Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute

A training held at the National Sugar Institute (NSI) took place from 17th to 22nd September 2024, focusing on equipping extension workers in Kilombero district with essential skills to scale good sugarcane management practices using a farm clinic approach. The training gathered 15 participants (seven from Kilombero Sugar Company Limited, KSCL and eight from the Ifakara Town Council), including 4 females and 11 males. This training is executed under the project funded by the International Union of Conservation for Nature (IUCN) based in the Kilombero Valley Basin, which supports efforts to improve sustainable agricultural practices.

Led by six facilitators, four from the Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI), Kibaha Centre, and two from KSCL and NSI, the training aimed to improve farm productivity and income by empowering extension workers with advanced knowledge and skills in sugarcane management. The farm clinic approach was emphasized as a new practical and hands-on dissemination method to be employed to engage and so enhance farmers' adoption of best practices.

Topics covered included farm clinic concept and methodology, sugarcane varieties, agronomy, pest and disease management, and the business aspects of sugarcane production. Through both theoretical sessions and fieldwork, participants developed practical solutions to common challenges faced by farmers in the area of their jurisdiction.

Upon completing the training, the extension workers will evolve in implementing farm clinics in their respective localities, meanwhilst getting backstopping from researchers from TARI Kibaha, where they will facilitate local farmers’ deployment of improved sugarcane management practices. The activity is expected to play a key role in boosting sugarcane productivity and increasing farm income in the Kilombero valley’s catchment area.

This initiative marks a significant step toward improving sugarcane farming in the area and elsewhere, if the pilot project becomes a success and widely scaled up, with the trained extension workers playing a pivotal role in enhancing agricultural productivity and livelihoods in their communities.