AMDT Injects 25m/- To Support Water Project In Kwamtoro Ward Of Chemba District -

By Senior Reporter VALENTINE OFORO

The councilor expressed delight for the patriotic manner to which the AMDT has come at the rescue of the project, saying their life has finally come into an array of hopes.

THE Agriculture Markets Development Trust (AMDT) has spent at least 25m/- to implement a project for the installation of water well and it’s modern irrigation infrastructure at the Porobanguma village of Kwamtoro Ward, Chemba District in Dodoma region.

Implemented in sync with RIKOLTO and SIMUSOLAR companies, the robust project has been accomplished with an eye to empower the residents in the beneficiary village to engage fruitful into agriculture activities, apart from providing clean and safe water for a total of 300 households dwelling in the area.

Speaking during a collaborative monitoring mission to the scheme with MoA and Dodoma Regional Secretariat representatives, Mr Delta Shila the AMDT’s Monitoring and Results Measurement Officer said under the initiative the farmers in the village have been assisted to form a special working group, being in readiness to venture into major crops production through the installed irrigation system.

“With the reliable availability of water, the villagers in this area have commenced to cultivate varieties of key economic crops, including pulses, peas and other vegetables,” he said.

Among others, he said the focus behind the project is to improve livelihoods, as well as nutrition among the residents in the area which has gone without the vital service for a number of years.

To ensure the farmers are realising good harvest, he said AMDT has initiated a special demo plot at the village to help impart the farmers with the needed agronomic practices for the cultivation of the diverse crops that flourishes in the area.

“We have managed to establish a special demo plot through the Vision for Adaptive Crops and Soils (VACS), the key project which is being financed by USAID, under the supervision of The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT),” he expressed.

And in rolling out practical training towards the farmers through the demo plot, he informed that AMDT was also working with the government extension officers in collaboration with BEULA SEED COMPANY LIMITED, saying the initiative works to encourage the use improved seeds varieties for pulses and peas, among others.

Speaking for his part, the Councilor for Kwamtoro Ward, Mr John Konkoli hailed AMDT for implementing the vital project in the village.

He observed, despite being endowed with the arable land which support growing different crops, the residents of the village have been failing to produce due to absence of water, exasperated to poverty and hunger.

“Since 2015 we earmarked a total of 200 hactares for agriculture projects, whereby the World Vision Tanzania (WVT) supported us to dug a 110 metre water well , but the project was later halted before completion due to financial constraints,” he informed.

The councilor expressed delight for the patriotic manner to which the AMDT has come at the rescue of the project, saying their life has finally come into an array of hopes.

Ms Aziza Mumba, the Dodoma Regional Assistant Administrative Secretary (RAS) asked the residents in the village to make a sober use of the water facility to improve their livelihoods.

And apart from agriculture, she urged the villagers to use the created opportunity to venture into other useful economic projects, including poultry as well as dairy cattle keeping.

“Make sure you make fruitful use of this well in order to generate enough income to enable construction of more water wells in your area so as to push for further development,” she challenged.

The RAS hailed AMDT for supplementing efforts by the government to roll out water services in the country’s rural areas.

“It’s very professional that you have assisted in the formation of the farmer group here, and registered it at the National Irrigation Commission, the development which will automatically assure for the sustainability of this initiative,” she observed.

Ms Hawa James, a resident of the Porobanguma said before the project, they have been hardly walking between four to five hours in search of water from far distances.

The Agriculture Markets Development Trust (AMDT) is a Tanzanian-owned trust established to support better coordination between value chain development initiatives, enhance and improve the understanding of agricultural market systems, improve productivity and market access for micro, small and medium enterprises, maximise the impact of programmes, and more effectively contribute to reducing poverty in Tanzania.