Yesterday we had a very illuminating meeting with Best Friend of the Korogwe Project, Yakub, a local mechanic/computer science engineer (the former as family legacy, the latter as a passion) who first contacted us several months ago after hearing about our project from a German social worker who had been working in the area. Yakub has been a great friend to us thus far, both in helping us get settled here in Korogwe and developing our project. From the start, he has insisted that we meet his friend, mzee John Mtambo. We happily obliged, not having any idea who he was or how he might relate to our project. Lucky for us, the guy is absolute dynamite. He’s an older man (hence mzee, which literally means “old person” in Swahili), and an incredibly wise one. He has been involved in agriculture in various ways for several decades, and seemed to know everything about anything pertaining to agriculture in Tanzania. He also spared no breath in imparting his voluminous knowledge into us. Mzee Mtambo’s newest project is the creation of an agricultural training center in a nearby district.
Perhaps the most critical issue farmers here face is an almost complete lack of knowledge of “modern” farming practices. For centuries, farmers here practiced shifting agriculture—they farmed one plot for as long as they could and then simply cleared a new patch of forest and moved on. There was never any reason to develop sustainable methods of cultivation—why waste time replacing nutrients in the soil if you have no intention of farming it permanently. Today, farmers are no longer mobile, yet most have not adapted their farming practices to their new, sedentary lifestyle. As a result, there’s little legacy of generational exchange of agricultural knowledge—you can’t pass on what you never had. Of course, economic limitations compound this cultural/historical problem—fertilizer does little good if you can’t afford to buy it.
Mzee Mtambo’s vision is to create an agricultural training center where young farmers can learn modern farming practices. The principal focus would be on food security. This is, of course, a pressing problem today that will only intensify in the future, as the climate changes, populations grow, and food prices rise. This adds an interesting wrinkle to our project. As mzee Mtambo pointed out, marketing and distribution might be a pressing issue for some farmers, but what of the many farmers who don’t produce enough to feed their families, let alone to sell surplus in a market?
In light of this issue, we headed off for our first real market visit early this morning. We visited the Kerenge market, a village market 12 miles from Korogwe. We travelled down a pot-hole lined dirt road into a scenic valley, passing by women headed to the market with sacks of maize and vegetables atop their heads. The market itself was bustling, and alive with colors.
At the market we met up with a local Anglican priest, a community development officer, the district agricultural extension agent (1 government employee for 10,000 farmers), and a couple other local officials. We made our way slowly through the market—clearly not a tourist hotspot, judging from the general reaction to our posse—chatting with produce vendors as best we could. We talked to several women selling maize, and each told a similar story: the women bring maize to the market, and are under serious financial pressure to sell their crop to raise cash for purchasing essential goods. Most are reluctant to leave the market at the end of the day with any of their crop unsold. “Buyers”/middlemen know the pressure that these women face. As a result, they approach the women at the start of the market and offer to buy all of their crop at an extremely low price. Some women agree. Others choose to stay and sell. Thus the buyers/middlemen patiently wait along the fringes of the market until the end of the day; when the market is ending, they again offer to purchase all of the crop at an even lower rate. Many have no choice but to sell. According to the women, the “buyers” are organized—they all agree amongst themselves to buy at a certain price, eliminating any leverage the women might gain via competition. It certainly did seem that the buyers were well organized. They were all gathered at the edge of the market, chatting amiably amongst themselves, waiting for the end of the day. The women have little hope of selling their crop at fair market price at the village market. In the two hours that we were there, none of us saw a single transaction take place. The buyers, however, organize themselves to transport the maize to bigger markets, particularly the district market in Korogwe.
Having discussed the farmers’ plight with John Mtambo and Yakub – and having visited the market in Kerenge and interviewed the agricultural officers and local farmers – the Korogwe Project is now considering solutions for two problems: Food Security and Fair Market Prices for remote villagers. In the weeks ahead, we will be working with several people on mapping possible avenues for change, starting with but not limited to using the Anglican Diocese as a disseminator of best farming practices and an organizer of local farmers who want to join forces to move their goods to the main markets in Dar es Salaam and along the Kenyan Border.
We finished the day with a lovely meal at Bishop Philip Baji’s house nearby our temporary home in Korogwe. Bishop Baji completed seminary in Virginia in ’89 and has been the bishop of the Anglican Diocese in Tanga for the last 8 years.
Tomorrow we will be heading to two local markets in the mountains 15km outside of Korogwe city center: Kwamasimba & Lewa markets.
Again, thank you to those who are following our project. Please continue to pray for wisdom, clarity of purpose, and a sense of adventure for Sam and I as we struggle, as many who have gone before us, to understand our role in this incredibly complicated process of balancing change with maintaining cultural tradition.
With Peace,
Sam & Jesse
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