Fighting Disease:  Tanzania

Increasing Food Production

From 1988 to 2005, The Carter Center  collaborated with the Tanzanian Ministry of Agriculture to increase food security. The Tanzanian program was part of a joint venture between the Carter Center's Global 2000 Program and the Sasakawa Africa Association, led by the late Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Norman Borlaug. The effort has helped more than 8 million sub-Saharan African small-scale farmers to improve agricultural production.

During the 2002-2003 farming season, the program worked with communities to demonstrate soil fertility restoration technologies. Workshops were held on quality protein maize cultivation, and the program hosted frequent field days – events where farmers learn about new farming techniques as a community.

To combat Tanzania's erratic rainfall, the program experimented with different cultivation methods and drought-resistant produce to see which were most successful in the often inhospitable conditions. Among the experimental crops were: pigeon peas, maize, mucuna, lablab, and sorghum. Read full text >