Muhogo bora project sows self-reliance through school cassava farming

In the heart of Zeze Secondary School in Kasulu District Council, in Kigoma Region, Tanzania, Patrice Nyembe stands as a production teacher, living and breathing the philosophy of self-reliance. He knows that in the tender years of childhood, the seeds of poverty or riches, industry or idleness, good or evil could be sown through the habits that children are taught. And so he believes in cultivating the right habits from an early age. His conviction? Agriculture. He sees agriculture as the key to self-reliance, provided students have the proper skills and knowledge.

One day, Nyembe received news that became the beginning of a new revelation. IITA-CGIAR and the Tanzania Agriculture Research Institute (TARI) were distributing improved cassava varieties through the Muhogo Bora project and establishing demonstration plots to showcase the improved cassava varieties. An opportunity blossomed in his mind like a well-tended crop. He envisioned a future of increased crop productivity and food security for the school.

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