Kukua ni Kujifunza (KNK)

The Australian Government Rural Fund Through Care International  

Iringa District Council in Iringa region.

KNK is a transformative Programme, which is implemented in Tanzania’s Iringa District. The project aims at increasing food and nutrition security, income and climate change resilience among vulnerable and rural small-scale women farmers. KNK results are achieved through gender transformative programming over a four-year period, targeting 3,825 direct beneficiaries. KNK has three end of project outcomes as presented here under;

• Increased productivity and adaptive capacity among target small enterprises leading to increased food and nutrition security, and resilience.
• Increased household level income for small-scale women farmer.
• Regional Authorities and Private Sector Partners within SAGCOT are responding to the needs and demands of small-scale farmers, creating more sustainable, inclusive and accountable value chains

Sundy Merchants as a private sector partner was engaged by Care International in order to facilitate commercialization of soybean production through strengthening of soybean market systems. Commercialization of the soybean value chain in Iringa DC is being done through following;

• Building the capacity of small- scale women processors in order to enhance their competitiveness in the market.
• Strengthening inputs supply system through effective linkage between paraprofessionals and input suppliers for the purpose of guaranteeing smooth supply/access of inputs to small scale soybean farmers,
• Establishments of agricultural marketing cooperatives societies (AMCOS) to enable farmers easy access to markets but also improving their bargaining power.
• Building capacities of Input suppliers and Off takers in order to improve both input supply system and market for small scale soybean farmers

KNK project results are achieved through a multi-pronged, gendered and SuPER (Sustainable, Profitable/ Productive, Equitable, Resilient) approach which includes the following;

• Practical climate smart training through Farmer Field and Business Schools (FFBS), complimented with Participatory Scenario Planning to increase resilience;
• A range of gender dialogues, activities and champion groups to transform gender norms and support women to be equitably engaged in the profitable nodes of the value chain; and
• An innovative approach to transforming the gender roles within the soya value chain, to introduce seed multiplication, processing and organic fertilizer production.