After completing the baseline exercise in Kenya with Kiegoi Tea Factory, Wefarm was in Tukuyu last week, a small rural farming town about 800km from Dar es Salaam, the capital of Tanzania, to launch Wefarm and conduct a similar exercise with the farmers At Rungwe Smallholder Tea Growers Association (RSTGA).

Day one was spent with the executive committee of RSTGA, a group of dedicated individuals chosen by the smallholder farmers as their representatives.  “Chai Yako: Tunza ikutunze” – “Your tea: care for it, it will care for you” is the opening slogan used by members to greet each other at meetings, a true pointer to the value of farming in the livelihoods of smallholder growers. Throughout the three days exercise I was accompanied by the RSTGA officials Lebi Gabriel (CEO), Johnson Mwakasege (Chairman), and Jackson Mwampulule (Secretary), and we owe a great deal of gratitude to them and Wakulima Tea Comany for their support.

The next couple of days involved travels of up to 48kms to meet groups of smallholder farmers, and the need to have Wefarm at Tukuyu was very apparent: Not all the farmers have mobile phones but most have radios and there is no local radio station for them to get local news and air their views as part of the local community. With Wefarm being accessible to all through digital devices like mobile phones and radio technology then no one shall be left out. Aside from the communication challenges a solution to mobile recharging is also needed as farmers have to travel up to 5 kms to recharge their handsets.

-          Sylvia