experience a 25 % increase in household food security through participation in Organic FFLGs and implementation of organic climate change adaptation farming strategies.
- Outcome 2: FFLGs, MAs and partner organisations advocacy for organic climate change adaptation food systems, market access for organic produce and democratic rural organizations results in increased political and financial support at local government level
- Outcome 3: 50 farmer-owned enterprises such as FFLGs, marketing associations and Cooperatives increase the sales of quality organic products by 30 %.
