Alatuwona Labson Sanga is a 46 years old woman from Makete District, Njombe Region, in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania. She is an active forum member and also belongs to the Mkombozi group in Ilevelo Village. Through this group, she accessed a government loan facilitated by the Department of Community Development to establish a small business and generating an income. Alongside her small business, she is engaged in the production of local seeds, focusing mainly on beans and pumpkins.
Challenge:
Agri ecology is one of the key agendas of the Rural Women’s Assembly (RWA), aimed at promoting sustainable food production and environmental conservation. It also plays an important role in enhancing food safety and improving public health. However, one of the major challenges faced by farmers in Makete District is the limited availability of local seeds, particularly beans.
Action /Impact:
Alatuwona, she is a forum beneficiary, has actively participated in various activities, including community dialogues and the Southern Highlands International Fair Trade events. Through these platforms, she had an opportunity to sensitize her community on the importance of using local seeds, as well as to learn from others engaged in similar initiatives. Through this experience enabled to expand her knowledge, increase seed production, and generate additional income from the sale of seeds.
Finally, she expressed her gratitude to the forum for its efforts and recommended that one acre of land be allocated to the forum for seed production, as a strategy to increase availability and address the existing challenge
