1. News reports
North: South divide in Tanzania soybean training
Updated 20 July 2017 SILT The delay in the rains in many parts of Tanzania during the soybean planting season meant that around half of the demo plots were planted up to 6 weeks later than normal. Usually farming season in the Southern Highlands starts from November/December but this year it was as late as January. This was […]
Read MoreMaterial matters… 25 free soil health and cropping manuals to download
Material matters is a bi-monthly feature which reviews materials that can be freely downloaded from the ASHC website. This month we are reviewing the manuals that we have been developed by ASHC and its partners. There is a wealth of information here. The handbook for ISFM outlines the principles of the approach – giving details of […]
Read MoreSMS warned farmers of late rain & stalk borer
13 July 2017: How ICT build farmer resilience through agricultural technologies… A CABI-led SMS campaign has been commended for its ability to provide farmers with timely information to enhance farmer resilience to challenges caused by climate change and pests and diseases. The campaign is carried out in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania as part of the UPTAKE project. The […]
Read MoreSMS campaign increases maize seed sales by 20-90%
5 July 2017: Seed companies in Mbeya, Tanzania, have reported increased sales ranging from 20-90% following an UPTAKE campaign that promoted the use of improved maize seed varieties last season. The UPTAKE project has been using SMS technology to promote the use of improved seed varieties to 40,000 farmers in Tanzania’s Southern Highlands, as part […]
Read MoreFertilizer phone app coming soon …
27 June 2017: Martin Macharia OFRA data manager set out the challenge of the current fertilizer optimization tool or FOT that led them to develop a phone-based application.“The OFRA fertilizer optimization tool is a great way of supporting farmers. However, when we have been training extension staff we have encountered a number of challenges. First, extension […]
Read MoreDo-it-yourself posters with help from ASHC
16 June 2017: The ASHC team has developed a media guide to producing poster and a template in PowerPoint so that anyone can now make a simple campaign poster. The media guide using material developed by CABI to show different approaches to media design. It also talks through the major steps to consider when developing […]
Read MoreFertilizer approach could empower 50m African families
14 June 2017: Four years of dedicated work by scientists in 13 African countries has resulted in the creation of innovative tools to help farmers maximise their profits from investments in fertilizers. The Fertilizer Optimization Tools (FOTs) were created as part of the Optimizing Fertilizer Recommendations for Africa (OFRA) project, funded by AGRA, and coordinated by CABI and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. […]
Read MoreUPTAKE of cassava commercialization in Tz
13 June 2017: UPTAKE partner Farm Radio International (FRI) has produced a new briefing pack for radio stations in Tanzania. It covers post-harvest processing of cassava including the production of chips, high quality cassava flour and starch. It sets out opportunities for greater commercialization of cassava, responding to new regulatory and commercial environment. The Farm Radio International […]
Read MoreSoybean demo training attracts farmers
2 June 2017 SILT: The delay in the rains in many parts of Tanzania during the soybean planting season meant that around half of the demo plots were planted up to 6 weeks later than normal. Usually farming season in the Southern Highlands starts from November/December but this year it was as late as January. This was […]
Read MoreSharing soil health approaches June 2017
1 June 2017: Welcome to our second e-newsletter. Here we look back over things you may have missed in the last two month. Be the first to know… Follow ASHC on Twitter to get all the project updates as they happen. Please note that we have a new new address – you can now follow us […]
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