1. PROJECT SUMMARY SHEET
| Project title | Mtanga vegetable garden project | ||
| Implementing agency | Mtanga Primary school, | ||
| Other partners | YOSEFO | ||
| Project Components/ Thematic Areas | Construction of a tunnel-greenhouseLaying down of drip irrigation systemPurchase of cows or chicken manurePlanting and acquisition of vegetable seedsTraining of two wardens of the schools | ||
| Project Budget | Amount (Tzs) | Amount in Euro | |
| Total Budget | 15,990,000 | 6,580 | |
| Donor Agency | |||
| Location of project | Activities will be undertaken on school land of Mtanga primary school | ||
| Target Group | Children and Teachers, and wardens | ||
| Estimated start date | December 1st 2016 | ||
SUMMARY
The project entitled “Mtanga Vegentable garden project” will be implemented in Mtanga primary schools which is located in Kilwa District along Nangurukuru-Masoko road. The school which has 230 students among them are children with special needs r physically handicapped from all villages in the district.
The project being proposed aims to address Pupil’s livelihood needs for income generation and nutrition needs. Pupils who are handicapped stay in the school’s dormitories and depend of the government’s budget to provide food needs. Budget allocation for the boarding pupils is always not sufficient to buy food which meet nutritional requirements of the pupils.
Despite their potential as a food security, poverty alleviation, environmental conservation and sustainable livelihoods strategy, vegetable growing practices are currently a relatively low-key economic activity in Mtanga and neighbouring villages. The project therefore will provide a perfect learning environment for local communities including teachers on vegetable gardening, drip irrigation systems and the need for healthy vegetables for health and nutrient needs. Moreover, although vegetable gardening is a critical resource for people’s livelihoods, poverty alleviation and source of income, people in Kilwa district have not taken up this opportunity.
The school system in Tanzania, does not put much emphasis on skills hence the project will provide an opportunity for pupils at Mtanga primary school to learn farming/horticulture skills. Furthermore, pupils and teachers have limited knowledge and skills in modern technologies, appropriate farming practices, proper post-harvest handling and quality control, and effective marketing skills. Other barriers include: low technical and organizational capacities of farmers partly due to the limited institutional government support and extension services for many rural farmers and a lack of access to relevant information (including market information), credit/capital and essential farm inputs and tools. This project will assist in addressing some of these barriers; for example two wardens will be trained on horticulture and drip irrigation technology.
The long-term goal of the project is to contribute to the eradication of poverty , food insecurity and fostering a lasting high quality of life for the local pupils in Mtanga primary school, while safeguarding long-term environmental sustainability by growing fruits (including fruit and multi-purpose trees) and promoting agroforestry systems. The medium-term development goal of the project is to enhance the ability of pupils’ in Mtanga primary school, to increase and sustain agricultural production for improved food security, nutrition and income generation while at the same time safeguarding the environment by adopting sustainable agricultural practices and appropriate technologies. This will be achieved through fostering increased vegetable growing. The project will encourage and support the school to transform the school into economically viable agro-businesses including: market-vegetable gardening, and others. The project will also ensure sustainable agricultural production and safeguard the environment thus pupils completing primary seven will be job creators not seekers.
In short the project is important in the following areas;
- Source of food for improving children/pupils diet and health
- A source of healthy influence in the families they come from
- An area of learning about horticulture, nature and nutrition
- A place for leisure and recreation ( as the see vegetables grow)
The specific objectives of the project are:
- To assist the 230 pupils, particularly from poor and disadvantaged families, to engage in fruit and tree growing and increase vegetable crop production for improved food security and income generation for the school thus enabling the school to meet the costs of other educational needs such as money for tests ,Lunch for both pupils and teachers, among others.
- To promote awareness among the pupils and teachers of the value and importance of vegetable production and horticulture activities in general
- To enhance capacity of farming households in Mtanga and surrounding areas to apply appropriate technologies and sustainable farming practices (including: composting, soil and water conservation-drip irrigation system), through allowing them to visit the vegetable garden – seeing is the best learning for smallholder farmers
- To assist pupils to acquire the necessary tools and equipment (e.g. spray pumps, watering cans) and establish proper farm infrastructure, including post-harvest and storage facilities and transportation means.
Among other activities, the project will:
- Purchase tunnels and other equipment
- Train two wardens of the school on greenhouse and drip irrigation technologies and best practices on growing vegetables
- Facilitate access to improved seeds
- Promote the adoption of modern agricultural technologies by our pupils and teachers;
- Offer on-farm extension support and advisory services – the school will be linked to experience agronomists from Greentek company group
- Facilitate the school access to relevant information, including market prices and post-harvest management;
The project is expected to improve the livelihoods of the beneficiary pupils of Mtanga primary school through enhanced food self-sufficiency, improved nutrition and increased school incomes from the sale of excess vegetables. These will in turn result in better health and increased learning capacity of the participating pupils and teachers. The project will also serve as a catalyst for the local people to engage in other off-farm economic activities and community development initiatives. It will also improve their social networks, self-esteem and overall well-being. It is hoped that the project will serve as a model in Kilwa Distric and that a follow-up project will be developed, building on the experience, best practices and lessons learned from this project.
1. BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT
Mtanga primary school is located in Kilwa District, in Southern Tanzania. The school has a total of 243 students of which 43 are physically handicapped. Miche in partnership with a local NGO, Youth Self Employment have been supporting the school. The areas of support have been in areas for construction of classrooms, rehabilitation of dormitories, water and electricity system and bed sheets and mosquito nets and beds. In 2016, the school received support that entailed construction of toilets bath rooms.
2. PROBLEM STATEMENT AND PROJECT RATIONALE
Over the last few years, Miche and YOSEFO have supported Mtanga primary schools through building classrooms, toilets, water and electricity systems and desks. In the process of supporting the school the two organizations learned that pupils rarely took vegetables as part of their meals. The main meal for the pupils especially those with special needs maize meal (ugali) and beans. The school budget is not sufficient to buy food that meet nutritional requirement the pupils. The two organizations have learned that sometimes pupils go without sugar for the whole school semester. Hence the project is the best option to ensure that children get balanced diet.
The only source of fund for the food of pupils with special needs is government allocation hence the need to have a new source of income is essential. The proposed project is expected to produce surplus vegetables which will be sold to hotels and other markets in at Masoko, the capital of Kilwa District. Kilwa district as a whole does not grow vegetables hence the market depend on supply from other locations as Iringa, Tanga and Lindi. Income from surplus vegetables will be used to buy fish or meat and other supplies for the pupils.
The school is also faced with other inter-related constraints and barriers for a better living environment for children with special needs. The wardens are paid very low salaries hence the project could be a source of additional income. They will be paid for working in the garden as the project plan to set aside 30% of the production of vegetable to be paid to wardens and teachers.
The current school system in Tanzania does not create an environment for graduates of primary schools to acquire skills such skills on how to grow vegetables. Pupils of the schools will learn skills which they will use once they graduate from the school system. The project will also be a learning place for local communities in Mtanga area. Such skills are not available in the district.
3. PROJECT DESCRIPTION
- Project Scope
This project will be implemented by Mtanga primary school in Kilwa District. The project aims to build the capacity of “young” farmers of Mtanga primary school, to engage in or vegetable growing for improved food security and income generation for the school with minimum environmental risks. It seeks to foster income diversification and increased food production for self-sufficiency in terms of dietary and nutritional needs for pupils with special needs at Mtanga Primary school
Specifically, the project will assist the 230 pupils and teachers and wardens to:
- To acquire a tunnel/green house and drip irrigation system. The size of the tunnel is 120 square meters
- To train two wardens of the school on vegetable growing, marketing and management. The wardens will attend a three day training program which is jointly by organized by YOSEFO and Greentek
- To provide technical support for the first 9 month/ first cycle of farming through accessing services of Greentek
- Finance soil and water testing of which results provide guidelines for rectifying nutritional deficiencies of soil and water.
- Purchase of three tons of cow or chicken manure
- Project area
The project will be implemented in Mtanga primary school located in Kilwa District. Kilwa is a rural district located in the southern part of Tanzania, 305 kilometres from Dar es Salaam, the commercial city of Tanzania. In in the coastal area with very limited places with fertile soil. Greenhouse farming and Drip irrigation system are ideal in the area as they will utilize effectively the available land and preserve water.
- Indirect project Beneficiaries
More than 5.000 people are expected to benefit indirectly from the project. This will be the first project of its kind in the district and the entire region of Lindi. Communities in Kilwa District will be allowed to learn on the best way to grow vegetables. The project is expect to inspire local communities and other schools and adopt the practice of vegetable growing.
- Project Goal and Objectives
The goal of the project is to contribute to the eradication of poverty, food insecurity and fostering a lasting high quality of life for the school pupils of Mtanga primary school in Kilwa District. The medium-term development goal of the project is to create a learning environment and cultivate the culture of self-reliance for pupils in primary schools.
4. PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION
The project has four phases; phase 1- securing funding and training of two wardens, phase 1- Procurement and construction of the greenhouse (tunnel) and phase 3- management of the garden and phase 4- Monitoring and evaluation.
Phase 1: Securing funds and training of two wardens
The project will need funds to purchase the greenhouse materials, purchase of equipment, paying for agronomist services and construction of the greenhouse/tunnel. Funds are also needed for soil and water analysis which forms the basis for decision on what to grow and plant nutrient needs. This phase also will involve training of the two wardens on vegetable growing and entrepreneurship. YOSEFO in partnership with Greentek group conducts three day courses every end of each month.
Phase 2: Procurement and construction of greenhouse/tunnel
Once the project secures funding, procurement process will start that include the greenhouse structures. The materials for construction of the greenhouse will be purchased from Greentek Group Company which imports the same from Israel. The company keeps sufficient stock to meet demand of customers. Construction work normally takes 3 days to finish. This is followed by planting seeds on special seedling trays. This phase also involve transplanting of seedlings which happens after three weeks for tomatoes. It is important to note that the greenhouse can last up to ten years.
Phase 3: Management of the vegetable garden
Management of the vegetable garden is a key component of the project and starts with the training of two wardens who will be managing the garden and be accountable for the desired output of the project. The management process will start with what to grow at each cycle. The training program includes crop rotation system, how it works and its benefits. The wardens will be responsible for the farm on day to day management and one of them will be appointed as team leader. Pupils will also participate the activities of the garden as a way to cultivate the culture of vegetable farming and transfer skills. Greentek Group Company will support the management team through mobile phones and exchange of pictures.
Phase 4: Monitoring and evaluation
The management team of the farm will keep a log book with records on various activities including planting, weeding, pruning, harvesting, consumption by pupils and sales. The project will be providing semi-quarterly reports to YOSEFO and annual reports to Miche Association.
On the basis the progress reports and the feedback received from the pupils, necessary adjustments to the project will be identified and recommended to YOSEFO for consideration. The final evaluation of the project will be undertaken jointly by YOSEFO and Miche.
- PROJECT REPLICABILITY
The potential for replication of the project is considered to be high. Due to the innovative approach in which greenhouse vegetable farming is closely linked to current dire of the government to impart sense of learning life and farming skills to pupils . Successful implementation, both in terms of amount harvested outcomes as well as the mainstreaming of beneficiary support processes, would provide a strong argument for replication of the project into other areas within Kilwa district including surrounding areas. A replication strategy and action plan would be prepared before end of project and reviewed by all key stakeholders. The plan would identify the main lessons learned from the first year of implementation, assess progress and capacity of schools to carry out project activities, as well as resources required to carry out these activities and potential sources.
5. PROJECT BUDGET
| Budget | |||
| Rates in Tzs | quantity | Amount | |
| Green house/tunnel | 10,000,000 | 1 | 10,000,000 |
| Soil and water analysis | 350,000 | 1 | 350,000 |
| Transport materials and equipment | 600,000 | 1 | 800,000 |
| Training of wardens | 420,000 | 2 | 840,000 |
| Seeds (tomatoes) | 1,000 | 500 | 500,000 |
| Inputs ( variety) | 300,000 | ||
| Green house implementation labour charge | 1,500,000 | 1 | 1,500,000 |
| Water tank of 500 litres | 350,000 | 1 | 350,000 |
| Water system | 250,000 | 1 | 250,000 |
| Equipment | 300,000 | ||
| Drip irrigation system | 800,000 | 1 | 800,000 |
| Total in Tzs | 15,990,000 | ||
| Total in Euro | 6,580 | ||
| Expected yield of tomatoes | |||
| Full grown tomato plants | 450 | ||
| Harvest per plant ( in Kgs) | 10 | ||
| Total harvest (kg) | 4,500 |