In the Manyara region in Northern Tanzania, farmers are incorporating agroforestry systems into their home gardens, improving their livelihoods and becoming more climate resilient. With support from MVIWAMA cooperative, farmers are diversifying their plots, keeping livestock, setting up honey and garlic processing facilities and installing biogas technology.

Established as a loose network of farmers in 2006, MVIWAMA has evolved over the years to become the independent membership cooperative it is today, with members in all five districts of Manyara region (Babati, Hanang, Kiteto, Mbulu and Simanjiro). The cooperative represents almost 400 producer groups comprising over 9,300 households. 

IIED’s latest agroforestry case study focuses on how MVIWAMA, which is supported by the Forest and Farm Faclity, is enabling 108 local producer groups in Mbulu region to integrate trees into their home gardens and amongst their livestock. These groups represent over 3,300 households. 

Support from MVIWAMA

Since 2013, MVIWAMA has been instrumental in encouraging smallholders In Mbulu to adopt agroforestry practices in their home gardens by providing education on agroforestry and environmental conservation as well as establishing demonstration plots where farmers can learn about technical aspects. 

Crucially, MVIWAMA has also provided seeds and seedlings to help farmers establish their own agroforestry plots and encouraged them to keep livestock. They have also empowered their members by supporting them to install biogas technology which makes use of livestock manure and reduces the need for fuelwood. 

MVIWAMA also helps farmer members financially through a group Saving and Cooperative Credit Organization (SACCO) scheme, providing loans to producer organizations to overcome the costs associated with establishing and maintaining agroforestry systems.

Agroforestry plots in Mbulu

 MVIWAMA members tending to their agroforestry gardens  Photo credit: Canisius John Kayombo

In rural Mbulu, farmers’ plots range from 0.2–4.9 hectares in size and households use traditional manual tools such as the spade, hoe and machete. Each agroforestry system is different, but farmers generally grow a combination of food crops/trees for sale (including garlic, carrots, potatoes, lemons, avocados, mangos, pomegranates), food crops for home consumption (such as amaranthus, pumpkin, common mallow, beans, maize), and non-food trees (like cyprus, Sudan teak and wattle), which are used for fuelwood, building poles, windbreaks and boundary markers. 

Farmers also rear livestock – most commonly chickens and goats, but also cattle, sheep, pigs and occasionally ducks. Some farmers also keep bees and fish ponds. 

Although managing an agroforestry system is more complex and requires more labor, farmers have found transitioning to a more diverse plot has many benefits. These include better nutrition, improved incomes, reduced soil erosion, increased soil fertility, and social benefits including rural employment. 

Benefits of home gardens

MVIWAMA member growing vegetables in his home garden  Photo credit: Canisius John Kayombo 

Home gardens offer several advantages. By growing crops and keeping livestock on the doorstep, time is saved as it is not necessary to walk to plots further away to water crops or feed animals, and crops for household consumption are available outside the front door. 

The agroforestry systems encouraged by MVIWAMA promote the conservation of native plant species while also planting fruit trees to improve livelihoods. Again, this reduces the distance needed to walk to find fruits to sell. 

Another advantage is that cattle and other livestock can be fed from the fodder grown in the home garden. This is a virtuous circle as the manure produced by the animals can, in turn, be used for biogas or as a fertilizer to increase the nutrients in the soil. 

For youths, the system helps them to learn quickly because home gardens are exactly where they live. In households that produce biogas, young people now have more time to study when they come back from school as they no longer need to go out and look for fuelwood. If fuelwood is still needed, it can be collected from woody plant species growing in their home gardens. 

Reaching new markets

The most commonly sold products from the farmers’ home gardens are honey, beeswax, garlic, carrots and potatoes. These are mostly sold at local and national markets. With the profits, smallholders have been able to buy more livestock and pay school fees for their children. 

By organizing themselves into cooperatives, farmers have been able to aggregate their products, negotiate better prices and access larger markets. In collaboration with MVIWAMA, the farmers have created market linkages with buyers, processors and different farmer’s exhibition events. 

With support from MVIWAMA, they have also added value to their products. For example, by processing garlic into oil, paste and powder, producer organizations are increasing their incomes by offering a larger variety of products. Similarly, by processing, packaging and labelling their honey and beeswax, they are able to reach both retail and wholesale markets. 

A sustainable future

Thanks to MVIWAMA’s support and innovations, the cooperative has made agroforestry practical and sustainable for its members. Transforming their home gardens into agroforestry systems means members can reap the benefits from their own doorsteps.