Agriculture contributes about
24.1%
LIVELIHOODS ABOUT WORLD VISION TANZANIA
average per capita annual GDP is
$500
World Vision Tanzania (WVT) is a Christian development, relief and advocacy non-governmental organization dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. WVT targets to directly improve the sustained well-being of 1.6 million girls and boys – especially the most vulnerable. Present in Tanzania for more than 30 years, we partner with governments at the national, regional and local levels, faith-based organizations, and other NGOs.
Agriculture Is A Business World Vision Tanzania helps rural farmers transition from subsistence agriculture to market-oriented crop production, providing incomes for families to spend on food, health and education needs of their children. We organize farmers into Savings Groups, Producer Groups and Commercial Villages and equip them with best practices in irrigation, crop and seed selection, soil management and crop harvesting and storage. In the livestock sector, we provide training in breeding technology, pasture management and poultry production. World Vision Tanzania aims to increase productivity and profitability of 155,000 Households by 2020.
Finance Unlocks Opportunities We work in tandem with VisionFund, World Vision’s microfinance subsidiary, so farmers can access loans to buy seed, fertilizer and the equipment necessary to run their farms as businesses. We mobilize communities into Savings Groups who pool their resources to make joint capital purchases like warehouses and harvesting equipment, and in the process learn to save, borrow and manage money. Farmers who participate responsibly in Savings Groups can borrow directly from VisionFund. We welcome community members, especially women, to borrow to build small businesses that provide additional income to their families.
WHAT
WE DO
Fast Facts
• Tanzania has an average per capita annual GDP of $500 and 36% of the population lives below the absolute poverty line of $1.25 per day. • Agriculture contributes about 24.1% of Tanzania GDP and employs about 75% of the total labor force (URT, The National Agriculture Policy, 2013) • Only 9% of Tanzanians have access to financial services and only 4% have ever received a bank loan.
Natural Resources: Assets for the Future When communities work together to maintain and improve their agricultural land, forests and water supplies, they are investing in their future. World Vision Tanzania takes a collaborative approach to natural resource management, mobilizing community members to take responsibility for their own resources. We support them to build irrigation canals, rehabilitate dams and construct water pans at the household level to capture and store rain for irrigation. We teach farmers to manage the fertility of their soil and to rehabilitate surrounding landscape. Through our natural resource management programmes, communities experience sustainable food security, increased economic vitality and improved resilience for families.
Equipping Farmers to Access Markets Smallholder farmers usually sell their crops locally, even though better prices may be available elsewhere. Once
• Climate change is impacting the most vulnerable food producers; today droughts occur every 2 to 4 years in many parts of the country. • Tanzania enjoys a surplus of arable land, good soil quality, plenty of water in most regions and favorable agricultural initiatives. • World Vision Tanzania seeks to directly improve the well-being of 697,500 children by promoting the resilient livelihoods of at least 300,000 smallholder farmers living in 155,000 households by 2020.
farmers band together in Producer Groups, they have the scale to access distant markets. We train farmers in obtaining reliable market information and negotiating with wholesale buyers. World Vision has established the Great African Food Company (GAFCo), a social enterprise whose mission is to help smallholder farmers produce high value crops and to access the best markets. GAFCo suppliers can triple their incomes, moving from sustenance farming to a standard of living well above the poverty line.
Resilience and Social Safety Nets Even a minor setback can be devastating to a farming family. World Vision Tanzania strengthens household resilience through collective community efforts to help vulnerable families and children. We teach farmers to diversify their crops and manage their water supplies to be less reliant on unpredictable weather. When a setback does occur, whether at the household or community level, their Savings Groups are ready with emergency funding from their Group Social Welfare Accounts.
W O R L D V I S I O N TA N Z A N I A H E A D O F F I C E
WORLD VISION DAR ES SALAAM
H E A D O F F I C E R A D I O TA N Z A N I A ROA D,
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIVISION C H WA K U S T R E E T, P L OT N O. 3 2 8 B L O C K A , M I KO C H E N I ‘ A ’ A R E A P.O. BOX 6399/79079 DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA TEL: +255 22 254 2775224/8 FAX: +255 22 254 2775538
O F F N J I RO ROA D B L O C K C , P L OT N O. 1 8 1 , N J I RO P. O. B OX 6 0 7 0 A RU S H A , TA N Z A N I A TEL: +255 27 254 9252/58 FAX: +255 27 254 9259
LEARN MORE:
www.wvi.org/tanzania