Shujaaz seeks out young bean farmers…
4 August 2016 Duncan Sones writes… In September and October 2015 the team at Shujaaz in Tanzania developed two stories about what they call Hustlers who made money from common beans. The first person featured was a young man who was a farmer, he gave tips on growing beans. The second story was of a young woman in an agro-dealership who offered advice on different varieties suitable for different regions. The aim of the stories was to encourage younger farmers to grow and market common beans.
The hunt is now on to find people who followed the advice in the comics and the facebook postings. The idea is to feature people who have successfully started farming beans – or significantly improve the way they grow bean using new technologies. But, as importantly, the team will be looking for young people who tried to follow the advice – but for whom the experience wasn’t positive. If we can work out the problems young people faced with bean farming it can help us to adjust our campaign approach.
Beans are a good crop for young farmers because they crop very quickly – usually around 14 weeks from planting.