Fruit Trees for a Secure Future
CPAR Tanzania works with communities to respond to their needs and priorities to enhance their ability to secure food and increased income all year round. In Karatu, based on baseline qualitative information, it is evident that farmers have realized the importance of diversifying their activities by growing food crops and non-traditional cash crops such as vegetables and and fruit. CPAR Tanzania has been raising awareness, providing training and fruit trees to women as a way of crop diversification to improve household income. So far, 300 women have received different varieties of fruit tree seedlings such as papaya, avocado and guava. These women will replicate the seeds and facilitate training for other women so as to disseminate knowledge and skills to reach more farmers.
Lidya Petro, a 38-year-old mother of four, lives in Kambi ya Simba ( Lion's Camp) village in Karatu, Tanzania. Like most farmers in the village, Lidya has been growing maize (corn) and pigeon peas for household consumption for many years with no surplus to sell for income generation. She was one of the women who strongly proposed that women should grow fruit as a source of cash and also for improving one's household nutritional consumption.
In the training, Lidya learned about planting fruit trees, watering, pruning and marketing strategies, and now displays confidence in her future plans for generating income. She received and planted 20 short-maturity avocado trees around her maize field. Her long-term plan is that she will be able to pay secondary school fees for her children with money earned from selling avocadoes. One avocado currently goes for about 50 cents.
"I feel very secure! This is just the beginning. I plan to plant 50 more avocado and other fruit trees and make sure that my neighbors also have access to seedlings by establishing a tree nursery. In three years I expect to be earning $1,600 a year from the sale of avocados," says Lidya.
Lidya says that by having access to fruit trees, women offer a positive model to more sustainable cultivation practices that lead to soil conservation, increased income and lower vulnerability.
"For many years, women have been sidelined from income-generation activities, but today with the support of CPAR women are in the front line in improving and making decisions about household income," says Lidya.
Lidya is now a facilitator of a group of women, she provides training and encourages other women to plant fruit trees for a better future.