»» This agriculture-based story explores innovative solutions to farming in Tanzania. Solutions that have scalability and relevance for the rest of Africa and the world, and have seen an exciting partnership between the private sector, academics and farmers in their fields to come up with best practices that can ensure a brighter future for all. What is the link between profit and responsibility and how can the two work hand in hand for a better overall result? Join us and find out.

IT’S AFRICA’S TIME was invited to the Morogoro district in eastern Tanzania and to a maize farming region in the south-west to explore a pilot programme focusing on the sustainable intensification of farming, done in an environmentally responsible way. The idea was to help farmers farm more effectively to ensure a significant improvement in yields with a win-win benefit to the environment through better use of farmland and agricultural inputs (known to non-agri pundits as products used to protect crops and feed the soil).

From 2011 – 2014, Yara, a world leader in sustainable agri-solutions, helped create a pilot project called The ECCAg – The Environment and Climate Compatible Agriculture Project. It brought together the private sector, academia and farmers, producing skill-sets and invaluable data never collected before. It showed conclusively that intensification of agriculture through improved agronomic protocols are compatible with environmental sustainability, while at the same time improving productivity and profitability at the farm level. Good news indeed!

Join us and meet the farmers, the agronomists and the academics who took part in the programme and see for yourself what a difference this approach can truly make.