Six Centers Discuss Advancing Agroecology.





By Our Reporter

Six agroecology centers in the country implementing the AgroKilimo Project have met for a three-day workshop to analyze and discuss ways to further develop agroecology for farmers.

This was stated by the Director General of Islands of Peace (IDP), Ayesiga Buberwa, while speaking to journalists after the conclusion of the three-day workshop held at the St. Joseph Sustainable Organic Farm (SJS) Training Center in Kwanyange, Mwanga District, Kilimanjaro Region.

Buberwa said the AgroKilimo Project, funded by the Government of France with €515,000 over two years, has selected six pilot centers as an important step toward building a strong and sustainable future for agroecology.

“This program aims to strengthen pilot centers across the country. With the support of the French Embassy in Tanzania, the project seeks to build capacity, disseminate knowledge, and establish a strong national network of centers promoting innovation in agroecology,” he said.

The organizations set to benefit from the AgroKilimo Project include IDP; Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania (SAT), Morogoro; Practical Permaculture Institute of Zanzibar (PPIZ), Zanzibar; St. Joseph Sustainable Organic Farm (SJS), Kilimanjaro; Research, Community and Organizational Development (RECODA), Arusha; Mogabiri Farm Extension Center (MFEC); and the Bihawana Farmers Training Center, Dodoma.

The project will also fund Master’s degree research for students studying Agroecology at Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) and will work closely with the Agroecology Hub Tanzania (AEHT), which serves as the project’s main research hub, connecting all agroecology partners on research matters.

He said that during the workshop, each center reviewed key aspects of its work, including its history, organizational structure, research and training methods, infrastructure and equipment, staff management, budgeting and funding systems, alignment with the Ministry of Agriculture framework, and long-term sustainability plans.

He added that the AgroKilimo Project was launched in 2025 by the French Ambassador to Tanzania, Anne-Sophie Avé, and is built on two main pillars.

The first pillar involves conducting and validating a participatory assessment of how agroecology centers operate in Tanzania.

“The second pillar is to develop practical pathways to integrate the centers into a network and establish shared guidelines for research, development, and training.

This includes applied research and comparative crop studies in different environments, involving farmers in research activities, participatory extension approaches, and sustainable systems for professional training.”

Buberwa said that through the workshop they identified several challenges, including a shortage of experts at many centers due to limited budgets and other constraints, which they plan to address.

Speaking about the workshop, PPIZ Executive Director Ikram Ramadhan Soraga said the project has come at the right time and will bring transformation to agroecology in Zanzibar.

Soraga said PPIZ’s aspiration is to see Zanzibar and the world at large consume food produced through agroecological systems, as they offer economic, health, and environmental benefits.

Felician Pius of SJS said the arrival of the AgroKilimo Project is important to them, as their mission is to restore the agricultural sector to its traditional, safer system.

The RECODA Program Leader said that through IDP, the AgroKilimo Project has brought significant changes, particularly in strengthening their organizational structure to achieve positive results more quickly.

MFEC Assistant Manager Peter Mwita said the project will advance their efforts in agroecology, including improving infrastructure such as water harvesting and other initiatives.

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