Tanzania scientists visit India in July 2023
Officials from Tanzania Agriculture Research Institute (TARI) visited India from July 15 to 20, 2023, as part of the project on Institutional Capacity Building for Climate-Resilient Rice Production, supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Institute of Bioeconomy in Norway.
The purpose of the visit was to learn and understand the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) method of paddy cultivation for adoption in Tanzania. They also aimed to comprehend the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) model of Village Resource Centers (VRC), Village Knowledge Centers (VKC), and the Plant Clinic programme. Additionally, they sought to gain insights into various aspects of rice cultivation practices, rice varieties, the seed supply system, price issues, and how climate-smart rice seeds are made accessible to smallholders by both the government and private sectors.
Kick-off meeting held in Morogoro in March 2023
More than 50 participants were present at the kick-off meeting in Morogoro on March 14, 2023, including representatives from NIBIO, TARI, Rice Council of Tanzania, Norges Vel, Helvetas, and two rice experts from India (MSSRF and TNAU).
At the meeting, project coordinator Dr. Sekhar Udaya Nagothu emphasized the importance of the project and its potential to improve sustainable rice productivity and farmer livelihoods in Tanzania. He outlined the project goals and expected impacts and how this could be achieved through institutional capacity building on SRI over the next three years. This will be supported by on-farm trainings and farmer demonstrations across the different irrigation schemes where the project will be implemented.
NIBIO and TARI to collaborate on climate-smart rice production system in Tanzania
In Tanzania, the agricultural sector is dominated by smallholder farmers who are vulnerable to climate extremes such as droughts and erratic rainfall, in addition to other challenges such as land degradation, poor soil health management and limited access to new farming technology.
On November 28 2022, NIBIO signed a collaborative agreement with the Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI) at the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Dar es Salaam. The aim of the Norad funded project is institutional capacity building on climate-smart and resource efficient rice production systems to benefit Tanzanian smallholders.
