Moshi, TZ – Farming activity loan pays off as Furaha group enjoys the harvest – 15 Nov 2019

Earlier this year, Tupendane provided Furaha a loan of 1,300,000 TZS ($571 USD), see the story here. Despite experiencing similar farming challenges as woth Tupendane’s schools and other farmers in Moshi, Furaha successfully harvested 4,300 KG (9,480 lbs) of corn.

Furaha invested the loan provided by Tupendane directly into three acres of corn. Farming any large area comes with its own risks, many of which are outside of a farmer’s ability to control. The loan that Furaha received was used to in part to control for the lack of rainwater that the Moshi area received this year. Thankfully due to their hard work, they ensured a successful harvest.

The 4,300 KG of corn has a minimum value of 3,010,000 TZS ($1,317 USD) total (700 TZS/kg or $.13/lb). Furaha, however, will wait until the price increase and sell at a higher price. Effectively paying back their loan to Tupendane and enabling them to reinvest the remained to farm three acres again in 2020.

Furaha is wary of future farming efforts due to climate conditions. They have to be very careful about where they invest because any unplanned challenges can be the end of a farming project.