Beyond Cotton - closing ceremony
- Inauguration of the irrigation infrastructure
The closing ceremony of the trilateral cooperation project ‘Beyond Cotton’, implemented by Brazil, Tanzania and the World Food Programme (WFP), was held on 28 March 2024 in the community of Nguge, Misungwi district, Mwanza region.
On the Brazilian side, Brazilian ambassador in Dar es Salaam, Gustavo Martins Nogueira, and representatives from the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC) and the Federal University of Campina Grande (UFCG) took part. From the Tanzanian government, were present the representative of the Ministry of Agriculture, Gungu Mibavu, the director-general of the Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI), Thomas Bwana, and the director-general of the Tanzania Cotton Board, Marco Mtunga. The WFP was represented by the director of the Tanzania office, Sarah Gordon-Gibson, and by the project manager of the Centre of Excellence against Hunger in Brasilia, Joelcio Carvalho.
On the occasion, the participants highlighted the main results of the project, which lasted 18 months and was implemented in the districts of Misungwi, Kwimba and Magu: (i) training of more than 13,000 farmers; (ii) distribution of biofortified sweet potato and maize seeds to more than 3,000 farmers; (iii) supply of nutritious sweet potato/maize to more than 4,000 students; (iv) construction of 9 cisterns (3 in each district); (v) training and construction of a fuel-efficient cook stove for the three districts; (vi) donation of three motor-cultivators and 250 seed drills to the co-operatives in the districts; and (vii) construction of irrigation infrastructure in an area dedicated to seed production in Nkanziga.
The irrigation system for TARI's seed production field in Nkanziga was inaugurated after the project's closing ceremony. The irrigation system financed by the project will make it possible to increase annual cotton seed production from the current 12 tonnes to 25 tonnes.
Objectives and social technologies shared by ‘Beyond Cotton’
The project's objectives were to increase productivity and add value to small-scale cotton production, promote food and nutritional security and increase the income of the beneficiary communities. These objectives were achieved through the dissemination and local adaptation of modern, sustainable agricultural techniques and low-cost social technologies, especially adapted to small producers and water-scarce environments. The interventions were therefore in line with the concept of ‘climate-smart agriculture’.
This was possible thanks to the knowledge and expertise of the Federal University of Campina Grande and the WFP Centre of Excellence against Hunger in Brazil in technologies aimed at small farmers in the Brazilian semi-arid region.
In the agricultural component, activities included the donation of small, easy-to-use motor cultivators and seed drills to reduce the time needed to prepare the soil and plant cotton and associated crops, including school gardens; biological pest control and the production of bio-fertilisers, sustainable techniques capable of reducing production costs; the construction of community seed houses to select quality seeds; and the introduction of intercropping (maize and beans and cotton and maize), useful for soil health and to promote food crops associated with cotton.
In the area of food and nutritional security, biofortified seeds were introduced to add nutrients to the community's diet. Nine 16,000-litre plate cisterns were built next to schools in the districts, in order to facilitate the availability of water and its use for preparing school meals (and for other community uses). The cistern uses simple materials and costs around USD 350, and can be replicated.
Efficient cook stoves were built (also replicable at low cost) to reduce wood consumption and smoke inhalation. The cookers also reduce the time needed to cook food and help with hygiene by providing a surface for cutting and handling food. Training was given in the construction of economical beds, which retain more water in the soil, in order to encourage the increase and diversification of food produced for family consumption. Nutrition and cooking workshops were also held to promote a more nutritious diet and the conservation and full utilisation of food.
The project has made available a website that brings together its main results, as well as practical brochures for building cisterns and other shared social technologies: