By Correspondent Valentine Oforo, Morogoro
THE Morogoro-based Agroecology Hub Tanzania (AEHT) has developed a special curriculum on Master of Science Degree (M.Sc) in agroecology, being concerted efforts to heighten performance of the environmentally- friend type of farming in the country.
The well-drafted curriculum is awaiting accreditation from the Tanzania Commission of Universities (TCU), and after its endorsement, it is expected to greenlight official rolling –out of the said high-level agro training program at the Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA).
The meaningful development was unveiled by Prof. Dismas Mwaseba, the AEHT Project Coordinator during this year’s annual agroecology stakeholder’s forum which gathered recently at the Institute of Continuing Education (ICE), Edward Moringe Campus, Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA).
“We have decided to develop the key course in order to help moulding high-profile agro experts who will play a major role to push for the smooth metamorphosis of the agroecology among the farmers across the country, the Don expressed.
He informed that if all goes well, the new training program will start to be offered at the SUA coming next academic year.
Together with that, Prof Mwaseba added that the robust project is also implementing a potential strategy for the development of a short course curriculum on agroecology whose major targets are in-service ward and village level extension staff who have had no opportunity to receive such training.
“After completing with the general task for the development of the said curricula we’re expecting to share it with the ministry of agriculture, the President’s Office (Regional Administration and Local Government), as well as the other relevant stakeholders for further process, including resource mobilization in readiness for official implementation,” he detailed.
And he added, as per the pilot project, to start with, the short courses in question will be imparted to the targeted extension officers within Morogoro, Mbeya and Singida regions, the areas where the project has based its strong foothold.
“After the pilot project to prove success, then the training program will be extended to further areas across the country, basing on available agro ecological zones,” he observed.
In his remarks to open the timely forum, the Coordinator for Research and Publications at SUA, Prof. Robinson Mdegela commended the involvement of various participants engaged in agroecology, particularly farmers, who are the focal point for agricultural development initiatives in the country.
He observed that the annually-staged forum would provide a helpful podium for the involved stakeholders to get ample opportunity to discuss and recommend how best to implement the recently launched strategy, the National Ecological Organic Agriculture Strategy (NEOAS) which was inaugurated in Dodoma in November 2023.
AEHT is the robust project which focuses on undertaking gender-sensitive and multi-stakeholder collaborative research for development of Agroecology friendly policies contributing to enhanced livelihoods and sustainable environment in rural communities through principles of Agroecological Intensification (AEI) in Tanzania.
The project, AEHT, is a collaborative crop research program funded by the McKnight Foundation, in partnership with other vital partners including SUA, Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-MAIST), Agricultural Non State Actors Forum (ANSAF), Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania (SAT), Regional Corridor Development Authority (RECODA), Swissaid Tanzania, Tanzania Organic Agriculture Movement (TOAM), Tanzania Alliance for Biodiversity (TABIO) as well as Local Government Authorities (LGAs).
The Agroecology Hub Tanzania (AEHT) has been organizing annual events including agroecology stakeholder forums since its implementation in 2019.
This year’s forum brought together a diverse group of 46 participants, representing higher learning institutions, national agricultural research institutions, NGOs, farmers groups, and government ministries with an eye to deliberate on-going work by AEHT as well as discussing the way forward regarding implementation of the National Ecological Organic Agriculture Strategy (NEOAS).
Among others, the workshop involved several presentations from the AEHT project secretariat and other AEHT stakeholders, whereby question and answers (Q and A) sessions after each presentation were also used to clarify issues and take up suggestions.
