Rebeca Selemani... Growing Groundnuts has Boosted her Family's Nutrition and Income
Chipuka Farmers Field School (FFS) from Karukekere village in Bunda District has 34 members. The FFS was established when community members realized they should diversify their crops and that growing maize, which has been a major crop for both food supplies and earning income would not be a sufficient way for them to feed their families and generate income reserves.
In Karukekere village, farming is main economic activity for income as well as for nutrition. But an ongoing drought has left many households unable to lift themselves from poverty as well as unable to feed their families with adequate nutritious foods.
During the initial baseline study exercises when farmers identified their needs and set priorities, farmers asked for sustainable, long-term solutions to help improve their incomes and nutrition, including getting support in cash crops. Farmers wanted to grow groundnuts as an alternative crop that would not only provide them with income but also would be a stable source of household protein.
Responding to these community needs, CPAR-Tanzania facilitated the provision of training and inputs such as groundnut seeds for farmers to establish a FFS. In order to promote agricultural self-sufficiency, CPAR-Tanzania worked with farmers in the FFS to ensure that improvements are sustained locally and replicated by other farmers.
Through the FFS program, Rebeca Selemani, a mother of six children joined Chipuka FFS to learn advanced farming techniques for planting and harvesting groundnuts as an alternative crop. With bulk sales from the harvest, Rebeca is earning nearly double of what she would have earned under the traditional cultivating system. Her success, just after her first year of growing groundnuts, has enabled her to buy more seeds for next year’s cropping season. Rebeca is now encouraging others in her community to do the same.
Rebeca's improved harvest is echoing throughout her community and benefiting future generations in Karukekere village. By farming groundnuts as an alternative crop, Chipuka FFS farmers are able to prepare nutrient-rich foods for their families from their crops.
With her improved income, Rebeca is realizing her long-standing dream of putting an iron roof on her home and paying the secondary school tuition fee for her eldest daughter, Ester, without burrowing money. Living debt-free for the first time in years, Rebeca now also is able to pay for her youngest daughter, Felista, to go to secondary school.
"It’s really interesting because groundnuts have helped improve my income but also provide important protein for my family. I make peanuts and use it in every meal for my children and now they all look so healthy," says Rebeca.