PROJECT NAME:
Effective Irrigated Farmingfor Youth agripreneurship
PROJECT BACKGROUND
Due to poor application of technology, dependency on unreliable and irregular weather conditions on Agricultural activities, the urgent project titled as Effective Irrigated Farmingfor Youth agripreneurship is coming up to be operated at Ifakara, Lupilo and Biro village in rural Morogoro-Tanzania. The project picks the irrigated farming sector since it is the foundation of the country’s economy. It accounts for about half of the national income, three
quarters of merchandise exports and is source of food and provides employment opportunities to about 80 percent of individuals. It has linkages with the non-farm sector through forward linkages to agro-processing, consumption and export; provides raw materials to industries and a market for manufactured. Moreover, the project shall drive the conceptof ‘‘Conservation Agriculture’’, according to FAO (2007) conservation agriculture insists resource-saving agricultural crop production that strives to achieve acceptable profits together with high and sustained production levels while concurrently conserving the environment.
Previously, traditional, rain water harvesting and improved irrigation scheme adopted as intervention to curb the rainfed agriculture to small farmers/peasants in rural areas-Tanzania. URT (2009) vows that these schemes have informal,
weak and inefficient irrigators organizations, inadequate skills on operation and maintenance resulting in water use inefficiency as well as inadequate environmental consideration during the planning and implementation stages. Irrigation holds the strategy to stabilize agricultural production in improving food security, increasing productivity and incomes generation through producing higher valued crops (PADEP, 2001).
This project views that inadequate awareness on appropriate technologies in irrigated farming leads to unimprovement of agricultural sector, therefore, the project shall anchor the Irrigated Farming Activities with emphasis on improved irrigation scheme interesting to involve youth and other peasant communities (women & men) as beneficiary groups in creating self-employment, income generation and food security to their households as well as controlling young generation rural-urban migration through effective use of plenty arable land and water resources that are blessed at target areas. The project shall cater into three (3) significant phases, namely;
- Awareness on Irrigated- Farming potentiality
- Demonstrating Irrigated Farming strategies- Farm School Approach (FSA)
- Advocacy & Fund solicit on Irrigated -Farming strategies
PROJECT OBJECTIVE
To mobilize youth & other peasant communities for provision of trainings on irrigated agriculture
PROJECT OUTPUT
Adoption of appropriate irrigation technology to youth and other peasant communities
PROJECT RATIONALE
The Program encourages Participatory Learning that strengthens indigenous youth and other peasants’
capacity for integrated production management through co-learning and innovation.
PROJECT TIME-FRAME
The initiative shall cover three (3) years with estimate budget of USD 42,300 that ensures the project development involving youth and other peasant communities at a given villages (e.g Ifakara, Lupilo & Biro), each year to every village.
The project activities shall be undertaken in relation to three phases shown below;
YEAR 1= USD 14,100
- Awareness on Irrigated Farming potentiality (July-August 2013)
- Demonstrating Irrigated Farming strategies- FSA (September-November 2013)
- Advocacy & Fund solicit on Irrigated Farming (December-June 2013)
YEAR 2= USD 14,100
YEAR 3= USD 14,100
MONITORING
Organization Staff and other partner Institutions shall collaborate with Local Government Authority to ensure the close follow up in entire steps patterning to irrigation procedures with provision of technical advices to target individuals (youth & other peasant communities) and project reports shall be produced for future record and operation.
EVALUATION
Organization Staff, Local Government Authority and other partner Institutions shall conduct the intensive survey to assess the project performance. According to Objective Verifiable Indicators (OVIs) at Log Frame, the survey shall assess if the project leads more than 100 households in applying improved irrigation scheme equipments, reduction of rain-fed dependency agriculture for more than 50% likewise 75% of youth and indigenous community if they have increased their productivity.
POINT OF REQUEST
The Organization requests the support on above BUDGET and DRIP IRRIGATION FACILITIES throughout the phases preceding the project beneficiaries to youth and other peasant communities on self-employment, income and food security. Besides, the support shall cause the diffusion of Irrigated Farming through the use of Innovative Research Findings to youth and other peasant communities in rural areas mean-while improving the agricultural situation in
Tanzania.