Projects and Flagship Initiatives in Tanzania

The projects include;

 1000FARMS (BMGF $6.8M) which focuses on developing and pioneering a network of digitally-enabled on-farm variety evaluation and testing;

Artemis (BMGF $5M) which is developing imagery technology to enable on-farm phenotyping;

Accelerated varietal turnover (BMGF $4.6M) which is developing new models to accelerate variety turnover for open-pollinated crops;

On-farm Genomic Selection (BMGF $4.0M), which is pioneering new methods to perform early-generation on-farm breeding, linked to genomic markers to estimate genetic correlation between on farm and on station and bean population development.

GxExM Innovation in Intelligence (GEMINI) sub awardee; (BMGF $ 154,100), an AI-enabled biophysical framework, integrated with genomics, that predicts yield and nutritional quality traits based on genotype/variety and location,

SSUCURETA (IFAD) $214,324, Supporting the recovery of priority food crop value chains from the effects of COVID 19 to strengthen community resilience, markets, and trade development in Tanzania. 

The TARI bean program in collaboration with the Alliance through PABRA has promoted various gender-responsive pre- and post-harvest technologies including use of both organic and inorganic fertilizers, seed dressing chemicals, multi-crop threshers (MCT), planters, pests, and disease management, metallic silos, hermetic bags etc. The project partnered with Crop Bioscience Solutions to promote mechanization services bundled with improved seed, Good agronomic practices (GAP) and information that are climate smart in Manyara region reaching 6,500 acres (650 farmers of which 61 are female). Farmers adopting bundling services realized an increase in productivity from 750kg/ha to 1,150kg/ha. In Mbulu district within Manyara region, the projects collaborated with BAYMAC company to facilitate the last mile delivery of bundled services of seed of improved varieties, fertilizers, and chemicals to farmers on both cash and credits.

In addition, the projects partnered with Imara Tech in Tanzania and GrainPro company from Kenya to promote postharvest technologies (MCT and Solar bubble driers respectively) across Tanzania. More than 400 MCT were sold for the period of 2019 to 2021 (23% women being women buyers) creating job opportunities for youth as operators and each MCT is estimated to save 50 farmers per season. Six solar bubble driers were purchased and distributed to three farmer groups, two seed companies and two processors to support effective drying of seed and grain during the rainy season. Solar bubble driers and MCT proved to be essential on helping the farmers to get quality grains, reducing time spent on postharvest handling activities especially for women while creating employment for youths.

In Tanzania, our active projects include the following.