Ngara, TZ – SODAT employee uses business savings to invest in agriculture – 15 Dec 2019

Shafan Juston purchased three acres of land in 2019 for 1,300,000 TZS ($569 USD). He sold the resources on the land and began his farming project to help benefit his family.

Three acres of land is no small investment for a family. A single acre can provide a lot of value to a family either by selling the resources on the land or by using it for livestock or other agricultural products. In 2019, Shafan sold the timber on the land and used the revenue to plant corn which he will harvest later in 2020 and expects to plant beans and groundnuts in 2020 as well. Within one year he’ll be able to save 800 KG (1764 lbs) of food for his family and sell the other 1400 KG (3,085 lbs) in the market. Additionally, he had enough money left over to build a kitchen addition for his family home.

The net income from the farming activities is expected to pay back the total cost of purchasing and earn him a net income of 400,000 TZS ($175 USD). Additionally, if he diligently farms 3 acres and year after year, he can expect to increase his household income two-fold.

His current businesses are challenged due to the decrease in customers during the farming season. Additionally many of the families he loaned money to are not paying back their debts which is directly affecting his family

He hopes in the future to use his farming investments to build a guest house for business and buy an additional motorbike to hire out as a transport service around Ngara.