The Tanzania Agricultural School: Sustainable success using a modern approach to farming
The seeds of change:
A new generation of farmers in Tanzania


Overview
Project
The DEICHMANN Foundation supports the KIUMA Agricultural Project (KAP) – an agricultural school in the Tunduru district, in southern Tanzania. The local partners, the relief organisation wortundtat and KIUMA are training young people to become farmers, following a pilot project undertaken in Gambia.
Impact
After completing their two-year training course, the young farmers will heve learned how to provide themselves and their families with food all year round. The success rate of the pilot project in Gambia speaks for itself: 30 of 33 graduates found employment on a farm after graduating or established their own agricultural start-up. With the support of the Agricultural School in Tanzania, the DEICHMANN Foundation tackles two main problems in southern Tanzania: Hunger and unemployment


Why help is essential
Tanzania, a land in distress
However, changing climatic conditions pose major challenges for farmers. Traditional farming methods are no longer capable of countering irregular, heavy rains and droughts. This requires farming methods and irrigation techniques to be adapted to increase efficiency and sustainability so that the inhabitants of the region can grow crops all year round.

70%
of enrolled children complete primary school

45%
of the population live on € 2 a day

24%
of the population are undernourished

70%
of the rural population lack proper sanitation facilities

A major project for the Tunduru district: with modern crop growing methods for the sustainable supply of entire communities. Young people come to KIUMA, learn how modern agriculture works and bring their knowledge back to their villages.


How the Foundation helps
The Tanzania Agricultural School – young talents become farming professionals
The course is divided into three sections:
- Fruit/vegetable crop growing
- Poultry farming and livestock fattening
- Food processing
The distinctive feature of the Tanzania School of Agriculture is the holistic agricultural business approach: a triad of agricultural skills, business administration and marketing. In addition to farming output, the curriculum includes:

business management
- accounting
- budgeting
- crop planning
- product development
- creating databases
marketing
- market analysis
- customer analysis
- sales techniques

Young farmers are sowing their future
Currently, around 60 young women and men between the ages of 15 and 20 are being skilled. In the first year of their studies, growing fruit and vegetables is on the curriculum, in the second year, animal husbandry, growing animal feed and further food processing are the focus. The practice crop area: 720 m² per person. The trainees are each responsible for their own field where they will be farming, so that the willingness to perform is promoted via competition with each other.
Participants come from surrounding villages and live on the KIUMA campus. They benefit from individual teaching to develop their strengths. Most find a permanent job after training or start their own business. A bursary secures students financially, including monthly pocket money and start-up capital after graduation.
Know-how for sustainable success: KIUMA trainers are shaping the next generation
The trainers come from a nearby agricultural college and are familiar with local conditions and needs. Training consists of 80% practice and 20% theory, including business strategy and planning.



The impact of aid
A new generation of farmers – leveraging sustainability for success

THE TANZANIA AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL: GROWING FOOD AND THE FUTURE
The Agricultural School in Tanzania has adopted a special teaching plan, the permaculture approach: farmers design crop growing in such a way that it is sustainable and largely self-sustaining, similar to a natural ecosystem. The aim is to develop agricultural systems that can be exploited throughout the year and provide yields without harming nature.
For example, staff teach trainees agroforestry – a sustainable land use practice. Trees and shrubs are combined with crops and livestock on the same plot of land. Using such methods, young farmers are able to take advantage of biodiversity, improve the ecological health of soil and increase productivity while at the same time protecting the environment.

AN UNBEATABLE COMBINATION LEADS TO SUCCESS
Through the combination of farming practice, economic theory and strength coaching, the social and professional skills of the trainees are reinforced. They learn teamwork, long-term planning and what good business practice means. Harvests are not exported. Rather, the young farmers initially use their yields to feed themselves and their families all year round. They sell any surpluses on the local markets. After training, they will have learned exactly what they need to buy and how to increase their output adapted to local needs. They re-invest any profits in their business and thus provide security for the next generations – the direct way out of hunger and unemployment.
Those who do not want to set up their own business immediately after graduation will be able to find good jobs with local landowners. The Agricultural School has already gained a sterling reputation and the well-trained workforce is in demand.

SHARING COMMON SENSE WITH SUCCESSFUL FARMERS
During training, the young trainees live together at the boarding school. In this way, they hone their social skills on a daily basis. Considerate behavior shown to each other increases the motivation and willingness to learn. Over the two years, they mature into young people with a keen sense of responsibility for the community.


Background information
Diversity as a strength
There are around 129 different ethnic groups in Tanzania. Swahili is the common language. The teaching materials have been especially developed for the Agricultural School, translated into the national language Swahili and adapted to the local, farming characteristics.
This provides the students at the Agricultural School with an excellent basis for successfully launching into their future with a solid diploma under their belt.



Project partner
The partner for this project is the wortundtat charity.
Since 1977, the motto of the wortundtat: relief organisation has been: “God loves people. We’ll show you in words and deeds!” People that other aid hardly ever reaches are the focus of wortundtat. The DEICHMANN Foundation supports the relief organisation and its projects in the areas of social welfare, healthcare and education. The KIUMA project was only made possible thanks to the help of the DEICHMANN Foundation and many private donors. Since 1996, it has been helping the people in this region of Tanzania.