Working together to develop the potato sector in Tanzania

The CD-PIT project

To support Tanzania with increasing its yield, the CD-PIT-project (Center for Development of the Potato Industry Tanzania) was setup in 2017. The project is one of the outcomes of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Tanzanian and Dutch government. In the MoU, cooperation between both governments has been recorded for the development of the potato sector in Tanzania. With a special focus on Dutch and Tanzanian businesses. The companies involved in the project work together in the different chains of the potato value chain.

Multiple companies are involved in the CD-PIT project, three potato trading companies (Agrico, Europlant and HZPC) offer new potato varieties, including cultivation and harvesting advice, Bayer supplies knowledge on crop protection, for the mechanisation of cultivation and harvesting Grimme is involved, Hanse Agrostore offers smart solutions for the procurement of potatoes and finally, Yara Tanzania is involved as fertilization specialist.
Together with cultivation, harvesting and sector specialists of Wageningen University & Research, Aeres Hogeschool and Pioneers Consulting, methods are being made to boost knowledge transfers in the field of potato varieties, crop management and entrepreneurship in Tanzania. To make the knowledge transfers successful, an organisation employing Tanzanian specialists on crop management and condition was set up in Mbeya, called Stawisha.

Central role for the demo farm

Next to the Stawisha office in Mbeya, the CD-PIT project has a farm of 20 hectares where, due to irrigation, potatoes are harvested twice a year. The farm has a multiple  purposes. First of all, the goal is to research the possibility for an optimal yield in specific circumstances. Secondly, the farm plays an important role in the knowledge transfer, ‘seeing is believing’ as they say in Dutch.

On the farm, there are multiple demonstration fields that demonstrate all available Dutch varieties in Tanzania. Besides the different varieties, two different fertilisation regimes are implemented on the plots. One is typically used in Tanzania and the other one derived from Dutch standards. The previous harvests from the demonstration fields show that, the Dutch fertilisation regime result in the yield to be higher. After several harvests with the right variations and fertilizing regimes, the results paid off, harvesting a similar yield to the Dutch average from the Tanzanian demonstration plots. 

Many visitors and knowledge transfers

During the first two years, close to one thousand farmers have visited the farm and the expectations are that these number will rise even further. Besides the variety demonstrations, crop management and protection, soil and fertilizing, and harvest techniques have been introduced to the visitors. Grimme, provided the farm with a small fleet of machinery. As part of the program, these machines are being demonstrated with explanations and information about how these machines have to be used and adjusted to the local setting.

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The position of the demo farm will become more important in the future. At the moment, the team is working on the realisation of a field visitors center, where they will give courses and symposia for the visitors. Recently a storage for potato has been delivered and is installed by Hanse Agrostore. This storage shows that it is possible for potatoes to be stored for three to four months in order to be sold for a better price later in the season.

Demo fields in the region

The second step for the CD-PIT project knowledge transfers, is the creation of demo fields in the region. During the rainy season of 2019, six demos have been established in the regions of Njombe, Iringa and Mbeya. Per demo, a group of thirty to sixty farmers are involved. The land for the demo fields are made available by these farmers. Four to five times during the cultivation of the crop, participants gathered on the plot to expand their knowledge on the choices that will have to be made (or have been made) on crop management. In fact, these farmer groups are study groups that discuss together the considerations that come with potato farming. The projects tries to connect with so-called AMCOS (Agricultural & Marketing Cooperatives Societies) as much as possible since these are already established and are known for their large member base. Because of that, it becomes easier to reach a larger range of farmers. Also, these AMCOS normally have more possibilities to invest in more advanced machinery and equipment then individual farmers.

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