Mkulima Mbunifu one of the projects under BvAT’s Farmer Communication Programme, implemented in Tanzania under Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania (SAT), held the second annual Co-design workshop on 6^th to 8^th March 2024, in Dodoma, Tanzania.

The multistakeholder workshop aimed at engaging various actors in the agricultural sector in scoping information needs and dissemination strategies for information on agroecological Agriculture, was attended by 41 participants. Among them, representatives from Tanzania Organic Agriculture Movement (TOAM), TABIO, officers from the Ministry of Agriculture, MVIWAA, IDP, SAT, We Effect, researchers, farmers and the mainstream media.

The workshop brought together actors from various districts: Arusha, Hai DC, Moshi DC, Singida DC, Morogoro-Gairo, Karatu, Manyara and Lushoto. Discussions during the workshop brought to the fore the status of agroecology practice in each of these districts, highlighting adoption areas and gaps that need to be addressed, through targeted communication.

Speaking during the workshop, Ms Janet Maro, the Chief Executive Officer of Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania, noted that the collaboration demonstrated in the previous co-design workshop has borne evident results in making Mkulima Mbunifu publication, the nationally acknowledged platform for dissemination of information on agroecology. She called upon participants to make use of the opportunity to share their wealth of experience in their respective fields of practice to build a concise communication plan that amplifies impact in the common goal of empowering the farmer to produce sustainably.

The workshop culminated in an expert advisory committee meeting where members reviewed and ratified the communication plan for use in developing and disseminating content on ecological agriculture, that meets the information needs of farmers in Tanzania.

Prepared by Caroline Mwendwa