Elizabeth Ludovic is one of the #FarmForTheFuture project participants. After consulting with local hotels about their required produce, Elizabeth chose to grow tomatoes and beetroots – and now has the seeds to plant them! Prior to joining the project, she couldn’t afford to buy the necessary pesticide and had such low tomato yields that she stopped growing tomatoes altogether. After receiving agricultural training from SEVIA and learning new farming techniques, Elizabeth gave tomatoes another go – and she couldn’t be happier.
She’d always known that one of the factors in the past had been low quality seeds, but better seeds were simply out of reach for her – it was a matter of choosing between food on the table and seeds for cash crops. With the money donated by our generous #FarmForTheFuture supporters, Elizabeth was able to finally invest in high quality seeds, among other equipment.
Elizabeth feels confident about the future now, saying “I now feel positive about my farm because I have received good seeds from the project. They will help me grow good quality produce, and more of it – and that will help me grow my income!”
Before joining the #FarmForTheFuture project, Johari Ramadhani used to grow vegetables such as spinach and Chinese lettuce. She sold her produce direct to local women as well as selling to other suppliers at Mbuyuni market in Moshi Town. Initially, she had wanted to grow onions, carrots and tomatoes, for which there was higher market demand, but didn’t know the farming techniques and other inputs needed for their production.
Johari was excited to be joining the women’s group and is easily one of the most enthusiastic participants (that’s her in the photo, below, with our project manager, Stuart). After joining the group and employing the new agricultural techniques she learned on the project’s teaching farm, she has decided to try her hand at commercially more valuable vegetables. With the hotels on board and the local tourism market ready to make use of her produce, she’ll finally be growing onions, carrots and tomatoes!