USAID-TAPP monthly bulletin #34

in conjunction with the Tanzania Horticultural Association (TAHA). The program aims to increase smallholder farmer incomes through enhanced productivity, crop diversification, and improved market access. TAPP is part of the Feed the Future initiative, a global hunger and food security program launched by the US government to break the cycle of hunger and poverty in developing countries. The program is focusing on the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor (SAGCOT), a region identified by the Tanzanian government as conducive for agricultural growth. TAPP is working with partners and the Government of Tanzania to concentrate efforts on selected crops and regions, particularly SAGCOT, to help transform the country's food security. One of the key interventions of TAPP is promoting the orange-flesh sweet potato (OFSP) among both producers and consumers. OFSP has improved nutritional qualities, particularly Vitamin A, and is being promoted as a staple crop in Tanzania. Farmers have been trained in good agricultural practices, and traders are eager to bring the new product to the market. Buturi Investments Ltd. hosted a field day in Kimbiji, Dar es Salaam, where farmers compared yields from both orange and white-flesh varieties and saw that the OFSP produced as well as or better than the white-flesh. TAPP is also working with farmers in the SAGCOT regions of Morogoro, Iringa, and Mbeya to prepare for the dry season. Drip irrigation systems and improved crop varieties were introduced to show farmers how they can improve and sustain production during seasons with little rainfall. Four farmers in Iringa and three farmers in Mbeya installed drip irrigation systems, and an additional 17 drip systems are scheduled to arrive in the next coming months. Farmers were also provided with improved varieties that will ensure production of high-quality horticultural products. The program has seen significant results, with farmers investing nearly $US 37,000 in irrigation infrastructure in September alone. Augustino Oluturia, a local farmer from Arusha, was able to increase his income significantly after being introduced to and trained in good agricultural practices. He was able to purchase and transplant improved potato and cabbage varieties, which resulted in a profit of TZS 490,000 (US$ 312) and TZS 800,000 (US$ 510), respectively. Oluturia was able to use the extra income to branch out to another crop and purchased seedlings, trays, pesticides, and land-preparation materials to boost his onion production. TAPP's counterpart, TAHA, has been awarded direct funding under the USAID Forward Program, making it the second organization in Tanzania to receive such funding. TAHA will receive a US$ 4M award for the development of the horticultural industry in Tanzania. The program is designed to increase smallholder farmer incomes through enhanced productivity, crop diversification, and improved market access, and is expected to have a positive impact on the lives of smallholders in Tanzania.