Ngara, TZ – Kabalenzi Primary has their best harvest yet – 15 Apr 2021

The Tanzanian community based organization SODAT, assisted Kabalenzi primary school to farm corn in 2021. The school harvested 2,513 kg (5,540 lbs) beating their target by 178%! This corn will contribute to the school breakfast program that improves student health, attendance and attentiveness in the classroom.

Due to Kabalenzi’s focus on quality, they completed key milestones like planting, applying manure and weeding at the right times. This contributed to the impressive harvest. Kabalenzi’s expected harvest was 1,419 kg (3,128 lbs), but the school harvested nearly double their expected harvest.

Harvesting this amount of corn, in addition to the parent contribution, means that their corn ingredient stock will last beyond this time next year! Additionally, Kabalenzi’s banana fields are healthy and productive as well. They will soon be transitioning between substituting corn for bananas, or selling the bananas to sustain the program.

Last year, schools were closed for 57 days due to the COVID lock down. After returning, schools crammed 57 days worth of instruction into the remainder of the school year. This greatly affected students taking the Primary School Leaving Exam (PSLE). in 2019, Kabalenzi ranked in the top 5% of schools nationally for students taking the PSLE, but in 2020 dropped down to 24%.

Fortunately, with the strong corn and banana harvests, and the prospect of harvesting beans soon, Kabalenzi Primary school is looking forward to a more stable school year to improve its ranking among schools.