WOMEN HOLD THE LION BY THE TAILWomen in the Dodoma and Morogoro regions of the United Republic of Tanzania are good examples for the 1998 World Food Day theme: Women feed the world. Farmers in Tanzania are working in groups to form savings and credit associations so that they have easier access to inputs. Women's groups are claiming that, with good yields from their farms, they are getting close to "holding the lion by the tail". Holding a lion by the tail is believed to be the most effective way of fighting it, as its ribs do not allow it to bend backwards. So as long as you hold the lion by the tail and turn round and round you are safe. Women in the programme say that they are holding hunger, malnutrition and poverty by the tail because their efforts are slowly starting to pay back in the form of increased production from small livestock keeping. In Kongwa a farming group has been able to open a bank account and deposit 300 000 Tanzanian shillings (US$450) - a useful step towards overcoming difficulties in purchasing inputs. With improved inputs, farmers in Kilombero have managed to raise production from 17 bags of paddy per acre (about 42 bags per hectare) to as much as 35 to 40 bags (85 to 100 bags per hectare). Source: adapted from The African, the Tanzanian Daily, 24 July 1998.
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How does the SPFS work?Core features of the SPFS include raising farmers' net income, generating rural employment and increasing social equity. More specific actions include:
Overall, the SPFS was conceived as an evolving process that would be continually shaped and reshaped by participants' local knowledge and the results of project experience acquired in real-life circumstances. In addition to social equity, gender sensitivity and environmental awareness are central concerns, and projects are adapted to local conditions and priorities defined jointly by farmers and country planners. |
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SPFSBy September 1998, the SPFS was operational in 36 LIFDCs - 20 in Africa, 10 in Asia and the Near East, three in Latin America, two in Europe, and one in Oceania. It was at various stages of formulation in a further 33 countries.
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The SPFS belongs to the beneficiary countries that choose to adopt its principles. So, although technical and financial support is given by FAO and other international and national sources, individual governments are responsible for the actual design and implemantation of their own programmes. |