Feed the Future Tanzania MnM Success Story: Dietary Diversity from Local Produce

The program has conducted 2,160 trainings in various subjects, including nutrition, benefiting more than 44,000 participants. Limited knowledge of healthy foods is a primary challenge to improving household nutrition in rural areas of Tanzania. A 2016 World Food Program Strategic Review found that families rarely consume the food they produce, including fruit, vegetables, eggs, milk, and meat. This report called upon stakeholders to develop strategies to address the nutrition problem. In response, FEED THE FUTURE TANZANIA MBOGA NA MATUNDA facilitates technical training and cooking demonstrations to farmers, agronomists, and nutrition specialists from government and private institutions. The program's value chain approach trains farmers to commercialize their farming activities and produce nutrient-rich crops, increasing availability and consumption of healthy food for improved dietary diversity. Tomato farmer Mathias Mhelela shared his experience following the program's training interventions in his village. He learned to cook viwholo (green peas) and prepare nutrient-rich, diversified food available in localities, which can improve nutritional status. The most commonly consumed foods in the village are ugali, made using sembe (a solid, stiff meal made from whole grain maize), cooked rice, spinach, sukuma wiki (collard greens), and dried beans. Fish and other meats are only available once or twice a week in the village, mostly brought in from Iringa, a considerable distance away. This makes them more expensive due to transport and handling costs involved. Mhelela explained how new preparation methods using locally available produce can increase intake of certain nutritious foods in his community. To date, FEED THE FUTURE TANZANIA MBOGA NA MATUNDA has conducted 2,160 trainings in different themes, including nutrition, benefiting 44,314 individuals. The activity seeks to reach 40,000 households beneficiaries over four years of implementation. By promoting dietary diversity from local produce, the program aims to improve nutritional status and overall health of rural communities in Tanzania.