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TCC spearheading green revolution among tobacco growers
2007-11-14 08:56:08
By Correspondent
It is dry season in Tabora and most of the vegetation is grey after having lost its green colour to the scorching sun.
Even the corrugated iron roofs of many houses have lost their original colour as a thick layer of grey dust has covered them.
However Isikizya village in Nzega district stands out distinctly from other areas in the region as its vegetation is still green despite the dry season and the scorching sun, thanks to initiatives of Tanzania Cigarette Company, (TCC), to support environmental conservation drive in various places in Tabora region.
The company through an NGO called Total Land Care, (TLC), is behind this green revolution at Isikizya, a tobacco growing village, and is poised to spread wings to elsewhere in tobacco growing zones in the country.
Currently, the village has tree nurseries containing 21,000 seedlings of different species all of which are well tended. The seedlings include those of albizia, acacia (mgunga), senna (mjohoro) and bamboo which is used for light construction.
TLC Field Coordinator, George Omondi, who is a university graduate in agro-sciences says that the reforestation crusade in Tabora and other semi-arid areas is extremely important for sustainable production of the major cash crop like tobacco and the conservation of the environment in general.
He adds that the use of simple single treadle pump to irrigate the nurseries makes a major difference to villages and the entire community around it.
`Efforts to put desertification in check appeal for concerted efforts. The community leadership has responded to the `greening` project positively and all these seedlings you see here today will be distributed to the villagers ready for planting in late November when the rainy season starts,` Omondi told a group of visitors from Dar es Salaam who had visited Isikiya to see activities conducted by TLC.
He is confident that his NGO was disseminating right information to the villagers owing to how they positively respond by accepting seedlings and taking time to manage them on farm, unlike what it was the case in past when they used to throw away the trees given to them.
According to Omondi the organization also disseminates information to the community on the construction and use of rocket barns as part of the environmental conservation.
These are tobacco curing barns that use less firewood as opposed to the traditional barns.
`Under this initiative, community education in the form of awareness campaign is provided to villagers so that they adopt rocket barns which cut down consumption of firewood by 75 per cent. The conventional type also known as Brazil type consumes a lot of firewood and thus not good for the environment,` says TLC Operations Manager, Brian Omolo.
The project of raising tree nursery, rocket barns and related activities is so far being implemented in Nzega, Sikonge, Uyui and Urambo districts in Tabora region and plans are underway to spread the activities outside the region.
The TCC Corporate Affairs Director, Paul Makanza recently visited the project in the four different districts in Tabora region and was satisfied with the progress.
`TCC is concerned with environmental degradation in tobacco growing zones resulting from continued cutting down of trees to get firewood for curing tobacco. That is why we had to come in and extend a helping hand,` he says.
Makanza expressed satisfaction at the job well done by TLC, particularly the degree with which the community has taken ownership of the project.
`As a major player in tobacco industry, TCC decided to reach tobacco growers and support them on the basis of homestead tree planting scheme, forest enrichment and related agricultural activities,` elaborates Makanza.
Explaining the advantages of rocket barn as opposed to traditional type, Omolo, says that rocket barns have been designed in such a way that the heat system is utilized to the maximum, with only a few pieces of firewood being required to cure tobacco.
`Traditional barns would require more than 500 kilograms for the same purpose,` he adds.
Speaking about the reforestation programme, Omolo says that well-attended tree nurseries have been established in various villages in the four districts and the seedlings would be distributed to the villagers according to their needs.
`Apart from tree nurseries, the villagers are also provided with the basic knowledge on the application of modern agricultural techniques for example in the application of fertilizers and manure in the production process of food crops such as maize, tomatoes, onions, and cabbage and others,` Omolo adds.
He explains that under the initiative, at least 25 graduates from Sokoine University of Agriculture( SUA )in Morogoro, have secured jobs in the project as extension officers.
Also hired in the project are a dozen field officers who diligently work around the clock assisting villagers in their areas.
One project beneficiary, Yusuf Matandula of Ivunza village in Sikonge district says, `This project is a stitch in time, as it really benefits us in many aspects of life; from cultivation of vegetables which has raised our incomes to recovery our lost forests through tree planting drive now being led by TLC.`
`I have come to the level of teaching my fellow villagers how to mix soil with manure for the best results,` boasts Matandula, who says that during the dry season he sells 15 buckets of tomatoes a day earning nearly 50,000/-.
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