Ngara, TZ – Three schools’ students start weeding their bean crops – 31 Mar 2022

Three schools, in collaboration with local social enterprise SODAT, have successfully planted 7.5 acres of beans amongst the drying corn plants on schedule. The students have now started weeding and adding mulch to protect their grow-own-breakfast bean crop from weeds.

The students are practicing farming as part of their studies at schools, and will use this farming knowledge and skills at home to improve their families’ crops and lives. They are growing their own beans because the cost to produce 1 kg of beans is 400 TZS / US$ 0.17, which is less than the market price 600 TZS / US$ 0.26 during harvest time and the price will rise further after harvest when there is less supply.

Weather often poses a challenge, but this is a lucky year with conducive weather for good bean growth.

The students’ parents have agreed to assist the Grow-own-Breakfast program by donating beans from their home harvests to sustain the daily breakfast and enable the schools to reserve the better seeds for the next school bean planting in 2023.