Moshi, TZ – Parents and Task Force lead effort to show sustainability of corn growing – 9 May 2017

Parents and Task Force members at Mwangaria Primary School are leading an effort to show that growing corn at school can contribute to food self-reliance. They have planted one acre of corn as a trial. The objective of the trial is both to grow food for school breakfast and also to document the expected inputs and outputs per acre of corn.

Work contributed to date includes:

• Clearing land
• Fertilizing soil
• Ploughing land
• Forming irrigation ridges
• Planting seeds
• Tending new plants

Better Lives has committed to funding fuel costs for irrigation if the need arises. This reduces the risk of weather uncertainty on the harvest.

Tupendane is helping the parents and Task Force plan life cycle sustainability by considering how extra harvest from one year can be sold to provide funds for next year’s farming inputs. In order to design a sustainable breakfast farm, they need to know the expected inputs and outputs per acre. The test acre will help set benchmarks for this.

Parents clearing land for planting.

Ploughing land to mix in manure and loosen dirt.

Irrigation ridges formed.

Irrigating new growth.

Students helping to weed farm.