The Research Results - Reaching the Smallholder
An analysis of Tanzania’s soil and weather revealed the Kiteto district of the Manyara Region as one with unique potential. So when our consultant told us he had found three trial farmers in the remote locale, we were excited to see it for ourselves. We loaded the whole team into a rented Toyota Crown and drove down to Dodoma to catch the public bus the next morning.
After receiving bad information from a ticket seller, we began our journey by 8am. The bus made its way slowly down the road, picking up schoolchildren, farmers, and fellow bus employees. After turning off the paved road, it became clear that we were in for a longer ride than the 2 hours that had been promised. Rutted and washboarded roads dogged us the entire way, as did the steady stop and start at each new village for passengers. Finally, around 1pm, we arrived in the rural town of Endusago. With only enough time to give the waiting farmers a pep talk and a running return to the bus stand, we then grabbed the last bus heading back our direction. We arrived in Dodoma to a late dinner at the hotel by 7pm that night.
While Hillary and I had a taste of Tanzania’s rural public transport, our interns routinely traveled hours by public bus each day to visit our 15 test sites once every two weeks. The sites in Endasago alone required two travel days. Their dedication to coordinating these diverse sites and documenting the experiences of smallholder farmers allowed us to test the new cultivars under diverse weather and soil conditions.
This year, we expanded our research by launching ‘Randomized Complete Block Design Trials’ in various sites where we compared international varieties with local hybrids already sold in Tanzania. With harvest already underway, we have collected adequate data to support our conclusion: that our partners’ new varieties have comparable (if not higher) yields, and more-than-reliable performance in low-fertility soils. Most importantly, every trial farmer asked if they could get more seeds.
If you want to learn more about our research program, reach out at gordon@heshima.co directly.
