The documentation (original language, English subtitles) was produced by SWISSAID Tanzania together with “Tanzania Organic Agriculture Movement” (TOAM) and “Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania” (SAT).
“There is nothing you can’t plant on a piece of land, you just have to know how to do it,” says Mercy Meena, a Tanzanian farmer. This knowledge has a name: Agroecology. Cultivation methods, water management, consistent avoidance of artificial fertilizers and pesticides, no concentrated feed and only antibiotics based on medicinal plants for farm animals: as broad and complex as the subject of agroecology is, the goal is always to use what is available at low cost in such a way that man and nature benefit equally.
Agroecology unites tradition and the latest technology
Agroecology is a mixture of traditional knowledge and new scientific techniques. A benefit for all – the Tanzanians have long understood this. Thus, the organic sector in Tanzania is growing continuously. More and more food is being produced agro-ecologically – also because well-informed consumers demand it.
Support from the government
The Tanzanian government supports this development and has adopted the East African organic label “Kilimohai” to guarantee agro-ecological quality standards nationwide. For the health and food security of the population, but also because agro-ecological cultivation brings Tanzania forward economically. The export of organic products to the USA, England and, in the long term, Asia, benefits both small and large producers.