Saving the Maize Harvest in Tanzania

For millions of small farmers in Africa, maize is everything.

In Tanzania, many families eat maize for every meal, and a good harvest not only puts food on the table, it provides income and opportunity for a better life.

But some farmers in Tanzania are facing a new challenge:
too much maize.

Dozens of rural villages near Iringa, Tanzania have significantly increased their maize yields after learning better crop and soil management practices from Companion Village Project (CVP) being run by Tumaini University’s Institute of Agriculture.

The CVP program has been so successful, farmers now have more maize than they can store, and they are beginning to lose their harvest to mold, insects and rodents.

CTI is helping maize farmers save their harvest by collaborating with the CVP communities to find practical, affordable storage.

We have installed three different storage options in rural communities, which maize farmers are testing and evaluating. At the request of the farmers, we are also exploring methods for improved drying and shelling of maize.

Better storage will prevent post-harvest losses and will enable farmers to earn higher incomes by selling their maize surplus in the off-season, when grain prices are much higher.

By helping rural villages simply reduce their maize losses, we can help families put more food on the table, raise their incomes, and improve food security for an entire community.