Beyond Cotton: Project document is approved in Tanzania

Brazil and Tanzania took an important step towards the implementation of the "Beyond Cotton Project", by validating the country-project, on 03/18, during an online workshop. The next step is the signing of the "Beyond Cotton Project" document by Brazil and Tanzania, so that the initiative's activities can officially begin in the field.

The project document is the main reference of the technical cooperation initiative, since it contains the mechanisms, arrangements, and details necessary to carry out the activities. It also serves as the basis for strategic decision-making regarding the technical, managerial and coordination aspects of the project.

During the workshop, the Director of Research and Innovation at the Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI), Joel Melliyo, said that the initiative ensures effective cooperation between TARI and the Government of Tanzania. Melliyo especially thanked the Brazilian Government, through the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE), for supporting the cotton sector in Tanzania, as well as the partnership with the Center of Excellence against Hunger of the World Food Program (WFP) in Brazil, in Brasilia, and its Office in Tanzania.

The officer in charge of ABC's trilateral South-South cooperation with International Organizations, Cecília Malaguti do Prado, said that the Beyond Cotton project is part of a broad Cotton Program of the Brazilian Government, which has the Brazilian Cotton Institute (IBA) as a financer, and highlighted the importance of the effort to ensure that the foreseen actions are developed in synergy and articulation with the other initiatives developed by Brazil and by WFP in the region

Agricultural Sector Development

The Beyond Cotton Project aims to support smallholder cotton farmers and public institutions in African countries to link cotton by-products (seed oil, cake, etc.) and intercrops such as maize, sorghum and beans to secure markets, including school feeding programs, to increase production, local income and food and nutrition security for family farmers

In Tanzania, Beyond Cotton fits into the national priorities of the Agriculture Sector Development Program, whose purpose is to transform the sector to improve productivity, marketing levels, and increase smallholder incomes.

To increase productivity, the priority is to support improved market linkages in both domestic and regional marketing to achieve productive potential and drive inclusive rural growth. The project also seeks to contribute to the improvement of some of the challenges of the cotton sector in that country: processing and value addition; family labor in field management; pest and disease management; soil fertility; and capacity building through training and demonstration plots.

Photo: WFP